Fitness For Two: How to Stay Fit During Pregnancy

healthy pregnancy

how to stay fit during pregnancy

Don’t exhaust yourself - a light to moderate exercise program should be the aim. You may need to slow down as your pregnancy progresses or if your maternity team advises you to. If in doubt, consult your maternity team. As a general rule, a light to moderate level should allow you to hold a conversation as you exercise when pregnant. If you become breathless as you talk, then you’re probably exercising too strenuously.

If you weren’t active before you got pregnant, don’t suddenly take up strenuous exercise. If you start an aerobic exercise program, tell the instructor that you’re pregnant and build up say begin with no more than 15 minutes of continuous exercise, 3 times a week. Increase this gradually up to 5 30-minute sessions a week.

Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be beneficial.

Exercise tips when you’re pregnant:

1- Always warm up before exercising, and cool down afterwards.

2- Try to keep active on a daily basis; 30 minutes of walking each day can be enough, but if you can’t manage that, any amount is better than nothing. If you haven’t been active or are overweight, start with 3-4 days spread across the week.

3- Avoid any strenuous exercise in hot or humid weather.

4- Drink plenty of water and other fluids.

5- If you go to exercise classes, make sure your teacher is properly qualified, and knows that you’re pregnant and how many weeks pregnant you are.

6- You might like to try swimming because the water will support your increased weight. Some local swimming pools provide aquanatal classes with qualified instructors.

7- Walking is a great exercise — it is a moderate aerobic activity but will have minimal stress on your joints. Other good choices are swimming, low-impact aerobics and cycling on a stationary bike.

Keeping Fit During Pregnancy

Exercises to avoid

Don’t lie flat on your back, particularly after 16 weeks, because the weight of your bump presses on the big blood vessels and can make you feel faint and reduce blood flow to your baby.

Don’t take part in contact sports where there’s a risk of being hit, such as kickboxing, judo, squash, tennis, football or rugby.

Don’t take part in horse riding, downhill skiing, ice hockey, gymnastics and cycling, because there’s a risk of falling.

Don’t go scuba-diving, because the baby has no protection against decompression sickness and gas embolism (gas bubbles in the bloodstream).

Don’t exercise at heights over 2,500m above sea level until you have acclimatised. This is because you and your baby are at risk of altitude sickness (a decrease in oxygen).Don’t do repetitive high impact exercise, or with lots of twists and turns, high stepping or sudden stops that cause joint discomfort.Don’t do exercise where you get too hot. Your body’s temperature is slightly higher when you are pregnant. Intensive exercise may cause your core temperature to rise to an unsafe level for your baby. Limit your exercise to moderate intensity, drink plenty of water, wear lightweight clothing and only exercise in cool, well ventilated places (no spas or saunas.

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