Several Reasons to Exercise during Pregnancy

Posted in Balanced Parenting | May 15, 2008 | 2 Comments

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As soon as I found out that I was pregnant I started thinking about a new exercise routine. I knew that there will be no way that I could continue step aerobics, pump and other intensive workouts. However, I continued running regularly and working out at the gym. Soon I found out that I was pregnant with twins. That changed a lot of things in regards to my workout routine.

My doctor prohibited me from running as I had a high risk of miscarriage, but she said that walking quickly would be fine. She also assured me that stretching, light abs and leg workouts and breathing techniques would do me a lot of good. So I completely turned to Pilates with some elements of Yoga included.

Now that the birth of my twin girls is behind me I am very happy that I continued doing Pilates throughout my entire pregnancy. I can’t say that I am back to where I was before my pregnancy already, but I know that I look much better than I could have if I didn’t do anything at all. Due to the Pilates technique that I used my abs returned back to their former shape very quickly. To tell the truth I was terribly afraid that I will have some real problems with my muscles as I developed a really awful diastasis (in the late stages of pregnancy it was about 4 fingers wide). Two months after me delivery, I have already forgotten about my diastasis simply because of the fact that I kept working my abs up until a month before my children were born. My legs, hips and arms are toned too.

If you ask me why you should exercise while you are pregnant I can give you about a thousand reasons. But here I will stick only to the most important ones from my point of view

•  Exercise helps you to stay in a good mood.
• Workouts help your body to adjust to the increasing weight.
• Exercise keeps the extra weight off during pregnancy.
• Strong legs (obtained through constant workouts) will help you walk easily in the late stages of pregnancy (although I gained about 40 pounds during my pregnancy I didn’t have any problems with moving even the day before I delivered my babies)
• Workouts increase blood flow to your body and simultaneously allow your baby to receive more nutrients through the increased blood flow.
• If you are breathing correctly during your workouts, then your baby is also getting more oxygen through your blood.
• Usually fit women spend less time in labor and it’s easier for them to deliver their babies. (I spent about 90 minutes in labor and gave birth to my twins within 30 minutes.)
• If the body is used to exercise then it will be much easier to get back in shape after delivery.
• Exercise will help you fight prenatal and postnatal back pains.
• If you are attending special prenatal fitness classes, then you will get to know other moms-to-be with whom you can discuss a lot of pregnancy-related issues.

Exercise during pregnancy is a great way to tell your body and your unborn children “I love you!”

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