Exercise While Pregnant

Women may choose to exercise while pregnant for many reasons; to keep fit, to help prepare for birth and to allow for quick recovery post pregnancy.  Exercising while pregnant has many positive benefits, but it is important to ensure that your fitness and exercise regime is safe and healthy for both you and your baby.  Tailoring the way you exercise for each stage of your pregnancy, is the safest and healthiest way to exercise while pregnant.

Exercise While Pregnant – Advantages

Research shows that the correct types of exercise during pregnancy can have positive effects on labour and delivery, including significantly shorter labour time.  Here are some of the other advantages of exercise while pregnant:

  • Improved core strength supports your spine and help you carry your baby around
  • Improved posture
  • Less likely to experience leg cramps, swelling, constipation and varicose veins
  • Time out for the expectant mother – exercise has a relaxing and pampering effect and allows mother to relate to and bond with baby as she exercises, exercise also helps to improve sleep patterns
  • Enhanced mental wellbeing, improved self esteem and self confidence
  • Quicker recovery time after birth
  • Exercise helps to curb excessive weight gain during pregnancy – weight gain during pregnancy is not only normal, but also necessary and unavoidable, however, controlling excessive weight gain is healthier for you and your baby.
  • Exercise helps to promote the growth of healthy placenta – making the placenta more efficient in carrying blood, nutrients and oxygen to your baby.

It is important to remember that if you exercise while pregnant, you must consult with your medical practioner or midwife, to ensure that everything you are doing is best suited to support the health of you and your baby.

Click Here For The Ultimate Guide To Staying Fit and Healthy During Pregnancy

Exercise While Pregnant – Pregnancy Specific Health and Fitness

There are three main areas of your body that, when exercised correctly, will improve your pregnancy and birth experience; the abdominal muscles, the core muscles and the pelvic floor.

Abdominal Muscles
Your abdominal muscles provide a supportive muscular corset around the middle part of your body between your ribs and your pelvis.  The abdominal muscles stabilize your spine and support your internal organs.  As your baby develops and grows, your abdominal muscles need to accommodate the resulting weight and size.  Having strong healthy abdominal muscles will ensure that you can provide enough support for yourself and your baby.

  • If you are currently planning your pregnancy, starting getting your abdominal muscles into good condition right away
  • Strong abs may help with pushing your baby out during labour
  • Looking after your abdominal muscles during pregnancy will make it easier to get them back in shape after delivery
  • Adapt abdominal training to each trimester of your pregnancy, ensuring that as your pregnancy processes, that your abdominal exercises are modified or lessened in intensity so that you are keeping yourself and your baby safe
  • There are pregnancy specific abdominal exercises that utilize ‘stability’ or ‘Swiss’  balls (those large inflatable exercise balls often found in gyms)

Core Muscle Strength
The weight of your growing baby will change your centre of gravity and put pressure and physical stress on your body in different ways, many women complain of back pain and sore legs and feet.  An excellent way of combating these discomforts is to strengthen the core muscles.  Your core muscles are mainly located down the back of your body, and include large sheets of muscle that help you stand up straight, walk and sit down.  The core muscles start at the very top of the back with the lower trapezius and extend all the way down to your bottom, or gluteus maximus.

  • In addition to strengthening the muscles in your back, exercising the muscles in your legs and buttocks will help maintain stability in the pelvis and promote good posture
  • There are many pregnancy specific Pilates and yoga routines that help develop and maintain core strength

Pelvic Floor Muscles
Your pelvic floor muscles provide the ‘underneath’ support for your baby during pregnancy.  Because pregnancy and childbirth have a weakening effect in the pelvic floor, strong and healthy pelvic floor muscles will also reduce the incidence of stress incontinence (where a little fluid is leaked when coughing, laughing or exercising).

  • Exercise the pelvic floor by standing upright, and imagine that you are contracting your vagina up towards your belly button.  Vary your pelvic floor exercise by alternating between sort and long contractions
  • Pregnancy specific yoga and Pilates routines sometimes include exercises for your pelvic floor

This is the end of page one of our Exercise While Pregnant article, for page 2, check out: Exercises For Pregnant Women (page 2)

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