Pregnancy Workouts: Yay or Nay?

Upon first discovering that they’re expecting, many women wonder if they can continue with their active lifestyle or regular gym time.  The quick answer is YES, women can continue to exercise.  According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnancy is a good time for exercise.  Being pregnant may even be the motivator some women need to finally get active and moving.

Exercising during pregnancy can help women alleviate some common pregnancy symptoms such as constipation, swelling, bloating, and (later on) backaches.  It can help sleep cycles, prevent women from gaining too much weight, prepare the pelvis for delivery, lower risk of both gestational diabetes and C-section, potentially shorter labour, and more.

Like all things pregnancy related, however, there are a few caveats.  Pregnancy is not a time to start jumping around and doing backflips.  Women should honestly decide which of three categories they fall under, and follow the recommendations accordingly while verifying it with their OB GYN.

Category 1: Always had an active lifestyle

Women who have always been active (ex. Regular gym goers, regular sports, daily walking / jogging, etc.) can very often continue their usual activities throughout the first trimester.  After this time, however, making sure that the chosen exercises are low impact is ideal.  Walking, swimming, light weight lifting, and prenatal yoga classes are all fine.  SCUBA Diving (during all trimesters), hot yoga (during all trimesters), skiing, gymnastics, surfing, horseback riding, or any other exercises that will require shifts in altitude or have a higher risk of falling should be avoided.

Category 2: Mostly sedentary lifestyle, somewhat active

Women who are sometimes active can start slow with their pregnancy exercise routine.  Allotting ten minutes of walking each day and then slowly bringing up that time period to twenty minutes and then thirty minutes can help keep them fit during pregnancy.  They can also try other low-impact activities, such as swimming, stationary cycling (but keeping it slow paced), or an elliptical (again, keeping it on easier settings).  These women will really feel the benefits of exercise.

Category 3: Pregnancy complications present

If pregnancy complications present themselves, and as soon as these are identified by the woman or her OB GYN, exercise may need to be dialed back even more–or in worst case scenarios, women may need to be on complete bed rest.  Complications can include pre-eclampsia, vaginal bleeding, anemia, preterm pre-rupture of membranes, placenta previa, asthma, just to name a few.   Women that fall under this category need to talk to their OB GYN about what their exercise options might be.

In short, exercise is ideal for as long as the woman and baby are healthy enough to do the exercises.  Keeping in mind, of course, that some exercises simply won’t be good for both mother and baby (see category 1).  Any physical activity that leads to vaginal bleeding or spotting right after should not be done, and a call to the woman’s OB GYN is necessary to check on both her and her child’s health.