Parentpedia

What Experts Say

What Experts Say

No matter what kind of shape you're in when you get pregnant, it's important to exercise while you are pregnant (as awful as that sounds when you're in the throws of morning sickness or leg cramps. According to Ginny Graves, author of " Pregnancy Fitness", studies show that women who continue to exercise during their pregnancy gain less body fat and less weight than women who stop exercising. One study by Dr. James F. Clapp even suggests that women who exercise have easier, less medicalized deliveries. Although pregnancy is not the time to count calories, it is the time to maintain optimal fitness.

Benefits to staying fit include:

• Less nausea
• Feeling of well being and better body image
• Improved mood
• Reduction in back pain, muscle cramps, joint pain, and swelling

In the 1980s the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists recommended pregnant women do no more than 15 minutes of exercise a day and keep their heart rate at no more than 140 beats per minute. Now, ACOG guidelines assert that a pregnant woman can exercise the amount she chooses as safely as a not pregnant woman (though contact sports, scuba diving, and downhill skiing are not recommended!). Exercise will not increase your chance of miscarriage.

How to Stay Fit?

• Choose an exercise that works for you. A prenatal yoga video you do at home, a water aerobics class, a 30-minute daily walk with your spouse, daily bicycling. Don't worry what anyone else is doing, choose an exercise that works best for your schedule and your body.
• Start slowly: if you haven't been exercising regularly, start slowly. Even five minutes a day is better than nothing. Your goal is to be able to do about 30 minutes of daily exercise but take your time getting there.
• Don't forget to warm up and cool down: ACOG recommends a 5-10 minute warm-up and a 5-10 minute cool down with any exercise regime you choose.