A MARATHON RUNNER who competed in a race on Sunday despite being eight months pregnant has been the target of criticism on social media. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

The woman responded by saying that about half of those who criticize her have never been pregnant, and she knows her body best. She said that she is an elite runner and she knows how to avoid risks. During her pregnancy period, she has already run three marathon races.

It seems the woman is confident in her abilities and a browse at the regulations and documents of domestic marathons shows that none of them prohibits pregnant women from participating. They do not even include pregnancy as a mandatory disclosure in their required health reports.

That means the woman can legally compete in any marathon she wants. However, women in late-stage pregnancy should be cautious about strenuous exercise. Her internal organs have been displaced, and her heart has to support more than her own life. Strenuous exercise might cause harm to the organs, and let too much blood flow to the muscles depriving the embryo of blood supply.

Moderate exercise, if properly done, may be beneficial, but there is no medical guidance to follow, as doctors are yet to reach a generally accepted conclusion about how much exercise women should do when pregnant.

Therefore, although the marathon runner may be confident about her embryo's safety as she is an elite runner, it is not recommended for other pregnant women to follow her example.

The health check procedure for marathons should be strengthened. A standard for pregnant runners should be introduced, so as to prevent pregnant women from putting themselves and their children at risk. A practical proposal is to improve the whole marathon industry by introducing a standard health report procedure for marathons, so as to minimize the risks for all competitors.