The benefits of exercise during pregnancy

Everyone can benefit from exercise. Our bodies are meant to move. But there are special reasons to be active while trying to conceive and while pregnant. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, which improves fertility health and is associated with healthier pregnancies and birth outcomes.

According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can also reduce some of the discomforts of pregnancy, such as backaches and constipation. And exercise helps you sleep better. 

    1. Start now: The best time to start exercising is before you conceive, to strengthen your body for the challenges of pregnancy. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week. Or go for 75 minutes of intense aerobic exercise a week and add two days of strength training. If you’re not exercising that much right now, work up to it in ten-minute increments. But don’t overdo it. You should be able to hold a conversation while you work out.
    2. Keep it up: Once you become pregnant, keep up that same level of activity. Good exercises during pregnancy include walking, swimming, water aerobics, using a rowing machine or stationary bicycle, yoga, and stretching. If you lift weights, use light ones with more repetitions. Running is probably safe if you were already a runner before getting pregnant. If you have any questions about safe exercising, consult your healthcare provider.
    3. Be on the lookout: Be sure to drink water while you exercise, and listen to your body. The following are signs that you need to stop: abdominal pain, chest pain, dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath, uterine contractions, or vaginal bleeding. If these symptoms continue after you stop exercising, seek medical attention.
    4. Ease back in: After the baby comes, exercise can help you lose the baby weight, restore your abdominal muscles, reduce stress, and boost your mood. Talk to your health care provider about the best time to start, and when you do, build back up to your previous level of activity gradually. Walks around the neighborhood with the baby are a good, gentle first exercise.


Benefits of exercise for mothers:

Exercise provides important benefits for expectant moms. Exercise can help:

  • Reduce delivery complications. Studies have shown women who exercised during pregnancy were less likely to develop gestational diabetes or have unplanned cesarean sections than those who didn’t follow a fitness plan (2). And women who exercised three times a week gained less weight during pregnancy and were less likely to have heavier babies (more than nine pounds at birth) which can lead to complications during delivery (3). 
  • Improve overall health and well-being. Exercise has a positive effect on cardiovascular function, and can suppress excessive pregnancy weight gain, decrease musculoskeletal discomfort, reduce muscle cramps and lower limb edema, decrease preterm birth, increase neonatal lean body mass, and expand placenta volume (4). 
  • Postpartum recovery: The better your fitness level before delivery, the faster you can recover after giving birth. 
  • Lower blood pressure: During pregnancy, it’s normal for blood pressure to occasionally go up, but too much elevation can be a warning sign of preeclampsia. Even moderate exercise has been found to keep blood pressure from rising (6).
  • Relieve discomfort: Your growing baby puts extra pressure on your lower body, often resulting in an achy back and pelvis. Exercise can help relieve lower-back and pelvic pain during late pregnancy (7).
  • Energy levels: Many women feel fatigued during the first trimester, and again in the third trimester approaching delivery. Simply taking a walk—even when you are feeling tired—can improve your energy level.
  • Sleep: Sleep is precious when you are pregnant. Pregnant women often have a harder time falling asleep. Regular exercise can improve the quality of your sleep and help you wake more rested.
  • Keep you regular:Staying active helps keep your digestive system functioning well and helps fight constipation, often a challenge during pregnancy.


Benefits of exercise for baby:

In addition to the benefits for mom, there are also proven benefits for your developing baby.

  • Better neuromotor skills: Exercise during pregnancy can positively influence developing systems allowing for improved neuromotor development, leading to infants who are more adept at movement, and presumably more likely to be active, which may also potentially reduce childhood risk of obesity (8).
  • Better heart health: In research, the babies of moms who exercised regularly during pregnancy had lower fetal heart rate and increased heart rate variability (associated with cardiovascular fitness) which persisted after birth, suggesting a positive impact on cardiovascular health (9).
  • Less body fat: Studies show that a mom’s activity levels during pregnancy are associated with decreased neonatal fat levels without significantly reducing the baby’s neonatal fat-free mass (10).

        Is exercise safe during pregnancy?

        For most women, exercise is safe during pregnancy, and with so many potential benefits to you and your baby, it’s usually recommended. If you were already active before pregnancy, it’s likely safe for you to continue to be physically active during pregnancy. Exercise does not put you at risk for miscarriage in a normal pregnancy. Check with your healthcare provider and bring up any questions you have specific to your pregnancy.

        Exercise during pregnancy is not about weight loss but about supporting your overall fitness. Staying active throughout your pregnancy can make weight loss easier after delivery and continuing to stay active once you recover from labor, can make postpartum easier. 


        Is physical activity safe for all pregnant women?

        For some women, exercise is not safe during pregnancy. Your provider can help you determine whether exercise is safe for you. 


          Best types of exercise during pregnancy

          If you haven’t been exercising before becoming pregnant, discuss your plans with your healthcare provider and ease into things gently.

          • Walking: Walking is a great place to start if regular exercise is not already part of your routine.
          • Yoga and pilates: Let your instructor recommend modified poses where necessary. Many places offer special classes created for expectant moms.
          • Swimming: Swimming is easier on your joints and muscles and the support of the water feels especially good as your baby grows.
          • Stationary bike: A stationary bike can be safer than a traditional bike, especially as your belly grows and balance is affected.
          • Strength training: Weight training can help you build muscle and strengthen bones. Go easy on the amount of weight and check in with your provider.
          • Squatting: Doing squats during pregnancy can be good practice for squatting during labor which can open your pelvic outlet to help your baby descend.
          • Pelvic tilts: Pelvic tilts strengthen the muscles in your abdomen and help alleviate back pain during pregnancy and labor. 


          Activities to avoid during pregnancy

          Tune in to your body and don’t do any exercise to the point of exhaustion. 

          • Activities where falling is more likely
          • Exercise that may cause any abdominal trauma
          • Activities that require extensive jumping, hopping, skipping, or bouncing
          • Contact sports
          • Waist twisting movements while standing
          • Scuba Diving 
          • Skydiving
          • Intense bursts of exercise 
          • Exercise in hot, humid weather or high altitude
          • Don’t hold your breath for an extended period of time


            Body changes that can affect exercise

            During pregnancy, your body changes in many ways. Even if you are regularly very active, you may notice some differences when exercising while pregnant. You can lose your balance more easily. Your body temperature is slightly higher during pregnancy, so you start sweating sooner. The growing pressure on your diaphragm might make you short of breath and you may feel you have less overall energy than before. Your heart works harder and beats faster during pregnancy to get oxygen to your baby. Pregnancy hormone levels can relax the tissues that support your joints so be careful not to strain them.

             

            Exercise is important after giving birth

            Exercise continues to be important after you birth your baby. It may help improve your mood and help you manage stress, keep up your energy, lose pregnancy pounds, and recover from delivery.

            Don’t forget nutrition needs

            Good nutrition goes hand-in-hand with your exercise plan and is important for your health and the health of your developing baby. It’s difficult to get everything you need from diet alone. Taking a high-quality prenatal multivitamin is the best way to fill in any nutrient gaps.

            Regular exercise is always important, but the more you can stay active in pregnancy, the better you will feel and the better prepared for your baby’s arrival.

            Madhavi Gupta, MD

            Madhavi Gupta, MD

            Madhavi Gupta, MD is the founder and CEO of Best Nest Wellness. Dr. Gupta is a board-certified neurologist and has won The People’s Choice Award as a favorite doctor three years in a row. She holds a degree in biochemistry and humanities from MIT, completed her neurology residency in New York City, and completed her fellowship in headache medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

            References

            1) Pregnancy and exercise: Baby, let’s move! Mayo Clinic. 2019 Jun 15. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/pregnancy-and-exercise/art-20046896

            (2) Effect of diet and physical activity based interventions in pregnancy on gestational weight gain and pregnancy outcomes: meta-analysis of individual participant data from randomised trials BMJ 2017; 358 :j3119. https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3119

            (3) Exercise during pregnancy and gestational diabetes-related adverse effects: a randomised controlled trialBritish Journal of Sports Medicine 2013;47:630-636. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/10/630.short

            (4) Encyclopedia of Reproduction (Second Edition), 2018. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/exercise-during-pregnancy

            (5) Aerobic exercise training during pregnancy reduces depressive symptoms in nulliparous women: a randomised trial, Journal of Physiotherapy, Volume 58, Issue 1, 2012,Pages 9-15. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S183695531270067X

            (6) The effect of walking on pregnancy blood pressure disorders in women susceptible to pregnancy hypertension: A randomized clinical trial. J Educ Health Promot. 2019;8:95. Published 2019 May 14.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6532352/

            (7) Prevalence data among 3482 women, and prediction of low-back pain, pelvic girdle pain and depression, BJM, Volume 47, Issue 8, May 2013.

            (8) Effects of Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy on 1-Month Infant Neuromotor Skills. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019 Aug;51(8):1671-1676. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30817721/

            (9) Gestational Exercise effects on the Infant Heart (2011). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235992173_Gestational_Exercise_effects_on_the_Infant_Heart

            (10) Physical activity in pregnancy and neonatal body composition: the Healthy Start study. Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Aug;124(2 Pt 1):257-264. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25004346/