High-Altitude Climbing in Pregnancy… Thin Evidence, Loud Opinions, and Trusting Her Own Risk Tolerance — with LOTTA HINTSA

Send us Fan MailThin evidence. Loud opinions. And a body that still wanted to climb. That's where professional high-altitude climber Lotta Hintsa found herself when she got pregnant — wanting to stay active and keep doing her job, in an area where the research on altitude and pregnancy barely exists and everyone seemed to have a take on it.In this episode, Lotta walks me through how she navigated her own risk tolerance: gathering what evidence she could find, weighing it against her body and her experience, and making informed calls instead of fear-based ones. It's an honest look at staying active on your own terms when there's no roadmap handed to you.We talk about:-becoming a professional climber-motherhood as an extreme athlete-advice based on evidence instead of fear-losing contracts due to pregnancy-losing followers after getting pregnant-having a plan but not expectations-finding your identity as a mom🛟 Lane note: altitude and pregnancy is genuinely under-researched, and risk is individual. Decisions like these belong with your maternity care team — Lotta's story is her experience, not a guideline.Time Stamps1:00 introduction6:34 thinking about starting a family as an extreme athlete9:35 deciding where to go to for advice13:54 concerns with oxygen availability18:20 reactions of the climbing community and sponsors27:28 last weeks of pregnancy32:29 climbing a mountain versus having a baby36:00 exercise and activity postpartum43:22 expectations for competing as a new mom48:59 surprises in motherhoodCONNECT WITH CARRIEIG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/Website: https://carriepagliano.comCourse waitlist: https://course.carriepagliano.com/RSAWLCONNECT WITH LOTTA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lottahintsa/Website: https://youtube.com/@highaltitudexperience?si=WS0EbOlKWiDb1bHxSubstack: lottahintsaThe Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.   This show has been a long time in the making!    You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry.    If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!   If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.  This show has been a long time in the making!   You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry.   If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!  If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)