Inez Leong Runs 10k Race While Pregnant
Tony Hung’s (洪永城) wife Inez Leong (梁諾妍) is currently seven months pregnant with their second child and expected to deliver a girl in April. She has always loved running and is a long-distance running instructor. Despite her advancing pregnancy, Inex stayed physically active and continued to run.
On Sunday, Inez participated in Standard Chartered’s 10-kilometer race and finished in 1 hour and 4 minutes. Participating for fun, Inez encouraged other expectant mothers to exercise appropriately according to their health conditions.
Inez’s participation in the 10k run led to a heated debate, as some felt she was irresponsible and risked the baby’s safety. If she were knocked over by another runner, the results would have been disastrous. Regarding the controversy, Inez posted on Instagram, “I’ve been sharing my passion for running because I want to spread positivity. Sharing the positive, fun, and happiness that running brings. I hope everyone can feel this happiness. This is how I felt in the past and this is how I feel now.”
Regarding concerns that Inez’s running activities were risky, Hong Kong doctor Betty Kwan (關嘉美) stated everyone’s body is different and it was important to take into account individual ability before doing any type of exercise. “Generally doctors advise expectant mothers to not do any strenuous exercise in case their water breaks leading to a premature birth. But women are able to go to work, walk, job, or do yoga while pregnant. They can also stretch under the guidance of a yoga instructor. Some people always exercised regularly and are able to do so as long as they are aware of their health conditions. In the past, many women would work on the farm while pregnant and some even gave birth on the field!”
Celebrity mothers, Quinnie Chan (陳君宜), Candy Law (羅霖), and Coffee Lam (林芊妤) were impressed by Inez’s ability to run a 10-kilometer race while pregnant. As an internationally certified yoga instructor, Coffee was still doing handstands eight months into her pregnancy and felt that there was no problem with Inez participating in the marathon. Coffee continued to practice yoga, go to the gym, and run during her pregnancy but she cut down the intensity by half. If there was a marathon during her pregnancy, Coffee would have joined it. “I continued to exercise after finding out I was pregnant. My doctor said if I was the type of person to run 10k races, then I could cut down by half and run 5k during pregnancy.”
With a 9-year-old son, Quinnie believed exercising should be a personal choice. “My friends were still skiing and riding horses when they were five to six months pregnant. Those who are a bit more westernized are really not scared. I really don’t have any opinion, but everyone has the right to choose. I was more careful because I got pregnant through IVF. At five to six months I started to do a bit of yoga, swimming, and walking. I didn’t run or do any strenuous exercise.”
As a mother of three boys, Candy commented, “Some women are bedridden while pregnant. I feel that it’s not a big problem because there are many people internationally who exercise until they give birth. When I was pregnant, I practiced yoga and some low impact motions but did not run.”
Source: [1]
This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.
