Exercise During Pregnancy
Healthy behaviors you should practice faithfully during pregnancy are: drinking your 6-8 glasses of water, fruit juice or milk each day, eating wisely; making sure you have a well-balanced diet of lean protein, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and unsalted nuts with a minimum of empty calories. You are taking your pre-natal vitamins and exercising which is very important for your physical conditioning and strength as well as your mood and emotional state.
Walking is an excellent choice and one which you can enjoy with your husband, dog, children or a walking partner in the neighborhood. Remember that you are not preparing for the Olympics so this is not the time to set any records walking too long or too fast. Twenty or thirty minutes a day or 3-4 times a week at a reasonable pace is very good for you and will help you to be in good condition for labor and delivery.
Aerobic Exercise
For you young women who have been on a regular aerobic exercise program, you may certainly continue as long as your doctor has cleared you to do so. As you already know you will need to spend 20-25 minutes of stretching the muscles in the thighs, your hamstrings and quadriceps, and especially those in the lower back before you begin. Make sure your doctor is aware of which forms of exercise you are doing. Do not do anything that makes you uncomfortable or overly tired or might cause you to fall.
For those who would like clarification, aerobic exercise is any exercise that accelerates your heart rate and keeps you breathing hard, but not panting for 20 minutes. It can include walking, jogging, jumping, cycling, swimming, dancing, etc. During pregnancy you will want to use wisdom as to which exercise program you choose; the idea is to maintain your physical condition, while not injuring yourself or the baby.
A caution with aerobic exercise during the last trimester of your pregnancy is that this is the time when your body releases a hormone called relaxin. This hormone relaxes the body’s soft tissue structures in preparation for childbirth. In the process it also loosens all the ligaments holding your joints together. If you begin putting increased stress on your relaxin-loosened joints in the third trimester, you are more vulnerable to injuring yourself; this is certainly not something you will want to do at this time.
Pregnant women are so beautiful and radiant, and regular moderate exercise should not be overlooked as a healthful “beauty treatment” you can continue to enjoy at this exciting time in your life.
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