Pregnancy Exercises

Exercising has immense benefits for all ages. Those who exercise stay fit and healthy – mentally and physically. During pregnancy, exercising moderately is known to be very beneficial. Exercising during pregnancy:

• Helps relieve stress, and keeps depression at bay.
• Relieves constipation, bloating and morning sickness.
• Relieves pain in back and legs.
• Keeps weight gain in control.
• Keeps you active and happy.
• Prevents complications during pregnancy, labor and birth.
• Helps faster recovery and fitness after baby’s birth.
• Relieves signs of postpartum depression.

Care and Precaution

Remaining active during pregnancy is beneficial, but exercises and physical activity should be performed with care. A woman’s body undergoes a lot of physical changes during pregnancy, some of which are internal and hard to notice and therefore, changes have to be made to how she exercises too.

Ligaments and tendons are more loose and relaxed during pregnancy due to release of a hormone called relaxin, and therefore, exercises that require extra balancing effort like standing on a single leg, jumping and bouncy movements may lead to ‘unexpected’ loss of balance and injury.

More significantly during the third trimester of pregnancy, your belly weight will be shifting your center of gravity and therefore balancing yourself will be tricky. There is a change in curvature of vertebral column too and therefore, sudden movements, getting up from a squat and balancing require more effort.

The increasing size of the uterus reduces space for the diaphragm to completely expand, and therefore you may feel shortness of breath.

The most recommended exercises during pregnancy are those which strengthen muscles to avoid injury due to relatively relaxed joints, and those which help in correcting body posture which help in reducing back pain. The exercises that are generally not recommended during this time are those which require sudden and bumpy movements that can cause loss of balance and / or can put excess pressure on joints.

Here are some important points to keep in mind while exercising:

• Comfortable clothing (avoid extremely loose clothing and prefer breathable soft cotton) and footwear (make sure your footwear is extremely comfortable and supportive) is a must.
• Mild exercises and stretching (warm up) is recommended before beginning the exercise routine to help the body to get ready for exercise.
• During exercise body temperature rises and body dissipates the heat through skin. If the body heat is not dissipated properly, the core body temperature keeps rising and can lead to hyperthermia (abnormally high body temperature). Studies have shown relationship between hyperthermia and fetal abnormalities, and therefore most doctors suggest avoiding vigorous exercises that can cause excess body temperature. Hot and humid environment is to be completely avoided to prevent hyperthermia. Exercises should be performed in an obstacle free, comfortably cool, fresh and airy environment.
• Drinking water or freshly prepared fruit juice in between helps prevent dehydration.
• Exercising should be immediately stopped in case of feeling of exhaustion, breathlessness, dizziness, nausea, uterine contractions, fluid leakage or vaginal bleeding, or any kind of pain and the personal OB/GYN should be contacted immediately on observing any such symptoms.
• The duration of the exercise should not be more than that recommended by the doctor, or beyond comfort level.
• Any new form of exercise should not be performed without consulting the doctor.
• Exercises which require resting on the back, bending from the abdomen, those involving high-impact (jumping, horse riding, skating etc) and those which can put pressure on joints, should be avoided.
• Slowing down the pace of exercising few minutes before stopping (cool down) is also recommended.

• Special Cases during pregnancy where exercising can be risky:
  • Preeclampsia or Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Pregnancy with multiples (twins, triplets or quads)
  • Preterm labor
  • Vaginal bleeding
  • Leakage of amniotic fluid
  • Placental position towards the lower part of the uterus (Placenta previa)
  • Incompetent cervix
  • Heart or Lung disease

Common pregnancy exercises

Walking

Simple and Light Exercises

Water Aerobics and Swimming

Yoga

Kegel Exercise

References:

-    Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy

-     Feed the belly by Frances Largeman-Roth, RD

-     Expect the Best by Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D.

-     Pregnancy for Dummies by Joanne Stone, MD, Keith Eddleman, MD, and Mary Duenwald

- Wikipedia