Although this is the belief among many pregnant women it is not true. Now more than ever you should be taking care of your body, watching what you eat and exercising regularly. Excess weight gain is becoming a major issue among pregnant women and it can lead to gestational diabetes and hypertension.
The benefits of exercising while pregnant are substantial for prevention, labour and mental health.
- Prevention
- Excessive weight gain
- Post partum weight retention
- Gestational diabetes
- Obesity
- Heart disease
- Labour
- Physical discomfort and complications during labour and delivery are lower in active women
- You will have greater stamina to get through labour
- Recovery tends to be shorter
- Mental Health
- Better self-image
- Fewer depressive symptoms
- May help prevent postpartum depression
A great guideline to follow is the F.I.T.T. principles:
- Frequency (F) - 3 to 4 times a week
- Intensity (I) – this is monitored by heart rate or the “talk test” (pregnant women should be able to have a conversation while exercising and not be out of breath)
- Time (T) – 15-30 minutes of intense work out preceded by a warm up and followed by a cool down
- Type (T) - activities should be low-impact and non-weight bearing
- Do not exercise laying on your back (after 16 weeks)
- Avoid bouncing exercises
- Stretches should be controlled
- Avoid abdominal exercises
- Correct posture and neutral pelvic alignment
- Avoid holding breath
- High repetition should only be done with low weights
For additional resources:
- PARmed-X Pregnancy – Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP)
- Exercise and Pregnancy (2008) –Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM)
- Exercise and Pregnancy Discussion Paper (2008) –Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM)
- Pregnancy and Sport – SIRC Newsletter
- Healthy Pregnancy - Health Canada’s website
Mottola, M. (2011) Exercise and Pregnancy: Canadian Guidelines for Health Care Professionals. August 2011, 22(4).
2 comments:
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