--- title: "Pregnant And Paralyzed: Lessons Pregnancy Taught Me" description: I am good at reflecting and taking lessons from the past, and I’ve landed on some significant ones about being pregnant. image: https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hubfs/Copy%20of%20490x590%20portrait%20new%20website%20(300%20%C3%97%20175%20px)%20(1).png --- [Community](https://www.christopherreeve.org/community) [Voices from the Community](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en) [Pregnant And Paralyzed: Lessons Pregnancy Taught Me](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/lessons-pregnancy-taught-me) # Pregnant And Paralyzed: Lessons Pregnancy Taught Me There was a time after my accident when I thought my disability meant that boys won’t find me attractive. *I was actually pursued by a man – an attractive one!* ![Kristin Beale](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Lessons%20Pregnancy%20Taught%20Me.jpg?width=426&height=568&name=Lessons%20Pregnancy%20Taught%20Me.jpg) Honest to God, I blamed my disability and didn’t think I’d get to be married. *I just celebrated my second wedding anniversary.* Most of all, I never dreamed that I’d want to or have an opportunity to be a mother. *I gave birth to a healthy boy in April.* So, we see, the biggest lesson I can take from the last five years is this: I have no idea what’s going to happen to me, and I’m awful at trying to guess. I am good at reflecting and taking lessons from the past, though, and I’ve landed on some significant ones – for this article, about being pregnant. 1. ### **Staying in shape is worth it.** That feels like the overarching theme of my life post-disability, but it’s especially true for pregnancy. Especially in my third trimester when I got much bigger, everything got harder. Literally everything: transfers, pushing my wheelchair, bending over, even moving my legs back and forth. The fact that I was already in shape made everything that much easier, and the load on my beloved upper body lighter. 2. ### **Diet makes a huge difference.** I knew this to be true in my pre-pregnancy state, but the point was driven home when I became pregnant; what I ate made the difference between a good day and a bad day, so I really had to stay on top of it. The food I put in my body made all the difference in my mood, how my body felt, my energy level, my appearance, everything. I can’t stress this enough. 3. ### **The power of movement.** Even when I absolutely didn’t feel like it and I’d rather unfold my pregnant body across the couch, I always felt better when I forced myself to move a little bit. For my pregnant version, that means exercises with bands, wrist weights, free weights, and a couch to bend onto and catch my breath (baby sat on my lungs for a whole month). Depending on the season, that could also look like a walk in the neighborhood or a push up a hill. 4. ### **It’s okay to get help.** I’m stubborn about asking for it, please believe I am. When my body started getting big and my mobility waved, though, it was inevitable. Asking my husband to help me didn’t kill me, either. Shocking. 5. ### **The importance of rest.** Here’s another topic I’m stubborn about: slowing down to lie down. Also inevitable, my back started aching, my ribs felt like they were turning in on each other, and I had to stretch out. I could have saved myself some strain if I’d surrendered to rest a few weeks earlier, but who gets it right on the first try? I learned my lesson for next time, at least. ####    Join Our Movement ### What started as an idea has become a national movement. With your support, we can influence policy and inspire lasting change. [Become an Advocate](https://www.votervoice.net/REEVE/Register) ![](https://www.christopherreeve.org/wp-content/themes/reeve/assets/images/fpo/blog-dc.png) Some people have lovely pregnancies and my friend even has the audacity to say she “misses being pregnant.” *I can’t relate.* In fact, the last lessons I learned about being pregnant is that 1. I’m not one of those people, but 2. despite the 9 months of sheer inconvenience and discomfort that defined my pregnancy, **it was worth it one million times over.** Being a mom is so much fun. ### About the Author - Kristin Beale Kristin Beale is a native of Richmond, Virginia. She is the author of three books, Greater Things and A Million Suns, Wide Awake, and a comic book, Date Me. Instagram: @kristin.gupta [![Twitter](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hubfs/Icon-twitter-square.svg)](https://twitter.com/kristinbeale) [![Facebook](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hubfs/Icon-facebook-square.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/kristinbeale) [![LinkedIn](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hubfs/Icon-linkedin-square.svg)](http://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinbeale/) ![Kristin Beale](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/hubfs/blog-authors/AuthorKristinBeale836x480.png) The opinions expressed in these blogs are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The National Paralysis Resource Center website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $10,000,000 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government. [Back to top](https://blog.christopherreeve.org/en/lessons-pregnancy-taught-me#top)