Maybe you’ve been there or maybe you know a mom who’s been there. As soon as those two pink lines pop up, the feet go on the couch and it’s all about those food cravings for nine months. Despite what popular media may have you believe, pregnancy isn’t an excuse to just relax for nine months. Activity is important!
Benefits of Prenatal Exercise
Everywhere you look, you can find another reason that prenatal exercise is beneficial for both mom and baby. A recent study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada notes that exercise has benefits during all three trimesters and even after delivery. These are just a few of the most popular benefits you enjoy with prenatal exercise:
- Get over that exhaustion: Pregnancy is often characterized by fatigue. If you can get through it and convince yourself to exercise, you can clear your head and put some pep in your step.
- Regulate your digestion: Pregnancy constipation is the worst. Keep your bowels moving regularly with physical exercise.
- Avoid mood swings: Tired of the hormones and emotions that come with growing a human being? Release some endorphins by hitting the gym.
- Support your limbs and muscles: As you progress through your pregnancy, your limbs and muscles will stretch and move to accumulate your changing body and your growing baby. You can keep pain away by staying physically active.
- Minimize back pain: Surprise, surprise—gaining 30 pounds in the front of your body puts a new strain on your back! Keeping your core strong and supported throughout pregnancy can keep your backaches at bay.
- Sleep better: If you’re already pregnant, sleep disturbances may be part of your daily life. Working fitness into your daily routine can help you fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply.
- Power through labor: Labor and delivery isn’t a walk in the park, but you can make it a little easier on yourself with exercise. Fit Pregnancy notes that regular exercise is linked to a lower rate of C-sections and forceps delivery.
- Heal more quickly after delivery: After you deliver your little miracle, you may heal more quickly and lose your baby weight more rapidly if you’ve stayed active during pregnancy.
What Types of Exercise Are Safe?
It’s important to consult with your care provider to ensure that exercise is a safe option for you during pregnancy. Typically, doctors allow you to continue any type of exercise that was a part of your life pre-baby. You may have to make some tweaks to stay comfortable and safe.
Tips for Effective Pregnancy Workouts
Get the most out of your pregnancy workouts with these tips:
- Move at your own pace. You may not be able to get as much done as you were before pregnancy, and that’s okay.
- Work out in the morning. Working out right before bed can disturb your sleep.
- Try a prenatal workout DVD. There are plenty of yoga DVDs intended for moms-to-be.
Next time you want to take a load off and take a nap, try working out instead! You’ll be doing yourself and your baby a favor.
http://www.fitpregnancy.com/exercise/prenatal-workouts/33-reasons-exercise-now
http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/12806449
http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/keeping-fit/fitness-matters/top-ten-benefits-of-exercise.aspx http://naturalsociety.com/7-reasons-expecting-moms-exercise-now/
