Pregnancy and Exercise

When a woman is pregnant her body goes through dramatic change. Common physical complaints are exhaustion, lethargy, back pain, nausea, muscular and joint pain and dizziness. There are major hormonal changes with the production of existing hormones raised and new hormones are made specifically for pregnancy. During pregnancy, the woman’s cardiovascular system expands to support the needs of the growing fetus. There are muscular imbalances where specific muscle groups must work harder to support the body in the upright position. Pregnancy hormones stimulate lengthening and laxity in the ligaments, this leaves joints more vulnerable to injuries.

Benefits of Exercise through Pregnancy

• When you are fit, you are more likely to give birth to a fit baby.
• With regular exercise, the size of the placenta increases, this increases the capacity to exchange oxygen, CO2, nutrients and waste products.
• Lean babies are less likely to be overweight or develop diabetes as an adult.
• Prevents excessive weight gain during pregnancy
• Bounce back into shape much faster than a sedentary pregnant woman
• Provides stamina for delivery and labor

The best forms of aerobic activities during pregnancy is walking, low-impact aerobics, elliptical trainer, swimming, aqua aerobics or low-impact dancing. Aim for at least 30 minutes a day.

By the third trimester the baby’s need for oxygen and nutrients is greater, this makes exercise a little harder. to avoid stressing the body and the baby, you should reduce the amount of aerobic activity you are doing by trimester three.

When not to Increase or Start Aerobic Exercise

The placenta reaches its maximum growth at 20 weeks. Because the placenta’s main function is to exchange oxygen, CO2 and nutrients to the baby, it is probably safer to not try to increase your aerobic capacity, or start an aerobic program in the last half of pregnancy.

For the very fit mother who wants to continue with more strenuous workouts, monitor your resting heart rate to prevent over-training and putting the baby at risk.

While you’re pregnant, the cool-down phase should be lengthened to prevent pooling of blood in the lower extremities, dizziness or fainting. During pregnancy, hormones relax blood vessels, resulting in lower blood pressure and increased blood flow to the extremities.

Strength Training During Pregnancy

You should not lift weights that are so heavy you have to forcefully exhale when releasing the weight. This can constrict the airflow to the uterus and may result in injury to the baby.

Resistance training exercises that require neutral spine stabilization simultaneously build core control together with strong limbs, and are far superior to other exercises that either isolate one muscle group or rely on external support to stabilize the spine.

Exercise Contraindications for Pregnancy

• Any exercise that will cause you to overheat, this will directly stress the baby.
• High impact movements
• Heavy loading
• Deep squats
• Prone floor exercises – back extensions, opposing arm/leg extension on floor
• Supine exercises after 4 months

Abdominal Exercises during Pregnancy

The abdominal wall is stretched by the last half of pregnancy and therefore cannot function efficiently during exercises that flex the upper spine, (exercises like crunches) against the force of gravity. Most traditional abdominal exercises such as crunches and oblique twists should not be performed once the belly has expanded to the point where functioning is reduced.

Comments

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments