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Exercise during pregnancy is safe and healthy. Exercise can improve your life in some many ways that I would encourage everyone to exercise as long as they don`t have any of the reasons that you shouldn`t exercise.

Exercises that you could consider during pregnancy would include walking, swimming, Pilates, pelvic floor exercises. They are a good place to start.

The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain. It will also help you to cope with labour.

What are the benefits of exercise during pregnancy?

There are so many benefits to exercising during pregnancy. It:

  • maintains or improves your fitness (being fitter and healthier will then help you during labour and  with recovery after childbirth)i
  • is proven to improve your sleep
  • improves wellbeing & mental health
  • will hep you make friends! If you do a class you will meet other women and support each other

Are there any risks associated with exercise during pregnancy?

There are a few if you don’t know what you are doing. For the most part exercise has a lot of benefits for women including improving your fitness,  your mood, sleep, for preparation for carrying a heavy pregnancy and going through labour.

However, there are number of people who should consult their doctor before exercising. If you:

  • have an active bleeding
  • have ruptured your membranes
  • have history of high blood pressure that is not well controlled
  • had previous miscarriage of pre-term birth

How much exercise is OK during pregnancy?

The recommendation in Ireland is that you should exercise 30 minutes a day 5 times a week (150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise). You can divide that into different blocks if you want and you can break it up during the week any way you can. I encourage women to work it into their own routine, so walk a little further to the bus stop, walk instead of driving whenever you can, take stairs instead of an elevator. There is lots of different ways that you can incorporate exercise into your own routine where it is not necessarily scheduled or a class.

Yoga Pilates & swimming are all good form of exercise. Sometimes though, they do not increase the heart rate to the level that we want it to be increased to. The best thing would be to use it in combination of another form of exercise such as brisk walk. Another important thing is to choose an exercise than you enjoy, so you will be more likely to do it regularly. Also, joining a group or a friend can help you to be more consistent with exercise plan.

Exercise during 1st trimester

The best exercise is the one that is safe, comfortable, and enjoyable for you. Exercise should get you your heart rate elevated, but you should not be exercising at too high an intensity. 

A good test to ensure that you are getting a moderate intensity exercise is doing a test that we call a ‘walk & talk ‘test. The talk test is where you should be able to maintain a conversation ( you should not be gasping for breath or struggling to breathing) while you are exercising.

Weight are ok to use during your 1st trimester if you use weights normally. Don`t use weights if you haven`t used them before.

Ensure you can activate your pelvic floor and tummy muscles correctly to give your body all the support it needs. Ensure you’re not holding your breath, that you have a good exercise technique to avoid strains, injury or pelvic floor issues.

Is weight lifting safe during pregnancy?

If you regularly lifted weights before pregnancy, you very likely can continue with some modifications. If you’re new to lifting, you should probably speak with your doctor first. It is very important for women who are already fit not to lose that fitness and that part of themselves when they are exercising during pregnancy. For a lot of women exercises is what keeps them sane too. They are a heart rate targets depending on your age so it is important to monitor it while exercising. Also, avoid plyometric movements (such as box jumps) because your relaxin hormone will increase the risk of injury.

For women who are weight lifting, running or exercise at a higher level is really important not to loose that fitness during pregnancy. It is important however, to listen to your body.  It will tell you when you need to slow down. Make sure you don`t overheat and stay hydrated.

What exercises should an overweight woman do during pregnancy?

If you are overweight or obese and you are worried about starting exercise during pregnancy, please don`t. Try and do something active every day. Often pregnancy can be a moment when you may want to make a change to your lifestyle. And this is as good a time as any to start. I would advice though that if you have been sedentary for a long time, just to start slow, maybe with a 5-10minutes bouts of exercise such as walking. It is a good idea to meet with Women`s Health Physiotherapist so they can show you how to exercise safely and correctly.

If you are overweight or obese there are number of risks for you and your baby including high blood pressure, diabetes. Exercise has been shown to reduce them.

Is is safe to run while pregnant?

If you ran or jogged regularly before your pregnancy, you can carry on for as long as you feel comfortable. Running is great aerobic exercise and can help you to have a fit and healthy pregnancy. However, it is not recommended to take up running if you have not done it before, especially in the first trimester. Also ensure that you are monitoring any pelvic floor symptoms (such as pressure downwards, bladder leaking or pain) and make sure you have that sufficient support when running. Generally, I would not recommend continuing running into the 3rd trimester as this can put a lot of pressure through the pelvic floor at that point. As always, listen to your body and it will tell you when to slow down.

What exercises should be avoided during pregnancy?

Avoid working at too hight intensity. Avoid tight clothing and too many layers to prevent overheating. Drink water to avoid dehydration. We also recommend not to take up any new form of exercises. The reason for this is that your body is changing in shape, and the pregnancy hormones increase, you can be more prone to injury.

Also we do recommend that you can still lie on your back while exercising during the first trimester.

The guidelines don`t recommend until week 16 that you don`t exercise on your back. Try standing, kneeling or all-fours positions instead.

When to stop exercising during pregnancy?

If you feel:

  • dizzy
  • pain
  • notice bleeding
  • notice bladder leaking

stop the exercise and consult tour doctor. If you feel fatigue, scale back, take a break and reduce number of repetitions. Always adapt the exercise to your current fitness level.

If you don`t know where to start, make sure to contact Women`s Health Physiotherapist.

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