Exercise During Pregnancy
Regular exercise during the period of pregnancy is imperative for both mother and baby. Exercise helps to maintain the body posture and keeps mother as well as the baby healthy. Exercise reduces stress, fatigue and improves the mother’s digestive capacity which ultimately helps for healthy growth of the baby. Mother should know the Do’s and Don’ts for the exercise during this period of pregnancy. Various research articles suggested suitable exercise during period of pregnancy. Exercise should perform under the guidance of a doctor. Don’t try any new activity in this period without consulting your health care provider.
Importance of exercise during pregnancy
- Various Studies has found that exercise offers imperative benefit to maternal and fetal health.
- Assist you in bettering your stress management and sleeping habits. Worry, strain or pressure are feelings you have in response to events in your life. Imperative studies discussed and reported decreased depression in pregnant women who exercised 1 to 2 times per week or 4 times per week.
- Studies have found that regular exercise decreases the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant women. Physical activity helps to manage gestational diabetes. Exercise helps to regulate maternal weight gain and lower the risk of large for–gestational age newborns which are concerns with gestational diabetes.
- Relieve some of the most common pregnancy aches and pains such as low back pain, constipation and swelling over legs, ankles and feet.
- During pregnancy, significant causes of morbidity and mortality are Hypertension and Preeclampsia. Regular exercise reduces the risk of hypertensive complications and development of preeclampsia.
- Physical activity helps to improve fetal circulation and fetal growth. Research has shown that for the development of a fetus, physical activity is safe.
- Regular exercise helps to shorten the labor duration and also decreases the risk of Cesarean section. According to study, it was found that the women who actively participate in the exercise had a lower percentage of Cesarean section as compared to the control group.
Who should avoid exercise during pregnancy?
Exercise is advisable and gives benefit to both, baby and mother but before starting an exercise program pregnant women has to concern with the health care provider.
Avoid exercise, if you have any following problems:
- Asthma
- Heart-related disease
- Cervical or placenta related problems
- Type 1 diabetes
If you have any following complications then exercise is not safe:
- Preterm labor during current pregnancy
- Multiple pregnancies at risk for preterm labor
- Premature rupture of membranes
- Severe anaemia
Tips for exercise during Pregnancy
As an Exercise rule, you should be able to hold a discussion as you exercise when pregnant. If you become short of breath as you talk, you’re most likely exercising too exhaustingly. Before pregnancy, if you never did exercise, then don’t abruptly take up an exhausting activity. Try not to exhaust yourself. You might have to back off as your pregnancy advances or if your consulting doctor advises you to do so.
If you start a vigorous exercise program (like running, swimming, cycling or vigorous exercise classes), tell the educator that you’re pregnant and start initially for 15 minutes of constant exercise, 3 times each week. Increment this steadily to everyday 30-minute sessions.
- Before exercise always do warm-up and cool down at the end. Walk at least 30 minutes daily, but if you can’t handle it, any quantity is better than nothing.
- In hot temperatures, avoid vigorous exercises.
- Keep hydrate yourself with plenty of water and other drinks.
Suggested exercises during pregnancy.
Most of the exercises are safe but exercise has to be performed with care and caution. Also, you could make suggestions or consultations with your family doctor to avoid unnecessary circumstances. According to research, it showed that pregnant women who don’t have any contraindication to exercise can perform at least 30 min of moderate-intensity exercise on most of the days of the week. Get your body ready for labor and delivery. Prenatal yoga and Pilates, for example, can help you practice breathing, meditation, and other relaxing techniques to help you handle labor pain. Exercise might provide you with the energy and power you need to get through labor. Initiate slowly and carefully increase your fitness. Start with 5 minutes of activity per day and gradually build up to 30 minutes per day.
Perform these exercises:
- Walking– A brisk walk is a great workout that is convenient for your joints and muscles.
- Swimming– Moving against the water helps keep your heart rate up and supports the weight of your growing baby. It is a low-impact workout that improves stamina. Excessive swimming in warm water should be avoided during pregnancy because that can cause your body temperature to rise.
- Indoor Cycling on a stationary bike– Indoor cycling regularly not only keeps you healthy and active but also improves your mood and stamina.
- Low impact warmup includes:
- Stretching exercises for Neck, Shoulder, Thigh, Knees and Ankles.
- Kegel Exercise- Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles that can help you during labor and delivering a baby. To strengthen pelvic floor muscles, imagine you’re trying to stop the flow of urine or avoid passing gas. Muscles should be contracted and sustain for a slow count of five then release. In one set, repeat 10 times. 3-5 sets each day are recommended. Consult your doctor if you have any questions regarding how to perform the workouts.
- Other exercises such as Jogging or Running should be done in moderation and under the guidance of your consulting doctor.
Avoid these exercises during pregnancy
These exercises can be harmful if performed:
- At high altitudes, because mother and baby are at risk of altitude sickness.
- Scuba diving, because the newborn is vulnerable to decompression sickness and gas embolism i.e., gas bubbles in the bloodstream.
- Withholding breath during activity, because of the hypoxia that results is potentially damaging to the infant.
- Jumping, hopping, skipping, bouncing, because your uterus is likely hammering down on your cervix each time you land, depending on the strength of your jumps.
- Prolonged Standing, because it may limit the fetus’s growth.
- An Exercise that requires you to lie flat on your back for more than three minutes after the third month of pregnancy, because the pressure of your bump on the main blood vessel returning blood to your heart can cause you to feel faint.
- High risk of contact sports e.g., basketball, volleyball and falling e.g., Gymnastic.
Time to quit exercise?
There are some warning signs to stop exercise. You need to stop exercise for any of the following symptoms.
- Vaginal bleeding
- Dizziness
- Experiencing chest pain
- Short of breath
- Headache
- Chest pain
- Calf pain or Swelling
- Weakness of Muscle
When should you start exercise after pregnancy?
Find out when it’s safe to begin physical activity by consulting with your doctor. Women can start light exercises one or two weeks after vaginal delivery without complications. You might have to wait even longer to begin exercising after birth if you had a c-section or if there were difficulties after delivery. Your health practitioner can advise you on when your body is ready to exercise. Specifically, it’s safe to start exercising three to four weeks after Cesarean birth without complications.
It will be easy to get back on track once your child is born if you were active while pregnant. Simply begin gently. Stop performing the exercise and consult a doctor if you experience pain or other complications while exercising.
Must Read >>