Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy and Exercise’
During the first month of your pregnancy you are probably not even aware of the fact that you have conceived. Most exercise that you do in the first two or three months is unlikely to harm your baby. And the fitter and healthier you are at the time of conception and throughout the duration of your pregnancy, the greater your chances of a healthy baby and a shorter, easier delivery. Many women have run, jogged, cycled, swum and danced their way through pregnancy and they have had the advantages of a greater sense of fitness and physical well-being, less weight gained, a faster recovery after the birth of their babies and a shorter time regaining their figures.
The days have gone where doctors advised pregnant women to stop working and put their feet up for nine months of physical inactivity. Women now know that this led to poor muscle tone, reduced body awareness and, in fact, a body that was ill-prepared for the rigorous demands of labor. Of course, you will need regular periods of rest and relaxation when you are pregnant, but you require exercise, too. So there is no need to stop your sports or active exercise in the first few months unless your doctor advises strongly against it on medical grounds.
As the months pass, you will need to moderate your usual exercise programme as your ‘bump’ gets larger.
You can either exercise at home or attend the special classes that are now held for pregnant women at many gyms, leisure centers and exercise studios. These usually cater for women from their third month onwards. Work-outs and exercise programmers are devised to build strength and stamina for labor, to maintain muscle tone and flexibility and to teach body awareness. It is surprising how little many women know about their own bodies and how they function. During pregnancy you will want to understand more about the internal workings of your body and how they affect the baby growing inside you. An increased awareness of your body acquired through physical exercise can heighten your physical responses and help you to understand your pregnancy better and to be more conscious of your unborn child.
Regular exercise can help teach you to listen to your body, to get to know its limitations and also to realize its potential for endurance and flexibility — two qualities that will be needed in labor. The stronger and suppler your body is, the easier and faster you should be able to give birth to your baby and recover afterwards.
The best time to start exercising is before you get pregnant so that you can build up a level of fitness and strength in advance. This sort of fitness is easier to maintain throughout your pregnancy than if you have to start from scratch in the second or third month. Also, it is important to establish the fitness habit and to make exercise an integral part of your lifestyle and daily routine. If you are used to exercising regularly, it will be less difficult and tiresome to continue doing so throughout your pregnancy.
Someone who is reasonably fit and active before conception can usually continue to swim, cycle, dance, work-out or jog well into their pregnancy as long as she does not feel any discomfort or pain. Inevitably as the months pass and you get heavier, you will find yourself slowing down and you will not be able to achieve what was once possible and normal. Be sure to check with your doctor or midwife if you are worried about exercising during pregnancy.
1. You will feel fitter, happier and more energetic if you exercise throughout your pregnancy. You will get to know and like your body. This is very important as your body assumes new, unfamiliar curves, your waistline thickens, and some fat may build up on upper arms, thighs and hips. Although these may be the inevitable result of hormonal changes within you, they can be controlled with regular exercise.
2. Exercise will strengthen your muscles. This is not only important during labor but also in the months leading up to it. During pregnancy your poor muscles have to take a lot of extra strain – for example, if your abdominal muscles are slightly flabby, your lower back muscles will have to bear all the hard work of supporting your spine and this may lead to lower backache – a common enough problem in later pregnancy.
3. Regular exercise can help keep all muscles in good working order – keep them well-toned and strong. Gentle exercise repeated every day can firm up abdominal, hip and leg muscles and sagging upper arms, and strengthen shoulders, back and chest muscles.
4 As you exercise and tone up these muscles, you will control any extra weight gain in these areas. Although you are not exercising to lose weight, you are toning up the muscles underneath the rounded, fleshy pads that may appear. These trouble-spots will gradually disappear after the baby is born, especially if you breastfeed your child and practice your postnatal exercises.
5. Scientific research has shown that well-toned, strong muscles will help in delivery, too. You can increase your chances of having a shorter, easier labor. Women who are physically fit and exercise regularly throughout their pregnancies suffer fewer complications in labor and 50 per cent less Caesarean births. They have more strength and stamina, are more physically aware of their bodies and how muscle groups work. Thus they are better able to control the contractions and the pace of the birth itself.
6. Aerobic exercise such as walking, cycling, jogging, swimming and dancing promotes cardiovascular fitness – a stronger heart and circulatory system. Thus you can pump oxygen more efficiently to meet the requirements of your baby. Better circulation has beauty spin-offs, too. You are less likely to develop ugly varicose veins in your legs.
7. Cardiovascular fitness can also reduce your chances of suffering many common pregnancy aches and pains – good circulation leads to better bowel action and can prevent constipation and piles.
8. Exercise can help develop stronger back muscles and better posture. You will discover that your weight load shifts forwards as the baby grows and your balance will change as your centre of gravity is situated in your abdomen. You may develop a tendency to throw yourself forwards, or lean backwards to counteract this. Neither is right and will only lead to unnecessary backache. Exercise will strengthen your back and abdominal muscles and help you to walk tall and straight.
9. If you are unused to exercise you may fad that it brings a whole new dimension to your life – you will feel more energetic and more confident about your changing body and the whole experiment of being pregnant. You will also have the reassurance of knowing that the more you do to keep yourself in good shape, fit and healthy, the more likely it is that your baby will be healthy, too
10. Last but not least, keeping fit in pregnancy not only speeds up the process of regaining your natural body shape after birth, but it also builds strength and endurance for the task of coping with a small baby and being permanently on call for the first few weeks. This is an emotional time for many women – they feel tired or weak and yet they need to summon up all their reserves of strength to face up to the challenge of caring for a new life. Strong arm and back muscles will help you carry the growing baby in your arms and lift her up from her cot or pram.
If you have not exercised regularly in the past, pregnancy is not the time to embark on a strenuous exercise programme. However, this does not mean that you should continue to be totally inactive. Even if you are very unfit indeed, there is still a wide range of exercises that you can do to improve flexibility, suppleness and muscle tone and strengthen your heart. Do not leave it until the fourth month or even later in your pregnancy. Start now as soon as you discover that you are pregnant.
How do you start? Well, if you are overweight or anxious about your level of fitness you should seek your doctor’s advice. Whatever form of exercise you choose, it is important to start off slowly and build up your fitness gradually. The old maxim is: train don’t strain. This means not trying to run before you can walk and only increasing the number of repetitions of certain exercises, or the distance you swim, walk or cycle as you feel stronger.
Walking is one of the best ways to start exercising. It can be gentle or brisk; you can control the pace and rest whenever you feel tired or breathless. Try to walk for at least 30 minutes every day and make it part of your routine. Although it may not feel particularly demanding or strenuous, walking has cardiovascular benefits and it will help improve your general circulation and increase the oxygen flow to your developing baby. For short shopping expeditions or visiting friends who live locally, walk instead of taking the car. Be sure to wear flat, comfortable shoes with well-cushioned soles as high heels may distort your natural posture and encourage backache.
If you are tempted to join an exercise class, be sure to tell the instructor that you are pregnant and ask her if there are any exercises that you should not attempt. Concentrate only on gentle exercises with fewer repetitions if you are unfit and out of condition or, better still, join a specially devised antenatal class. Some cater only for women who are more than three months pregnant so you may have to be content with walking, swimming or cycling for a couple of months while you wait.
There is no reason why you should not continue running, walking, cycling, swimming, dancing or working-out throughout your pregnancy if you have achieved a reasonable level of fitness and are used to doing it for at least 20-30 minutes per session three or more times per week. However, if you feel any pain or discomfort you should stop immediately. If pain persists, consult a doctor.
Some fit women continue to jog right through their pregnancies, even on the day that labor starts! Invariably they enjoy easy deliveries, regain their figures quickly and resume running within weeks of the birth. If you are one of them, pay particular attention to your clothing and make sure that it is loose and not restricting in any way. Your shoes should have well-conditioned soles for extra shock absorption as you pound the ground more heavily than usual. Run only on grass. Roads and hard surfaces tend to jar your spine, joints and muscles and may lead to injury. If you have never run before and are reading this, please do not take up jogging for the first time in pregnancy. Although it is an excellent preparation for pregnancy it may be harmful rather than beneficial if you start training after conception and are unused to the strains it places on your body.