Staying fit in pregnancy
A new study has suggested that high-impact exercise in early pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage. Researchers reckon the jolts produced during exercise may be to blame, along with the time spent exercising – up to around 44 minutes a week didn’t raise the risk, but more than 419 minutes a week between weeks 11 and 14 increased the risk four times. After 18 weeks seemed to be the safe zone, with no link found between exercise and miscarriage after this point in pregnancy. Over 90,000 women took part in the study and around 47% said they exercised during their pregnancy. In all, 3187 of them suffered a miscarriage. The risk factor increased with cycling and horse riding, but swimming was associated with a decreased risk factor.
So is it safe to exercise?
Just 50 years ago the exercise recommendation for pregnant women was a mile of walking per day, and even then it was suggested this should be broken down into several sessions. Thankfully those days are gone, and despite these new research findings most experts believe that in the absence of complications, it’s better for both mom and baby to keep active throughout pregnancy.
A recent Saint Louis University study found that only 16% of pregnant women get the recommended amount of exercise
If you’ve been thinking you’d have to cancel your gym membership this could be excellent news. However, you shouldn’t just continue with your pre-pregnancy exercise program. Research has shown that during pregnancy some types of exercise are more beneficial than others – so let’s take a look at what you should and shouldn’t do…
What’s on the menu?
First of all, it’s very important that you talk to your OB/GYN before starting or even continuing an exercise program during pregnancy. There are several relative and absolute contraindications related to pregnancy exercise, and for safety’s sake you must make sure that none of these apply to you. Once you get the go-ahead there are also some clear guidelines to follow.
Firstly, the goal of a pregnancy exercise program should be to maintain your fitness level, never to increase it. You should also never use it as a way to prevent or limit pregnancy weight gain. Proper nutrition for you and your baby is extremely important, so the calories you’ll burn exercising will need to be replaced. It won’t always be possible, but try whenever you can to make good choices, eat healthfully, and keep well hydrated. When you exercise, aim to drink more water than usual.
The most thorough research in the field of pre and post natal fitness is by Dr James Clapp, who states that women who perform activity for 45 minute sessions at least five times per week will get the most benefit from exercise during pregnancy. He also goes on to say that the exercise must be weight bearing and aerobic for the benefits to be appreciated. Weight-bearing exercise includes running, walking, weight training and dancing.
Weight-bearing exercise can help counteract some of the most common pregnancy niggles, such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and leg cramps
Obviously weight–bearing exercise doesn’t include swimming, and many women I speak to find swimming very relaxing, especially the weightlessness of being in the pool during the latter stages of pregnancy. That’s great, and if you enjoy swimming by all means keep it up – but weight-bearing exercise has been found to be more beneficial in helping to counteract gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, leg cramps and a whole host of other pregnancy induced symptoms.
Simple precautions
Warming up before exercise is more important than ever when pregnant. Aside from reducing the chance of injuring a muscle or joint, warming up for 10-15 minutes and slowly cooling down again afterwards prevents sudden and dangerous changes in blood pressure. Stretching is also important – but you must be extra careful because of the hormonal changes in your body. Relaxin, the hormone that softens your connective tissue in order to aid the birth process, is present in all your joints. Overstretching could result in permanent damage, so gently stretch to ‘biting point’ and hold it for 30 seconds. Any sort of developmental stretching to actually lengthen the muscles should be avoided.
Working out
Now on to the exercise itself. If you have access to a gym there’ a huge choice of equipment you can use. Treadmills are great for a good aerobic workout, and elliptical trainers can also be used with less impact on your knees – but do listen to your body. The twisting movement of the pelvis could have a detrimental effect, so if pain in the pelvis is felt, stop immediately. No pain, no gain is not a sensible philosophy while pregnant! During pregnancy we don’t recommend using a heart rate monitor anymore, as research has found the ‘talk test’ to be a better guide to exertion levels. The ‘talk test’ basically states that if you can’t carry on a normal conversation during exercise, you should slow down until you can.
Your workouts should always include some strength training as this will help greatly when your baby comes along! It’s probably best during pregnancy to opt for fixed weight machines rather than free weights, as fixed weight options are extremely stable and operate within a fixed range of motion, meaning you won’t overextend your joints (the only real exceptions are the inner and outer thigh machines that may put too much pressure on the symphasis pubis joint).
If you’re not a gym member don’t despair. There are plenty of things you can do at home or in the park, such as running, walking and calisthenics (press ups etc). Swiss balls (or birthing balls) are also fantastic for getting and staying in shape, and are highly recommended by midwives for improving ‘core stability’ and helping to relieve back pain during pregnancy and labor.
No-go areas
High risk activities you shouldn’t be doing while pregnant Include:
- Snow skiing and waterskiing
- Rock climbing
- Snowboarding
- Ice skating and ice hockey
- Diving and scuba diving
- Horseriding
- Road or mountain biking
- Bungee jumping