Pregnancy and Exercise - Do What You’ve Always Done?

Finding out you are pregnant is an exciting and scary time. You will have opinions left, right and centre on what you should do and shouldn’t do… especially around exercise! Being told to just do as you have always done, is simply lazy advice, and not appropriate for this season of life.

For example - if you weren’t particularly active prior to pregnancy, or you want to try something different during pregnancy? Or your high intensity training weights 6x per week? The ‘do what you always have done’ doesn’t fit here.

Extensive research shows that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial to both mum and bub. The research also suggests beginning an exercise program in the early stages of pregnancy can actually improve health outcomes for both birther and baby! Reducing the risks of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, prenatal weight gain, and pelvic girdle pain. While increasing the birthers endurance, body awareness and musculoskeletal outcomes throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum period.

If you start at the other end of the spectrum - where you’re quite physically active and strong prior to your pregnancy - we have to start making considerations of deloading pressure outward into the abdominals to reduce the severity of diastasis (abdominal separation), and be conscience of mediating the pressure on the pelvic floor. This can be done by not training to failure, and ensuring appropriate breathing techniques throughout exercises.

Many providers will err on the side of caution, and advise against beginning anything new. But we are seeing through research that this is not reputable advice.

So move your body, move it with purpose and awareness. If you need any further guidance - get in contact with us, we’ll be happy to help you!

Written By Haydie-May Peattie

References

Meah VL, Davies GA, Davenport MHWhy can’t I exercise during pregnancy? Time to revisit medical ‘absolute’ and ‘relative’ contraindications: systematic review of evidence of harm and a call to action British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:1395-1404.

May L.E., Physiology of Prenatal Exercise and Fetal Development, 2012, VIII, pp 11-14. http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781461434078

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/start-exercising-pregnancy/