The Role Of Exercise During Pregnancy

Guidelines And Benefits Of Exercise During Pregnancy

By Jarrett Kruse

Exercise during pregnancy can relieve stress, reduce back pain, and build stamina for labor and delivery. It’s important to talk to your prenatal healthcare provider about the role of exercise during pregnancy to make sure that your exercise program is appropriate for your particular pregnancy. Any movement that normally causes back pain hurts during pregnancy even more, but the benefits of exercise during pregnancy are well established, and generally activities such as swimming, low-impact aerobics, or stationary biking for about a half hour a day are safe. Pregnancy changes your posture and increases the risk of lower back pain, and exercise is an important way to reduce that risk.

Exercise during pregnancy can improve your posture and reduce the headache, back ache, and fatigue that often accompany pregnancy. Proper exercise can counter the lower back pain that can increase with the weight gain and shift in center of gravity that pregnancy brings. Exercise can also make you less susceptible to leg cramps. Stretching is one of the most important exercises you can do when pregnant. Here are a few simple stretching exercises recommended for pregnant women.

Neck rotations. Slowly drop your head and rotate it full circle, stretching your neck. Start with four or five circles in each direction and gradually increase.
Upper body stretches. With arms at your sides, bring your right arm up and extend your body forward and twist to the side, as if swimming the crawl stroke. Follow with left arm. Ten repetitions.
Ankle rotation. Sit with your legs extended in from of you and rotate your ankles and feet, slowly making large circles
Shoulder rotations. Sitting or standing bring your shoulder slowly up to your ears and rotate them around and down. Star with four repetitions in each direction.
Leg shake. Sit with your legs and feet extended. Move the legs up and down in a gentle shaking motion.