7 Most Important Tips For Exercise During Pregnancy
For years spanning decades, conventional wisdom has held that women should spend the nine months of their pregnancy mostly resting.
They were told to take it easy and not to strain and certainly not to exercise! Doctors once feared that the jarring stresses the body endures during aerobic exercise or running could damage the unborn child.
Exercise For Easier Pregnancy The attitude was so pervasive that even professional athletes were advised to remain largely on the couch.
That is now changing.
The latest studies have found that regular exercise actually helps women have an easier pregnancy, a smoother deliver with shorter labor, and a stronger baby and mother.
The first trimester of pregnancy is the most critical period of the entire nine months.
This is because during this time, the unborn child's organ systems first begin to form, and during this period, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can lead to deformities that last a lifetime.
For example, if your unborn does not get enough folic acid, it can lead to defects that can cause spina bifida.
Eating Healthy All that to say that this is not the time to starve yourself.
You definitely don't want to be skimping on the calories during this period, and should always eat healthy foods.
Remember, what you eat serves as the baby's building blocks.
The more good stuff you give your baby, the better off he or she will be, and the more likely to grow into a perfectly healthy bouncing baby when the time comes.
It should also be noted that the first trimester is also when a woman's body undergoes the most profound changes.
You may not look pregnant during that period, but you'll very definitely feel it.
Cravings and aversions, nausea and fatigue, mood swings and morning sickness...
all of these are a normal part of the all important first trimester.
Overcome Desire To Skip Workouts Oftentimes, these changes are the driving force behind a woman's desire or decision to forgo morning or evening workouts.
After all, it's hard to get motivated to work out when you struggle to keep breakfast down, but there are tremendous benefits for doing so.
Not only will regular exercise reduce various risk factors for pregnancy, but they can also lessen the impact of those side effects mentioned above.
Exercise While Monitoring Body Temperature If you had a well established exercise routine before your pregnancy, your exercise guidelines will be somewhat different from a woman who is just beginning an exercise program for the first time on learning they are pregnant.
Women who are accustomed to regular exercise need to take care that their efforts do not cause an increase in body temperature which can harm the unborn child.
The intensity of your exercise should be reduced from what you're used to, but should not be stopped altogether.
Women who begin their exercise program on learning that they are pregnant should not focus on cardio-based exercises, or attempt to see radical improvements to their cardiovascular health with an intense program.
Instead, the focus should be on lower intensity exercises like walking or swimming for thirty to forty-five minutes everyday.
Monitor Your Heart Rate Basic workout precautions should include monitoring your heart rate to be sure that it doesn't get any higher than 140 beats per minute.
Remember, your baby's heart rate is tied to your own, and at that young age, anything over 140 beats is going to put undue strain on your unborn child.
You also want to watch your fluid intake and drink plenty of water.
No such thing as too much here.
Also, avoid exercising in extremely hot, humid conditions and at high altitudes.
The same warning applies to you as applied to women who exercised regularly before becoming pregnant.
Your body's temperature affects the baby.
Avoid Over-stretching Exercises Take special care not to hyper-extend your muscles by over-stretching.
In the early stages of pregnancy in the first trimester, the hormone called relaxin is released into the body.
This hormone increases the flexibility of your connective tissue, ligaments and tendons, to prepare your body for delivery.
It's quite common for women to strain muscles and ligaments during the course of their pregnancy because of this.
The key thing here is to listen to what your body is telling you and don't exceed your limits.
You may also want to take this time to begin practicing Kegel exercises to strengthen your muscles during the delivery itself.
This will also help support your uterus, intestines and bladder, so it's a good idea for multiple reasons.
Know When To Stop Most important of all though, is this: Know when to stop.
This goes back to the point about learning what your limits are by listening to your body, then taking care not to exceed those limits.
If you experience any symptoms like feeling light headed, sudden headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, bleeding or unexpected pain, stop immediately.
These could be signs of serious issues.
Contact your physician immediately, and don't try to exercise again until you get the okay from your doctor.
For a variety of reasons, exercise, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy, can be beneficial for both you and your baby, with benefits extending several months beyond delivery.
They were told to take it easy and not to strain and certainly not to exercise! Doctors once feared that the jarring stresses the body endures during aerobic exercise or running could damage the unborn child.
Exercise For Easier Pregnancy The attitude was so pervasive that even professional athletes were advised to remain largely on the couch.
That is now changing.
The latest studies have found that regular exercise actually helps women have an easier pregnancy, a smoother deliver with shorter labor, and a stronger baby and mother.
The first trimester of pregnancy is the most critical period of the entire nine months.
This is because during this time, the unborn child's organ systems first begin to form, and during this period, deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can lead to deformities that last a lifetime.
For example, if your unborn does not get enough folic acid, it can lead to defects that can cause spina bifida.
Eating Healthy All that to say that this is not the time to starve yourself.
You definitely don't want to be skimping on the calories during this period, and should always eat healthy foods.
Remember, what you eat serves as the baby's building blocks.
The more good stuff you give your baby, the better off he or she will be, and the more likely to grow into a perfectly healthy bouncing baby when the time comes.
It should also be noted that the first trimester is also when a woman's body undergoes the most profound changes.
You may not look pregnant during that period, but you'll very definitely feel it.
Cravings and aversions, nausea and fatigue, mood swings and morning sickness...
all of these are a normal part of the all important first trimester.
Overcome Desire To Skip Workouts Oftentimes, these changes are the driving force behind a woman's desire or decision to forgo morning or evening workouts.
After all, it's hard to get motivated to work out when you struggle to keep breakfast down, but there are tremendous benefits for doing so.
Not only will regular exercise reduce various risk factors for pregnancy, but they can also lessen the impact of those side effects mentioned above.
Exercise While Monitoring Body Temperature If you had a well established exercise routine before your pregnancy, your exercise guidelines will be somewhat different from a woman who is just beginning an exercise program for the first time on learning they are pregnant.
Women who are accustomed to regular exercise need to take care that their efforts do not cause an increase in body temperature which can harm the unborn child.
The intensity of your exercise should be reduced from what you're used to, but should not be stopped altogether.
Women who begin their exercise program on learning that they are pregnant should not focus on cardio-based exercises, or attempt to see radical improvements to their cardiovascular health with an intense program.
Instead, the focus should be on lower intensity exercises like walking or swimming for thirty to forty-five minutes everyday.
Monitor Your Heart Rate Basic workout precautions should include monitoring your heart rate to be sure that it doesn't get any higher than 140 beats per minute.
Remember, your baby's heart rate is tied to your own, and at that young age, anything over 140 beats is going to put undue strain on your unborn child.
You also want to watch your fluid intake and drink plenty of water.
No such thing as too much here.
Also, avoid exercising in extremely hot, humid conditions and at high altitudes.
The same warning applies to you as applied to women who exercised regularly before becoming pregnant.
Your body's temperature affects the baby.
Avoid Over-stretching Exercises Take special care not to hyper-extend your muscles by over-stretching.
In the early stages of pregnancy in the first trimester, the hormone called relaxin is released into the body.
This hormone increases the flexibility of your connective tissue, ligaments and tendons, to prepare your body for delivery.
It's quite common for women to strain muscles and ligaments during the course of their pregnancy because of this.
The key thing here is to listen to what your body is telling you and don't exceed your limits.
You may also want to take this time to begin practicing Kegel exercises to strengthen your muscles during the delivery itself.
This will also help support your uterus, intestines and bladder, so it's a good idea for multiple reasons.
Know When To Stop Most important of all though, is this: Know when to stop.
This goes back to the point about learning what your limits are by listening to your body, then taking care not to exceed those limits.
If you experience any symptoms like feeling light headed, sudden headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, bleeding or unexpected pain, stop immediately.
These could be signs of serious issues.
Contact your physician immediately, and don't try to exercise again until you get the okay from your doctor.
For a variety of reasons, exercise, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy, can be beneficial for both you and your baby, with benefits extending several months beyond delivery.
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