Good Pregnancy Exercises
While it is important that all of us make choices for living a healthy lifestyle, at no other time does this become more important than when one is pregnant. During pregnancy, it is very important for women to pay careful attention to what they are eating, quit smoking, stop consuming alcohol, and equally importantly, work on staying fit.
Regardless of whether you have been regularly working out before pregnancy or will be starting only now, it is considered safe for most pregnant women to exercise and keep themselves fit. In fact, exercising during pregnancy has its obvious benefits – you can increase your endurance, have better body awareness and improve body posture that may help you with backaches and aching legs or feet.
Through regular exercise, a pregnant woman can lower her risk of developing gestational diabetes. She will feel less tired and also suffer less from the sense of physical discomfort normally associated with pregnancy. Health experts also believe that fit women tend to have shorter phases of active labor and have more chances at having a normal delivery. In fact, recent research has even indicated that a woman who is either overweight or inactive increases the likelihood that the child too will become overweight or develop diabetes. It is therefore very essential that along with a healthy diet, a pregnant woman pay equal attention to her physical fitness. Here are some useful exercises that will help you stay fit during pregnancy.
When you are pregnant, it is best that you consult a doctor on what exercises you can do and cannot do. This is true irrespective of whether you were a fitness fanatic before pregnancy or completely inactive and are just starting out. Your doctor will have a few guidelines for you to follow when you exercise, though these may change as you progress in your pregnancy.
Most of all, pregnant women seem to enjoy swimming, yoga, cycling, walking, Pilates and even dancing. You should ideally aim for a combination of flexibility exercises along with some aerobic cardiovascular exercises with some strength exercises. It is very important that you warm up adequately before your workout and also end with a nice cool down.
When you are exercising, do not exercise to the point of exhaustion – exercise with the intensity and at a pace you are comfortable with. You should wear loose, comfortable clothing and drink plenty of water during your workouts. In the first three months, your baby may be more sensitive to extreme temperatures so try to ensure that you do not exercise so much that your body gets overheated. Also, you should avoid lying flat on your back – exercising or otherwise – after the first three or four months. When you lie down flat, you may compress some of the important blood vessels that are carrying blood to your heart – this may restrict the amount of blood being supplied to the baby. If you do need to lie down, try doing so sideways. Some sports carry a risk of abdominal trauma like horse riding, skiing or contact sports and are best avoided during pregnancy.