Exercise during pregnancy
By Dani Mears, fitness expert, Kettler GB
When you discover you are pregnant, your thoughts automatically turn to your health and the health of your baby. What foods should you eat and avoid? Should stop drinking alcohol? Is it ok to exercise?
Whether you had a regular fitness regime before you fell pregnant, or just you want to ensure you stay fit and healthy during pregnancy, the answer is yes you can exercise, but you need to tailor it around your growing baby, as you do with everything else during pregnancy.
Key considerations:
It is important to keep active every day, and this is no different when you are pregnant. It will also make it easier to regain pre-pregnancy fitness levels after birth and can help reduce tiredness and improve circulation. Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be beneficial, and you must never exercise in order to lose weight whilst pregnant, as this may harm your baby.
The key thing to remember is that you are more prone to injury because of the ‘relaxin’ in your body. Relaxin is a hormone which is released into the body to accommodate for a growing baby. It makes ligaments more supple and allows more movements of the joints.
You also need to be aware that many women suffer from Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD). This is when the joint at the front of your pelvis can loosen during pregnancy die to hormones. This can be very painful, especially when standing on one leg (i.e. dressing, stairs, getting in and out of cars and walking)
Some exercises can predispose you to SPD. So if you start to get this then you need to cut down on the exercise. You also need to discuss it with your midwife who can refer you to a physiotherapist.
It is also essential to ensure that you don’t get too hot when you are exercising during pregnancy, as it’s more difficult to regulate your body temperature when you’re pregnant.
If you are new to exercise:
Don’t suddenly start vigorous exercise like jogging or aerobics
More appropriate exercises are pregnancy yoga, swimming or aqua aerobics or using a cross trainer or exercise bike which support the joints
Be aware when you are swimming that you may find it difficult to do a breaststroke kick with your legs because it can irritate the joint at the front of your pelvis
Toning exercises rather than cardiovascular exercises are more appropriate when you’re pregnant. Yoga can be excellent for pregnant women. However, make sure you inform your instructor that you are pregnant or attend specialist pregnancy yoga classes as there will be certain moves that should be avoided.
You can do light upper body weights but need to avoid lunges and sit-ups.
If you already have an exercise regime:
Normally, if you are actively involved in contact sports it is deemed safe to continue until you are 12 weeks. However, not many women want to continue with a contact sport once they find out that they are pregnant.
If you are already fit and are looking to continue your exercise programme during pregnancy, you may need to adapt what you are doing. For example, if you’re body is used to jogging then you can continue but you might need to take down the intensity. You should also do a flatter run so you reduce the amount of hills.
Whether you are starting exercise because you are pregnant or continuing with a fitness regime, it is important to listen to your body, and if you have any concerns or questions about exercise then you can discuss them with your midwife.
www.kettlerdirect.co.uk
Dani is an NHS physiotherapist, has worked at Bath Rugby with elite sportsmen. She has a three year old son and is married to Lee Mears, England and British Lion rugby international. Dani is a specialist in women’s health.