If you’re newly pregnant, you’re probably noticing changes in your body. Depending on how far along you are, these might present in your physical appearance or energy levels. Maybe you’ve gone up a few pants sizes, or down a few intensity levels at the gym.
Bodily changes can take a minute to get used to — and not everyone (re: society) likes the idea of gaining weight or losing energy. Lest we forget, there’s a whole industry built off of incentives to shed pounds. But when it comes to pregnancy, growing is a good thing. Embracing the changes in your body and slowing down movements may help you and your future baby stay safe in the weeks leading up to delivery. Tailoring exercise to support, not manipulate, your body can help support you in your pregnancy.
“You are everything your baby needs exactly as you are,” says Laura Fletcher, a certified doula and coach who works with clients on how to increase their fertility.
She adds that healthy exercise is important at every stage of life, including pregnancy. During pregnancy, however, people may need to be more mindful of a few details to protect themselves and their future baby.
[See: Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.]
Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy
While your workout routine may look different than it did before pregnancy, incorporating some sort of movement into your routine can have health benefits, including:
— Elevating your mood
— Avoiding excessive weight gain
— Promoting strength and relaxation
Elevating your mood
Pregnant or not, exercise can increase the brain’s production of endorphins and serotonin, elevating mood. While pregnant, exercise may help combat stress from hormonal and lifestyle changes.
Avoiding excessive weight gain
When doctors warn against unnecessary weight gain, they aren’t trying to get you bikini ready. They’re helping you reduce the risks of dangerous complications entering your pregnancy.
“Don’t get me wrong, you should gain weight — it’s expected, it’s normal — but there are healthy ranges of weight gain versus excessive weight gain,” says Dr. Asima Ahmad, an OB-GYN based in Chicago and co-founder and chief medical officer of Carrot Fertility, a health care organization focused on fertility care. “If you can optimize weight before pregnancy, that’s great. If not, focusing on keeping your body active so you gain a healthy amount of weight can help reduce risks during pregnancy.”
According to a 2016 CDC report, most people gain more than what is deemed safe or healthy for them during pregnancy. What quantifies a healthy pregnancy weight gain depends on a person’s starting body mass index, which is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for a person carrying one baby, not twins or more, these are healthy amounts of weight gain during a pregnancy:
— Normal BMI. For people who have a normal BMI, which is considered within the range of 18.5 to 24.9, a healthy amount of weight to gain is between 20 and 35 pounds.
— Low BMI. People who are underweight, or have a BMI under 18.5, may be able to safely gain between 28 and 40 pounds.
— High BMI. People who are overweight, with a BMI of 25 to 29.9, or have obesity, with a BMI of 30 or greater, may be able to safely gain as few as 11 pounds.
Pregnant people who are overweight or have obesity can be at a higher risk for several threatening health conditions like gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension or preeclampsia. Gestational hypertension is a high blood pressure condition in pregnancy where people do not have protein in their urine or have other kidney or heart problems. It usually resolves after giving birth.
Preeclampsia is another high blood pressure condition that can arise during late pregnancy, sometimes provoked by gestational hypertension. Studies show that 15% to 25% of people diagnosed with gestational hypertension can develop preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can increase risks for seizures and other dangers to both the pregnant person and fetus, some of which are life-threatening.
Other risk factors that can increase chances of preeclampsia include obesity, age over 40, multiple gestation, being Black and history of preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy.
Promoting strength and relaxation
If you were highly active before your pregnancy, keeping up with movement may help you continue to feel like yourself and allow you to practice the activities and hobbies you enjoy. However, try to remember that your athletic capabilities will likely change during these few months, and that’s natural.
[Read: Gestational Diabetes Symptoms: What to Watch For]
Best Exercises During Pregnancy
The following exercises are likely your best bet during pregnancy:
— Walking
— Swimming
Fletcher adds that “overdoing it generally looks like discomfort or potentially cramping, overall exhaustion or fatigue.”
“The best gauge is intuitively listening to our body and our doctors,” Fletcher adds. “If we feel overexerted, slow down, take a break or stop entirely.”
[See: 12 Signs You Should Stop Exercising Immediately.]
Risks of Exercising During Pregnancy — and How to Avoid Them
A healthy dose of movement can support your pregnancy, but overdoing exercise may pose more harm than good.
“During pregnancy, we have to be cognizant of our shifts in balance and center of gravity. We also should be careful to avoid straining or over-exhausting ourselves,” Fletcher says.
The later you get into your pregnancy, it can be especially important to avoid exercises that put a strain on your lower abdominals or settings that create risks for falling.
Take the following steps to avoid risks while exercising during pregnancy:
— Stay on a steady surface.
— Assess your intensity levels.
— Shift your ‘lifting muscles.’
— Stick with what you know.
— Know your risk level.
Stay on a steady surface
During pregnancy, the body hikes up production of relaxin, a hormone produced by the ovaries and in the placenta. Like its name suggests, relaxin promotes bodily relaxation. It’s incredibly important for relaxing areas around the pelvis, which can ease strain during childbirth. But relaxin can loosen up ligaments in other parts of the body too, and may make the body unusually wobbly — increasing fall risks in precarious environments.
Falling can be especially dangerous during pregnancy, Ahmad says. In extreme situations, falling can lead to complications like placenta abruption, where the placenta separates from the uterine wall during pregnancy. This is a serious condition that can increase neonatal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Among other unwanted outcomes, this separation can cause extreme bleeding for the mother and a lack or loss of oxygen for the fetus, as the placenta supplies the fetus with oxygen and food.
People with placenta abruption will need immediate medical care. Depending on the scenario a person could need a blood transfusion or need to give birth right away. A person experiencing a placenta abruption may experience cramping or vaginal bleeding. However, symptoms are not always obvious, so Ahmad recommends those in their second or third trimesters schedule regular medical check-ins to monitor risks, and call a doctor if they are concerned about a fall.
“Some people feel it and it’s painful, and some people don’t,” Ahmad says. “If there’s any indication that something might be happening, you want to have them in the hospital to watch them.”
Avoiding falling may look different from person to person, but it can require refraining from certain high-intensity endeavors, like climbing, hiking or biking. Ahmad, who is an avid cyclist, says she took a break from her hobby during pregnancy to protect her health.
“For me, it was hard because I loved riding my bike along the lake with my friends,” she says. “I did the stationary bike for a little bit because I knew I was going to eventually deliver, and it’s just so important to avoid falling.”
[Related:Pregnancy and Body Image in a Post-Roe World]
Assess your intensity levels
A good way to know if an exercise is over the top is to assess your breathing levels, Ahmad says. In the third trimester especially, “you don’t want to be gasping for air.”
So, if your regular routine is causing you to feel more breathless than usual — or involves high exertion to start out with — it is smart to cut back until you have given birth and recovered from your delivery.
Being able to comfortably hold a chat while exercising can be a signal that your workout is most likely safe and healthy for your body, Ahmad says. It can be a good excuse to workout out with a friend too.
When it comes to specific workouts, Ahmad says that running and jogging is typically accessible during early stages of pregnancy, but some people may need to cut back on cardio as the pregnancy progresses due to jostling in the pelvic area or the abdomen. This is most important in the third trimester because the fetus is larger and your joints are looser. However, some studies say that most people can still undergo a safe pregnancy if they exercise vigorously in the third trimester.
Shift your ‘lifting’ muscles
Similar to shifts in cardio intensity, pregnancy — particularly late stages — isn’t the best time to practice heavy weightlifting. Heavy lifting or thrusting can require engagement of abdominal muscles and other muscles near the pelvis, which are particularly vulnerable during pregnancy.
However, refraining from heavy lifting doesn’t mean you can’t pick things up. Ahmad says that patients who already have babies often ask her if it’s safe to hold their children. The answer to this is yes, so long as people focus on what muscles they are using to hold their kids. Particularly in the second trimester and after, shifting muscular engagement to the legs can protect the body, she says.
“Don’t use your core, abdomen and back to lift your baby or toddler up, use your legs,” Ahmad says. For exercise, people should “avoid too much bending of your core and abdomen.”
The biggest takeaway: Be careful about exercise that puts you at risk for falling or hurting your abdomen.
Stick with what you know
If you haven’t been accustomed to running or weightlifting before your pregnancy, you may not want to start now.
Ahmad says that “one important thing in helping you determine what type of activities or exercises are OK during pregnancy is asking yourself what you were doing before you got pregnant.”
“If you’re a very active person, it’s OK to continue doing that in early pregnancy, with modifications,” she adds. “But if you’re someone who’s sedentary, pregnancy is not when you’re going to suddenly start working out seven days a week.”
Above all, it’s important to meet your body where it’s at and practice movement that supports your unique body during this time.
Know your risk
Some people shouldn’t exercise at all during pregnancy — and that’s OK. If your doctor tells you to refrain from working out, the best advice is to trust that this the healthiest thing for you and your body. Cervical complications, heart problems or conditions involving abnormal placement of the placenta could all be reasons not to exercise during pregnancy, Ahmad says.
People without high-risk conditions should still be mindful of how exercise is impacting their body. If you’re feeling dizzy, lightheaded, having vaginal bleeding or experiencing contractions during a workout, then those are signs to cut back or seek medical advice, Ahmad says.
“At the end of the day, you know your body best,” Ahmad says. “If something doesn’t feel right, stop and listen to your body.”
Further, remember that while general exercise tips can help some people, these suggestions are not tailored to your individual needs or one-size-fits-all. Always talk with your doctor before starting or continuing an exercise regimen while pregnant.
[READ: Postpartum Fitness Tips.]
The Importance of Post-Pregnancy Recovery
Athletes take time to recover after competitions. New mothers can do the same after pregnancy. After months of baby-building, your body will be more than deserving of rest post-pregnancy — and in need of it too. Depending on what type of delivery you had, you may be especially sore in certain areas or groggy from medication. You may also feel depleted of energy or be healing from stitches or surgical incisions.
Fletcher recommends spending the first month after birth “resting and recharging.”
“We should not be exercising for anything beyond mental wellness or circulation,” she says. “Very light walking!”
But like your pregnancy, this stage of your life is temporary. And, if you’ve incorporated healthy movement in the months before giving birth, chances are your energy and mood will be more elevated to begin with during your recovery.
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Exercising During Pregnancy originally appeared on usnews.com
