Exercise During Pregnancy

It may be the last thing that you are thinking about at the time, but exercise during pregnancy may offer some wonderful benefits and is therefore an important topic to cover. Many women assume that pregnancy is an excuse to take some time away from exercising—that being pregnant is a great time to give into cravings and catch up on some much-needed rest. Though all of the information out there never used to focus on the importance of exercising during this time in a woman’s life, that is changing, and so is the need to engage in these activities.

You always want to talk to your doctor when it comes to exercise during pregnancy. This is your best gauge to ensure that you are cleared and safe for exercise because you want to be sure that there are no red flags. If you have bleeding or any sort of condition that could cause harm to you or the baby, then you may be asked to avoid exercise. For the vast majority of pregnant women, though, some type of low-impact activities will be perfectly safe. You may want to use the guideline that the types of activities that you did before will often be safe for you to do during pregnancy.

Be Mindful and Plan For What Works Best For You

When it comes to limitations, you may find that the first is not to lift too much heavy weight. You may find that exercising in a very hot climate, as with Bikram yoga, isn’t safe, nor are very high-intensity exercises. Keep good common sense always in mind, and be mindful, too, that the health of your baby comes first. You may find that swimming, prenatal yoga, long walks, running (if you were used to it before), low-impact aerobics, and even bicycling will be great in terms of exercise during pregnancy. If you were cleared for, and engaged in, these types of activities before you were pregnant, then they should be just fine during pregnancy as well.

What you must realize about exercise during pregnancy is that it can really help you with labor and delivery. Your body is better equipped to handle the strenuous labor and delivery process if you have been keeping up with exercise throughout. You may also find that getting your body back after the baby is born is much easier. Always be safe and mindful of your changing body throughout pregnancy, but recognize that there are some excellent benefits to exercising during pregnancy. This is a way for you to increase enjoyment of each phase of your pregnancy!