Benefits of Prenatal Exercise

Years ago, due to doctors’ concern that exercise might harm a developing baby, pregnant women were discouraged from working out. The medical profession has since realized that prenatal inactivity is what actually puts moms-to-be and their babies at risk. Medical experts now agree that prenatal exercise is absolutely safe and beneficial for low-risk pregnancies. The following are just some of the potential benefits of prenatal exercise:

• Prenatal exercise eases back pain, improves poor posture and reduces muscle soreness, all of which are caused by the shortening or lengthening of the muscles in a pregnant woman's legs, hips, butt, back and shoulders.
• Exercise during pregnancy increases the volume of blood your heart pumps with each beat, increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to your baby.
• As long as you exercise no less than 3 hours before going to bed, working out while pregnant will help you sleep more soundly at night and help make you feel more refreshed throughout the day.
• Exercise during pregnancy helps to decrease constipation, digestive irregularities, varicose veins and general body discomfort.
• Prenatal exercise may help prevent and treat gestational diabetes.
• Workouts geared towards pregnant women will help you safely develop and maintain muscle tone and flexibility, which will assist with labor, delivery and motherhood.
• Exercise can elevate mood, stimulate energy levels, and counteract the feelings of stress, anxiety or depression that can occur during pregnancy.
• Prenatal exercise may lead to enhanced functional capacity of the placenta, which can help protect the baby by providing extra blood flow during times of stress.
• Women who exercise throughout pregnancy tend to have shorter labors and deliveries.
• Regular exercise during pregnancy leads to babies being born with less fat, but does not decrease the overall growth of the baby.
• Women who exercise during pregnancy have an easier time returning to their pre-pregnancy weight and size. Not only do pregnant women who work out tend to gain healthy levels of weight, but the weight comes off easier and quicker for those who exercised during pregnancy.

Resources:

• Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Design, Gwen Hyatt, MS and Catherine Cram, MS
• Fit Pregnancy for Dummies, Catherine Cram and Tere Stouffer Drenth
• Optimum Performance Training for the Prenatal Client, National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
• FitPregnancy Magazine, February/March 2009