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Are You Pregnant and Afraid to Exercise?

Blog, Pregnancy, / By Shi Qi Yap

Many women still fear to exercise during their pregnancy, though exercises have a lot of proven benefits for pregnant woman. But ever wonder how it could affect the health of your baby, too? Exercise is just as good for your baby as it is for you!

In today’s blog, we are going to share with you some exercise’s benefits and the exercises that can do during pregnancy. The important thing is to discuss with your healthcare provider to set up the right routine for you.

Benefits of Pregnancy Exercise for Moms

  1. Improve posture and reduce back and pelvis pain
  2. Promote healthy weight gain
  3. Prevent gestational diabetes
  4. Reduce the risk of unplanned caesareans section
  5. Relieve stress
  6. Build more stamina needed for delivery
  7. Improve your overall general fitness

Benefits of Pregnancy Exercise for Babies

Not only for moms, recent studies has also found out a few potential benefits of exercising during pregnancy for babies!

  • Developmental boost in overall gross motor skills
    A study done in 2019 revealed that exercise during pregnancy can positively influence developing systems allowing for improved neuromotor development, thus leading to infants who are more adept at movement, and more physically active later in life.
  • A fitter heart
    Previous study in 2013 discovered that a regular workout routine during pregnancy helped lower the heart rate of the fetuses at 36 weeks’ gestation, which is a good thing. In 2014, they followed up the babies until 1 month old and found the effects could still be seen in those babies’ heart rate after birth.

Besides, there’re a lot of research have been done on rats and mice, but the results are promising for humans, too. Potential benefits included lower BMI, reduced odds of diabetes and boost to brain health.

Exercise that Can Do during Pregnancy

  1. Low impact aerobics
  2. Kegel exercise (Pelvic floor muscle exercise)
  3. Swimming
  4. Brisk walking
  5. Indoor stationary cycling
  6. Step or elliptical machines

Too much and too strenuous exercise should be avoided. Always important to put safety and healthy first!

Exercise may be harmful if you have a pregnancy-related condition such as weak cervix, low placenta, bleeding, history of early labour or recurrent miscarriage.

Most importantly, talk with your doctor before beginning any exercise program!
If you have any more questions or would like our physiotherapists to assess or treat your problem, feel free to drop us a question or talk to us. Do check out our Instagram page too.

Yap Shi Qi

Rehab Therapist

Sources

  1. Johnson, T. C. (2020). Pregnancy and exercise. WebMD. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/exercise-during-pregnancy#1.
  2. Doheny, K. (2012, May 10). Many pregnant women fear exercising. WebMD. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20120510/many-pregnant-women-fear-exercise#1.
  3. American Pregnancy Association. (2021, July 16). Pregnancy exercise guidelines. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-health-wellness/exercise-guidelines/.
  4. American Pregnancy Asociation. (2021, July 16). Exercise warning signs during pregnancy. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/is-it-safe/exercise-warning-signs-during-pregnancy/.
  5. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2019). Exercise during pregnancy. ACOG. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-during-pregnancy.
  6. Colleen, de B. (2021, November 2). Benefits of exercise during pregnancy. What to Expect. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/exercise-benefits.
  7. Smith, J. (2021, November 2). How exercising during pregnancy can boost your baby’s development. Runner’s World. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a28710558/running-while-pregnant-benefits-baby/.
  8. McMillan AG;May LE;Gaines GG;Isler C;Kuehn D; (n.d.). Effects of aerobic exercise during pregnancy on 1-month infant neuromotor skills. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30817721/.
  9. May, L. E., Scholtz, S. A., Suminski, R., Gustafson, K. M. (n.d.). Aerobic exercise during pregnancy influences infant heart rate variability at one month of age. Early human development. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24287100/.
  10. Star Insider. (2021). A guide to exercising during pregnancy. Retrieved November 6, 2021, from https://www.msn.com/en-sg/entertainment/news/a-guide-to-exercising-during-pregnancy/ss-AAPREXZ?ocid=msedgntp#image.