How to Maintain Fitness During Pregnancy

It’s not because you’re pregnant that you have to maintain a sedentary lifestyle in order to ensure that you don’t go into miscarriage. The old belief that pregnant women should stay in the house and avoid activities is no longer practiced because doing so just increases poor outcomes of pregnancy such as difficult labor, abnormal weight gaining and poor perfusion to the placenta. However, fitness exercises are not for all pregnant women. Definitely, if you have been experiencing vaginal spotting and diagnosed of incompetent cervix, then it is better to assume bed rest. In normal women, activities are even advocated by obstetricians. Nevertheless, the right exercise or activity for pregnant women should be noted.

Types of exercises during pregnancy

There are various exercises that you can do during pregnancy. Here are the top activities that you can do during pregnancy:

Swimming

Swimming is one of the best types of exercise during pregnancy because your muscles tend to relax. However, only do this when your membranes are still intact in order to prevent infection.

Pelvic tilt

Pelvic tilt exercises are very essential in increasing the strength of the back and pelvic muscles. Pelvic tilt exercises can be done by standing straight and placing the hands on the knees as to tilt the back forward. Slowly raise and lower the back while holding your knees.

Kegel’s exercises

Kegel’s exercises are especially done in order to strengthen the muscles on the pelvic floor where the fetus passes during delivery. Kegel’s exercise is advantageous to make adequate room for the baby’s head to pass in the birth canal as well as preventing lacerations. Do this by focusing in contracting and relaxing your pelvic floor muscles like contracting your vaginal canal.

Leg raise

Maintain a position facing the floor with your hands and knees on the floor assuming a quadripod position. Raise one of your legs at the back and maintain the position for 15 seconds and repeat on the other leg. This exercise helps you have more flexibility of your back and leg muscles.

Exercises to avoid during pregnancy

Not all exercises are good for pregnant women. Here are some of the exercises and activities that you need to avoid during pregnancy:

• Contact sports and any sports that may cause a blow to your abdomen such as volleyball, judo, kickboxing, etc.
• Scuba diving because of risk for gas embolism and decompression sickness.
• Any sport that requires bouncing or chances for falls or slips such as down-hill skiing, horseback riding, gymnastics, skating, cycling and ice hockey.
• Never lie on your back during stretching exercises because of possible compression of the vena cava that may cause hypotension.

Considerations for exercise in pregnancy

Before you do your daily exercise, be sure to take note of these considerations:

• Never engage in strenuous exercise during very hot climate to prevent heat stroke.
• Always undertake warming up and cooling down in every exercise.
• Increase fluid intake during exercise.
• Make sure that you exercise on a regular basis.
• Try having professional pregnancy classes in order to have assistance during your exercise.

Dr. Amarendra currently writes for AccessRx.com, an online facilitator for Cialis and Levitra online. He has extensive background in health and wellness and he recommends the AccessRx Sexual Health Section.