Exercise During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is no excuse to sit back and put your feet up all day long! Research shows that regular exercise can greatly benefit women during pregnancy. It may not be the time to run a marathon, but a moderate version of your usual exercise routine can be safe and beneficial.

Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercise has no harmful effects on a fetus and does not increase the risk of miscarriage or birth defects in a normal pregnancy. In fact, there is no doubt that if complications do not limit your ability to exercise during pregnancy, a regular fitness routine can be a big plus for both you and your baby. As with anyone and any exercise, you should be in good health before you begin an exercise program.

Many women exercise as an important part of their regular lifestyle. They want to continue throughout the pregnancy, which is possible with just a few moderate changes. Women who have never exercised before but want to begin adopting a healthier lifestyle can do so during pregnancy. These women just need to start out slowly with a mild exercise program. The level of exercise your doctor recommends for you depends on your level of pre-pregnancy fitness.

Alert: Regardless of whether you are a veteran or a first-timer, you should never begin an exercise program or participate in any regular physical activity without first discussing it with your doctor. Some medical conditions can rule out exercise for you. Your doctor will need to evaluate your overall health as well as any obstetric and medical risks you may have.

Benefits to Mom

Some of the benefits of a regular exercise program during pregnancy include the following:

• Reduces aches and pains
• Reduces constipation
• Reduces swelling and bloating
• Gives you more energy and stamina
• Builds muscle tone and strength
• Lifts your mood
• Improves posture, which helps with backaches
• Promotes better sleeping patterns
• Gives you a feeling of self-control, self-esteem, and confidence
• Gives you time to yourself
• Helps relieve stress
• Strengthens your cardiovascular system
• Keeps you from gaining too much weight (though it is not advised to exercise for weight loss purposes during pregnancy)

In addition to these benefits, regular exercise before and during pregnancy can help you to get back in shape faster after delivery. When done safely, exercise can have some wonderful benefits during pregnancy. If possible, a fitness routine should become a part of your healthier pregnancy lifestyle.

Exercise Not Your Thing?

Women who are not interested in regular exercise can obtain some of the health benefits of exercise simply by following a more active lifestyle. The key is to get your body moving every day. That can mean using stairs instead of elevators, washing your car instead of driving through the automated car wash, playing with your kids in the yard, or simply parking farther away from the store to get in a little more walking. Current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that even short bouts of activity (ten minutes or so) several times a day can be effective in promoting some of the same benefits as regular exercise.

Playing It Safe

Exercise has many benefits, but use some common sense and know your limits to help keep you and your baby free from possible injuries. Changes in the body that occur during pregnancy can interfere with your ability to safely participate in some forms of physical activity. Even though there are many benefits to exercising during pregnancy, it is important to first make sure that it is safe for both you and your baby.

Pregnant women are able to participate in a wide range of recreational activities, though each activity and each individual should be evaluated for potential risks. The following are some general guidelines for pregnant women who have no additional risk factors, from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:

• You’re encouraged to participate in thirty minutes or more of moderate exercise most days of the week, if not all days.
• During the second and third trimesters, avoid exercises that place you in a supine (on the back) position. Also avoid standing and being in a motionless position for too long.
• Activities with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma may not be safe and should be avoided, including ice hockey, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, horseback riding, downhill skiing, and vigorous racquet sports.
• Scuba diving should be avoided throughout the entire pregnancy because it can put your baby at risk of decompression sickness.
• Exercise during pregnancy at altitudes up to 6,000 feet appears to be safe, but engaging in physical activities at higher altitudes can carry some risk.
• Pregnant women have less oxygen available for aerobic activities as they did before pregnancy, so don’t expect to be able to do the same intensity as you did before pregnancy.
• Avoid activities or exercise that incorporate jumping or bouncing motions and sudden changes in direction because they can cause injury to joints and other areas.
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• Don’t overexert yourself to the point of breathlessness and/or exhaustion. Wear comfortable, cool, flexible, and supportive clothing as well as shoes. Wear a bra that fits properly and supports your breasts.
• Stay cool and properly hydrated by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after exercise.
• Do not become overheated, especially in your first trimester. Don’t exercise on hot and humid days.

Some women may have medical and/or obstetric problems that would absolutely keep them from exercising. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggests that certain health problems are absolute contraindications to aerobic exercise during pregnancy, including the following:

• Heart disease or restrictive lung disease
• Incompetent cervix or ruptured membranes
• Pregnancy with more than one baby
• Persistent second- and/or third-trimester bleeding
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia
• Placenta previa (in which the placenta grows low in the uterus and covers the opening of the cervix) after twenty-six weeks
• Premature labor during current pregnancy

If you have any of these problems or are pregnant with more than one baby, it is imperative to speak to your doctor before exercising. Other problems that may keep you from exercising, depending on your doctor’s evaluation, may include severe anemia, chronic bronchitis, poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes, extreme obesity, extreme underweight, history of sedentary lifestyle, poorly controlled hypertension, poorly controlled seizure disorder, poorly controlled hyperthyroidism, and heavy smoking.

Essential: Most of the changes that the body goes through during pregnancy will last four to six weeks after delivery. Pre-pregnancy exercise routines may be resumed gradually after this point and as soon as your doctor deems them safe.

Developing an Effective Exercise Plan

The fundamentals of exercise remain basically the same for everyone, pregnant or not. You should develop an effective fitness plan that includes a warmup and a cooldown, with the activities of your choice in the middle. Once your doctor gives you the go-ahead to exercise, start exercising at a comfortable level that does not cause pain, shortness of breath, and/or excessive exhaustion. You should start slowly and increase your activity little by little, especially if you were not exercising regularly before becoming pregnant.

If you were an avid exerciser before pregnancy, you may need to make just a few simple adjustments in your program. You may find that you need to decrease your intensity level during pregnancy. The most effective plan is one that combines cardiovascular or aerobic exercise, strength, and flexibility exercises. It can be beneficial to find a variety of activities for your exercise plan because you might be more motivated to continue exercising throughout your pregnancy and beyond.

Warm Up and Cool Down

Warming up before you exercise and cooling down afterward is essential to an effective and safe program. Warming up for at least five to ten minutes revs up your body and gets your blood moving to prepare it for exercise. Cooling down for at least ten minutes gradually brings your heart rate and body temperature back to normal. You should never stop exercising abruptly without cooling down and slowing down your heart rate gradually.

Both a warmup and cool-down should include some light aerobic activity followed by gentle stretching. Stretching can help to maintain your flexibility, and prevent muscle tightening and injury during exercise. Stretching during your cool-down can also help to prevent sore muscles the next day. Stretching can be great any time of the day when you need to release some muscle tension.

As with other aspects of exercise during pregnancy, stretching may require some modification to avoid possible injury. During pregnancy, a hormone called relaxin causes your joints and ligaments to loosen, making delivery easier on the body. This makes it important to take some extra precautions when stretching. Stretching should always come after some type of warmup exercise that increases your circulation and internal body temperature. Stretching without first warming up can lead to pulled or torn muscles and/or ligaments. The key to stretching during pregnancy is to go nice and easy and never bounce. Do not push a stretch to the point of pain or past your natural range of motion. Hold on to a chair for support if you need to while performing certain stretches. Be sure to take full breaths while you are stretching to keep blood flowing through your muscles.

Alert: Standing motionless while doing prolonged stretches is not advised. This can decrease blood flow to the uterus as well as cause blood to pool in your legs, which can make you dizzy. Continue to move even when stretching by switching positions often or walking in place. Hold stretches for no more than fifteen to thirty seconds.