Safe and unsafe exercises during pregnancy - exercises benefits

Keeping active during pregnancy: The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain. It will also help you to cope with labor and to get back into shape after the birth.

Keep up your normal daily physical activity or exercise (sport, dancing or just walking to the shops and back) for as long as you feel comfortable. Don’t exhaust yourself, and remember that you may need to slow down as your pregnancy progresses or if your doctor advises you to. As a general rule, you should be able to hold a conversation as you exercise.

If you become breathless as you talk, then you are probably exercising too strenuously.

If you were inactive before you were pregnant, don’t suddenly take up strenuous exercise. If you start an aerobic exercise program, begin with no more than 15 minutes’ continuous exercise, three times per week. Increase this gradually to a maximum of 30-minute sessions, four times a week. Inform the instructor that you are pregnant.

Exercise tips for pregnant women

• Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be beneficial.

• Make sure that you warm up and cool down.

• Try to keep active on a daily basis. Half an hour of walking each day can be enough. If you cannot manage that, any amount is better than nothing.

• Avoid any strenuous exercise in hot weather.

• Drink plenty of water and other fluids.

• If you go to exercise classes, make sure that your teacher is properly qualified and knows that you are pregnant and how far your pregnancy has progressed.

• You might like to try swimming, because the water will support your increased weight. Some local swimming pools provide aqua natal classes with qualified instructors.

Exercises to avoid during pregnancy

• Lying flat on your back – particularly after 16 weeks. The ‘bump’ presses on the big blood vessels and can make you feel faint.

• Contact sports where there is a risk of being hit, such as kickboxing, judo or squash.

• Horse riding, downhill skiing, ice hockey, gymnastics and cycling, because there is a risk of falling.

• Scuba diving, because the baby has no protection against decompression sickness and gas embolism.

• Exercising at heights over 2,500 meters until you have acclimatized. This is because you and your baby are at risk of acute mountain sickness (decrease in oxygen).