Low Impact Workouts for Expectant Moms

Articles on Motherhood | Topics: motherhood, moms, mom

by Fran Morris

Exercise is extremely important for pregnant women. Many don't always feel up to it, especially when nausea starts or they feel huge. But, exercise has many benefits other than keeping your weight under control. It increases your circulation, helps lessen morning sickness, improves the entire digestive system (which will reduce constipation and heartburn), and can make you at lower risk for gestational diabetes. Your muscles will strengthen, which will be important for childbirth. Exercise also reduces stress and makes you feel better in general. Exercising thirty minutes a day, three times per week can really make pregnancy much better and more enjoyable. Here are some benefits:

?help balance your hormones

?lessen your morning sickness

?improve your constipation

?relieve stress

?prevent or manage gestational diabetes

Before you start exercising, talk to your health care provider. She or he will make sure that it is safe for you to start an exercise routine, and recommend an exercise routine is best for you. Sometimes, pregnant women can suffer from conditions that make exercise very dangerous. Don't risk your or the baby's health, get a professional opinion first. Once your doctor has approved and helped you find out what is best for you, you can start exercising at a level that does not cause pain, shortness of breath or excessive tiredness. You may then slowly increase your activity. Use care and control, and if you find that you are tired, in pain, or winded, stop and try to find something else to do the next time. If you have already been exercising, it's easier to keep exercising during pregnancy. If you haven't exercised before, start off slow. The worst thing you can do is over doing it. This is not a race, and taking your time and getting used to a new routine is not going to happen overnight. The key is to ease your pregnancy woes, not add to them in any way.

Chose a fun activity, something you enjoy. If you love to be outside and weather permits, go walking. There are plenty of different programs that are fun but don't put added strain on your muscles or heart. Focus on low-impact activities, those are best during pregnancy and seem to have the most benefit. Avoid contact sports and be careful of any activities in which you may get hit in the stomach. Try exercises that don't require extra weight to be put on your body. Swimming and stationary cycling can be continued throughout pregnancy. Walking and low-impact aerobics are the best exercises to start with and are very easy and fun.

Aerobics

This activity is designed to increase you heart rate and better your circulation. It allows more oxygen to filter through your blood and helps keep everything moving. Continuous and constant movement is what you are doing. Some great low impact activities during pregnancy include:

?swimming

?water exercises and aerobics

?walking

?stationary cycling

Yoga and Pilates

Yoga and Pilates are becoming increasingly for expecting moms. They are great for your physical and mental health. Pilates combines strength training with breathing and posture techniques, for that total-body workout. It is great for toning and staying in control through breathing and good body mechanics. This will surely benefit any women facing childbirth. When joining a class or getting a video makes sure you look for ones that are designed for pregnancy. Not all the regular techniques in Yoga and Pilates are good for pregnant women.

аQuote of the Day

Our children will not survive our habits of thinking, our failures of the spirit, our wreck of the universe into which we bring new life as blithely as we do. Mostly, our children will resemble our own misery and spite and anger, because we give them no choice about it. In the name of motherhood and fatherhood and education and good manners, we threaten and suffocate and bind and ensnare and bribe and trick children into wholesale emulation of our ways.

—June Jordan (b. 1939)

Kegels

Kegels are the ultimate exercise whether you are pregnant or not and they are so easy to do. You don't even need to stand up to do them. Kegel exercises help to strengthen and tone your pelvic floor muscles; this will not only give you more control during labor, but will improve sex as well. After labor and delivery your pelvic floor muscles will be loose, which can lead to incontinence and other complications. After delivery you can do these to re-strengthen the muscles and tone and tighten the vagina. All you need to do is squeeze your pelvic muscles for a few minutes everyday, as if you were trying to hold your bladder.

When the weather is hot you can choose to exercise in the early morning or late evening to help you avoid getting overheated. If you're exercising indoors, make sure the room has enough ventilation. Consider using a fan to help keep you cool. Drink plenty of fluids, even if you don't feel thirsty. Make sure that you're eating a well-balanced diet. Normally, pregnancy increases your food requirements by 300 calories a day, even without exercise.

What problems should I tell my doctor about?

?Blood or fluid coming from your vagina

?Sudden or severe abdominal or vaginal pain

?Contractions that go on for 30 minutes after you stop exercising

?Chest pain

?Shortness of breath

?Headache that is severe or won't go away

?Dizziness

?Dim or blurry vision

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Low Impact Workouts for Expectant Moms" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by FamilyBabyKids.com.

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