Did you recently find out you're pregnant and wondering if you can still workout? Prenatal exercise isn't just safe, it's incredibly beneficial for both mother and baby. From boosting mood, improving pregnancy comfort, improving fetal development to reducing labor complications.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Pregnancy Association recommend during pregnancy, women should perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise spread out within each week.
Lets look at some of the benefits:
➡️ Reduces Labor Complications
Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of labor complications and reduces the need for medical interventions such as C-sections. Research shows that women who are more physically active during pregnancy have a shorter duration of active labor. Win!
➡️ Prepares the Body for Labor
Labor is often compared to running a marathon, requiring stamina, strength, and endurance. Prenatal exercise prepares your body for the physical demands of labor and helps you maintain a more upright position for longer applying downward pressure on your babies cervix which will progress labor faster.
Exercise increases your stamina and strength helping you endure the long hours of childbirth more effectively.
➡️ Reduces Risk of Prenatal Complications
Prenatal exercise can decrease your risk of developing gestational hypertension or gestational diabetes which can increase the risk of needing a medical induction which involves more interventions and can affect negatively your birth outcome.
➡️ Boosts Mood and Fights Depression
Exercise is a natural mood booster because your body releases endorphins, those feel-good hormones that can help reduce stress and anxiety and could lead to fewer symptoms of depression during pregnancy and into postpartum. The sense of accomplishment from completing a workout, combined with the biochemical changes in the brain, makes for a happier, more contented pregnancy.
➡️ Improves Sleep Quality
Struggling to get a good night's sleep since being pregnant? You're not alone Mama! Many pregnant women face sleep issues. Prenatal exercise can help improve sleep quality by regulating sleep patterns and reducing restlessness.
➡️ Eases Common Pregnancy Discomforts
Pregnancy comes with its own set of discomforts such as back pain and pelvis pain, swelling, and muscle cramps, to name a few. Exercise and strength work can alleviate many of these symptoms, making your pregnancy more comfortable.
Swelling in the feet and ankles is another common issue. Regular exercise improves circulation, which helps reduce swelling and cramps.
➡️ Promotes Healthy Weight Gain
Gaining weight during pregnancy is natural and necessary, but excessive weight gain can lead to complications. Exercise during pregnancy promotes appropriate gestational weight gain and a healthy birth weight. In fact long term studies have shown that women who regularly exercised during pregnancy are more likely to have an appropriate birth weight infant, and this reduces risk factors for later life chronic disease development in the child including cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.
➡️ Enhances Baby’s Development
A common concern with exercise is that it will have harmful effects on your unborn baby. Common concerns include the risk of miscarriage, pre-term birth, congenital malformations and over heating however these are not increased by exercise, in-fact research shows exercise can benefit your baby's brain development, organ development, cardiovascular health, nervous system development, improved neuromotor development and improve fetal outcomes such as increased increased cognitive function and language skills in the first years of life. Amazing!!
Exercise has shown to improve baby's capability to respond to stress making them more resilient to stress during labor which is especially important if you experience labor complications.
➡️ Encourages Social Interaction
Exercise classes and community pages offer a great way to meet other expecting mothers and build a support network. The emotional support from fellow expecting mothers can make a big difference in your pregnancy experience.
➡️ Promotes Faster Postpartum Recovery
The benefits of prenatal exercise extend beyond childbirth, promoting faster postpartum recovery and decreased occurrence of pelvic floor dysfunction.
Sounds amazing right? How to start exercising during pregnancy?
The first step is to consult with your healthcare provider to make sure you’re cleared to exercise while pregnant. Once you've been cleared, ACOG recommends at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, split up into hour-long, 30-minute or 10-minute sessions.
You can follow our week by week pregnancy fitness program that takes out the guesswork for you. Broken into 3x strength workouts, mobility and labor prep each week as well as loads of other resources. Our programs are delivered by our easy to use app that's available for download once you make a purchase.