Fit Pregnancy » Be prepared

If you're planning on falling pregnant or are already expecting a baby you probably have numerous questions about what’s safe and what isn’t when it comes to physical activity. Getting to know the risks and benefits of exercise during pregnancy will help you choose an exercise programme that fits your needs.

Benefits to mom

Exercise is good for the expectant mother’s body and soul. It improves fitness levels, general health and well-being, and helps to control weight gain, ensuring you stay within normal, healthy ranges. Exercise can also improve your quality of sleep.

Easier labour and delivery: By improving your fitness and muscle function, exercise facilitates labour and may even shorten its active stage. However, this latter effect has been found only in first-time mothers, not those who have already had at least one baby.
Prevents diabetes: Women can sometimes develop diabetes later in a pregnancy, as the placental hormones interfere with insulin activity. Regular exercise reduces the risk of gestational diabetes by decreasing your need for insulin and increasing the rate at which fat is utilised by the body.
Averting low back pain: Low back pain, a bane of pregnancy, occurs in about half of pregnant women. Its causes include exaggerated curvature of the lower spine, increased load on the lower back imposed by the weight of the foetus and uterus, loss of abdominal strength and increased laxity of the hip and pelvic joints. Muscle conditioning during pregnancy can prevent or ease such pain.
Improves mood: While pregnancy is notorious for its emotional upheavals, exercise has positive effects on the expectant mom’s state of mind and mood, not to mention her self-image.
Strengths the structures required during birth: Activities like prenatal yoga and Pilates can help to prepare the mind, body, and spirit for the challenges of childbirth. Prenatal classes help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and develop core strength, which are vital during the birthing process. Pilates can also help to build strength and balance, which will help moms carry the added weight through the second and third trimesters. It can also prevent varicose veins and swelling.

Benefits to baby

Regular exercise during pregnancy has been shown to have positive effects on the baby’s neurological development, both in the short- and long-term. Moreover, by shortening the active stage of labour it facilitates a more rapid and hopefully less traumatic arrival into the world for baby.

Potential risks

If your pregnancy is normal and you have no complications the risk of developing problems through exercise is very low. Still, you should be aware of the potential risks and take care to prevent them.


Your blood glucose levels might drop as your muscles step up their use of glycogen during strenuous exercise. This is particularly risky in the third trimester of pregnancy, as your body might already be using more blood glucose than usual during this phase. The problem can generally be averted by eating adequate amounts of carbohydrates before and during exercise.
 While exercise can increase energy levels and cause pregnant women to feel less tired, exercise itself can lead to fatigue and should therefore not be excessive.
 As your ligaments and joints become looser in preparation for delivery, take care to avoid injury through excessively strenuous exercise.


Be aware of your physical limitations as your body weight increases and the weight of your baby shifts the mechanical forces acting on your body and alters your centre of gravity. 
Studies in animals suggest that an increase in the mother’s body temperature during physical activity can lead to abnormalities in the foetus. There’s little evidence of this from human studies, but it’s best to avoid overheating during exercise by maintaining a moderate intensity, training in a cool environment and remaining well hydrated.


Vigorous exercise raises levels of stress hormones, particularly noradrenaline, which could stimulate muscle activity in the uterus. While no studies have made a correlation between exercise and premature labour, this theoretical possibility does exist. You should consult your physician to check whether this is a concern for you, particularly if you're pregnant with twins or triplets.
In the past it was thought that exercise increased the risk of miscarriage in the first trimester, however later research provided no support for this claim.
 There is no solid support for the previously held notion that exercise may interrupt oxygen supply to the foetus.
 

Getting started

Step 1: Medical check-up
Before embarking on an exercise programme, have a complete obstetric and medical check-up, including an assessment of your muscles and skeleton. Among other things, the check-up must make sure that you have no conditions that may make exercise dangerous for you or your unborn baby.
Step 2: Exercise test
Undergo a graded exercise test in which your heart rate, blood pressure and rate of perceived exertion will be documented. Your foetus’s heart rate can also be monitored during exercise. Both measurements will help your doctor suggest a suitable exercise programme.
Step 3: Know the warning signs
Stop exercising immediately and consult a medical practitioner if you experience any of the following:


Vaginal bleeding

Shortness of breath before starting an exercise session

Dizziness

Headache

Chest pain

Muscle weakness

Calf pain or swelling

Premature labour

Decreased movement of the foetus

Amniotic fluid leakage