Pregnancy Exercise Guidelines

The amount and type of exercise that is best for you during pregnancy depends on your general health, the course of your pregnancy, your fitness and your usual activity level.

Regular, moderate exercise during pregnancy maintains muscle tone, strength and endurance; it also protects against back pain, helps prevent excessive accumulation of body fat, and has a positive effect on your energy level, mood and self-image.

To ensure that a fitness program is appropriate for you, check with your doctor or midwife before starting or continuing to exercise during pregnancy.

1. Get regular exercise (at least three times a week). Avoid spurts of heavy exercise followed by long periods of no activity.
2. Avoid brisk exercise in hot, humid weather or when you are sick with a fever (such as the flu).
3. Avoid jerky, bouncy, or high-impact motions. Activities that call for jumping, jarring motion, quick changes in direction may strain your joints and cause pain. Low-impact exercise is best. A wooden floor or a tightly carpeted surface reduces impact and gives you sure footing.
4. Wear a bra that fits well and gives lots of support to help protect your breasts.
5. Wear the proper shoes for the activity to be sure your feet are well cushioned and to give your body good support. There are shoes designed just for walking, running, aerobics, or tennis.
6. Avoid deep knee bends, full sit-ups, double leg raises (in which you raise and lower both legs together), and straight-leg toe touches.
7. After 20 weeks of pregnancy, avoid exercises that require lying with your back on the floor for more than a few minutes.
8. Always begin with 5 minutes of slow walking or stationary cycling with low resistance to warm up your muscles. Intense exercise should not last longer than 15 minutes.
9. Follow intense exercise with 5-10 minutes of gradually slower activity that ends with gentle stretching in place. To reduce the risk of injuring the tissue connecting your joints, do not stretch as far as you possibly can.
10. The extra weight you are carrying will make you work hander as you exercise at a slower pace. Measure your heart rate at peak times of activity.
11. Get up from the floor slowly and gradually to avoid feeling dizzy or fainting. Once you are standing, walk in place briefly.
12. Drink water often before, during, and after exercise to be sure your body gets enough fluids. Take a break in your workout to drink more water if needed.
13. If you did not exercise two or three times a week before getting pregnant, start with physical activity of very low intensity and, bit by bit, move to higher levels.
14. Stop exercising and consult your doctor or nurse if you get any of these symptoms, and they are unusually severe:
    1. Pain
    2. Vaginal bleeding
    3. Dizziness or feeling faint
    4. Shortness of breath
    5. Irregular or rapid heart beat
    6. Difficulty walking
    7. Pain in your back or pubic area

Pregnancy is not a good time to take up a new, strenuous sport. If you were active before your pregnancy, however, you should be able to keep it up, within reason.

Click here to see a list of pregnancy exercises which you can easily follow.