Safe Pregnancy Exercises

During pregnancy, your body undergo so many changes. Regular exercising while pregnant helps in a big way to cope up with all these changes. It energizes the body and make your mind free from unwanted stress and anxiety and you feel good about yourself. Exercises strengthen up the muscles of back, butt and thigh which are under a lot of stress due to the growing size of the uterus. Thus you get relief from backache which quite commonly associated with pregnancy. It improves supply of oxygen and blood flow to the fetus. It prepares the body for childbirth and minimize the pain and discomfort at the time of delivery. Post-delivery, your body recovers well from the labor process. In general, safe pregnancy exercises are those which are light or low impact. You have to take care that the exercises do not cause any kind of injury due to falling or slipping.

Safe Exercises During Pregnancy

Before starting any exercises during pregnancy, you must have an open discussion with your doctor about your exercise regime. Your doctor will provide you with some guidelines that you need to follow while performing exercises. If you were exercising before pregnancy, then you have to make some modifications in your old regime as you cannot do any exercises that involves jumping, bouncing, full sit ups, deep knee bends, etc. Pregnancy exercises are usually not suitable for those who have problems like vaginal bleeding, history of miscarriage and low placenta. Some of the common safe exercises during pregnancy are as follows:

Walking
This is one exercise that can be continued throughout the pregnancy. It is beneficial particularly for the knee muscles and the abdominal muscles. You should start walking slowly and then increase your speed moderately. You have to do this exercise for half an hour 3-4 times in a week. In the later stage of pregnancy, walking for half an hour could be difficult. In that case, you must take frequent breaks in between.

Swimming
This is considered as one of the best exercises for pregnant women as it increases the strength and flexibility of several muscles of the body. When you float on the water, your body get a sense of buoyancy and the extra pressure exerted on the body joints, legs and the back are reduced temporarily. Thus you get a lot of relief from the annoying pain in the joints caused due to increase in body weight.

Cycling
You take a ride on a bicycle and move around in your neighborhood for half an hour daily. Or else, you can use the stationery cycle of the gym. Both are equally beneficial. Many women prefer cycling over any other safe pregnancy exercises as they do not have to carry their heavy body weight in this exercise

Yoga
There are different forms of yoga for pregnant women which focus upon stretching specific muscles of the body that are stressed during pregnancy and childbirth. It also helps to keep a check on heart rate and blood pressure. It gives a sense of oneness between mind, body and soul and you can feel the bonding between you and your unborn child. Just avoid any such yoga poses that involves excessive stretching of the body.

Fitness Ball
Exercising on the fitness ball helps a lot in toning up the abdominal muscles. Practice some deep breathing exercises sitting on the exercise ball. While taking a deep breath the abdominal muscles are stretched and they contract when you breathe out. This adds flexibility to the stiff abdominal muscles.

While performing any of these exercises, if you feel tired or any other kind of discomfort, stop immediately and talk to your doctor. There are some tips that you must follow for doing pregnancy safe exercises. Select loose fitting breathable clothes and well fitted shoes for exercising. Keep your body hydrated by drinking plenty of water before the work out. Lastly, do not overdo exercises as it is bad for health.