Should you exercise during pregnancy?

Should You Exercise During Your Pregnancy? Benefits and Safety Tips

Today we will know whether Should you exercise during pregnancy or not because pregnancy is one of the greatest experiences of a woman’s life.

However, we cannot deny that pregnancy physically alters the body in more ways than one. To maintain their physical health women around the world opt to do physical exercises during pregnancy. However, there always remains doubt in the mind about exercising during pregnancy.

Questions like “Are there any risks to myself or the baby if I exercise during pregnancy?” naturally arise in the minds of people.

Today’s blog is going to answer all such questions. Additionally, it discusses the possible benefits of exercise during pregnancy. Lastly, the blog briefly mentions the exercises a pregnant woman should avoid as well.

 

Should you Exercise During Pregnancy?

Pregnancy makes women more conscious of their physical actions. Even though it is necessary to remain cautious, it is even more important to remain fit.

Exercising during pregnancy is safe when it is not at high-risk and done cautiously. For the people who were already involved with gym and workouts before getting pregnant, doctors recommend they continue being active during pregnancy.

Doctors even encourage exercising during pregnancy as it can help in preparing the body for labor during delivery.

It also lowers the discomforts caused due to backaches and fatigue and maintains the overall health and fitness of the body.

A scheduled plan can help in regulating everyday exercises. Keeping track of physical activities helps in maintaining a regularity that plays an important role in improving health in the long run.

There are many negative preconceived notions about doing exercises while being pregnant but none of them are valid. However, it is still necessary to take advice from your doctor before engaging in physical exercises.

There are some medical conditions in which exercising may prove harmful for the baby. These include:-

  • Restrictive lung disease
  • Chronic Heart Disease
  • Carrying two babies at the same time
  • Anemia
  • Risk of premature labor
  • Frequent Bleeding
  • Placenta previa after the 26th week of pregnancy
  • Weak cervix

Additionally, pregnant women should also avoid exercising in case of an increase in blood pressure level due to pregnancy. The medical condition is known as preeclampsia and may prove harmful to the baby.

The above-mentioned problems are, however, very uncommon. In most cases, remaining active during pregnancy is perfectly safe and proves advantageous for both the mother and the baby.

 

Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy

Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy

Doing easy and simple exercises is advantageous in pregnancy. Something as effortless as walking or swimming comes under physical exercises that help during pregnancy.

One of the major issues women face during pregnancy is back pain and the problems that come with it.

Doing physical exercises such as Yoga or Pilates immediately helps with the backache.

Several other benefits associated with these minimal physical exercises include:-

  • Getting better sleep
  • Strengthens and tones the muscles
  • Prepares the body for labor
  • Helps with constipation
  • Reduces bloating and swelling
  •  Promotes healthy weight gain
  • Improves overall fitness

Apart from having these physical benefits on the body, it also positively affects psychological health as it makes the body feel well-rested after a good night’s sleep and improves mood.

Moreover, doing regular physical exercises keeps you in the habit of staying active. This proves helpful in regaining shape after the baby is born.

These benefits are only feasible when the woman is doing the right exercises. These are some exercises that the pregnant woman needs to avoid as they prove harmful for both the mother and the baby.

 

Exercises to Avoid During Pregnancy

In general terms, people are aware of what should be avoided during pregnancy, especially lifting heavy weights because there are numerous heavy weight lifting side effects for female who are in pregnancy period.

Furthermore, all the exercises that come with the risk of falling due to losing balance should be naturally avoided. It also includes all the daily activities where falling is likely.

There should be a restriction on movements that include too much bouncing, hopping, or stretching. Irregularity in exercise may also have adverse effects on the body clock and thus, needs to be prevented.

A longer period of inactivity after doing intense physical exercise one day is not beneficial at all. It is necessary to regulate the time of doing physical exercises.

According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 30 minutes of simple exercise per day is enough for a pregnant woman.

If they’re regular enough, there is no harm in reducing the minutes of exercises as the due date approaches.

Above mentioned are the exercises to avoid during pregnancy’s first trimester and should be taken care of throughout the period of 9 months.

Additionally, pregnant women should not engage in too much work during extremely hot weather. With these little precautions, the exercises easily help in remaining fit along with staying active.

Furthermore, women should also be aware that training heavy just after giving birth to the baby is also not good. One should give her body a proper time to recover then she can think of toning and getting to their ideal body.

And if you are in that stage and interested in achieving your toned and sexy body physique, you can go through this blog – How to tone your body for female

 

Conclusion

Pregnant women go through several phases during pregnancy until they give birth to the child. It is important to care and support them throughout the period.

Physical exercise is one of those things, pregnant women can do to help their bodies in various ways to make the process easy for them. Several of these exercises prove beneficial shortly and in the long run as well.

After reading the whole blog, we’re now aware of the benefits physical activities have on the body. Moreover, we also learned what to avoid and who should be more cautious.

Giving some time in the day to take care of your body proves to be helpful. It is just necessary that the exercises are done under a doctor’s supervision with a limit.

Mike Harris

Mike Harris is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and owner of the Sweat Guy. He is also award-winning health, wellness, and nutrition writer based in the USA. Armed with many training certifications and an exercise science teaching degree, Mike has been working for over 6 years now, helping others achieve optimum health.