Week 25: Exercise

Just as it’s a myth that you need to eat for two when pregnant, it’s also untrue that you need to sit on your arse and gestate for nine months.

Unless you’ve been put on mandated bedrest, common with complicated pregnancies, there’s ample evidence that working out when pregnant is not only harmless, it is hugely beneficial.

Some of the benefits of pre-natal exercise may include:

- Lower weight gain during pregnancy
- Easier, faster birth with less need for intervention
- More rapid weight loss after pregnancy
- Improved mood and improved sleep patterns

If you were fit before pregnancy, there is no harm in maintaining your exercise regime, so long as you aren’t experiencing side effects like nausea, blurred vision and chest pain.

If (like me) you weren’t overly active before pregnancy, moderate exercise can still be hugely beneficial.

Breathlessness can be a real issue when pregnant and it really seems to affect me by the second trimester. Suddenly that unassuming hill feels like Mt Everest. For the not-so-sporty, low impact exercise like swimming and yoga can be more appealing.

I’ve just started prenatal yoga and can’t rave enough about great it is. Basically a whole series of breathing and stretching exercises, it’s an hour and 20 minutes of stress-free bliss.

Taking that time out once or twice a week can have a measurable impact on energy levels and posture – which in turn helps with conditions like back pain and SPD.

Encouraging pelvic flexibility is supposed to help with an easier birth, as are the breathing exercises.

But mainly it’s a nice time to focus on you – and your growing baby – which is a rare treat for the modern working mother.

Prenatal yoga and even prenatal pilates classes are popping up everywhere so follow the links and find one near you.