How To Exercise To Stay Healthy During Pregnancy

Exercise To Stay Healthy During Pregnancy

 

Exercise To Stay Healthy - Exercise strengthens your muscles to support your pregnancy. Exercise helps with discomforts like back pain and swollen ankles. Exercise also reduces stress and increases your energy and sense of well-being.

What kind of exercise should you do ? 

Low-impact exercise is easiest on your joints. This means no jumping or bouncing. Good exercises include walking quickly, bike riding, swimming, water exercise, and other low-impact exercises. Many women enjoy yoga or tai chi during pregnancy. These practices help with strength, flexibility, balance, and relaxation. 

 

Aerobic Exercise 

Aerobic exercise speeds up your heart rate and makes you breathe faster. Start slowly and gently. Here’s what a good aerobic exercise program for a pregnant person looks like:

1. At least 5 minutes of warm-up (slow, smooth movements and stretching)

2. About 15–30 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise

3. At least 5 minutes of cool-down (mild activity while your heart rate returns to normal)

Sport

 

Pregnancy is not a good time to start a new sport that requires good balance. If you’re already playing a sport, you may keep doing it as long as you feel comfortable. However, try to avoid making sudden, jerking movements because pregnancy hormones increase the risk of hurting your joints.

 

Exercising the Pelvic Floor Muscles

The pelvic floor (or perineal ) muscles surround your vagina. They support your uterus and other organs. During pregnancy, these muscles may sag and become weaker. Pelvic floor exercises help strengthen these muscles so you don’t pee a little in your pants when you cough, sneeze, or laugh.

Pelvic floor exercises also help reduce swelling and the heavy feeling around your vagina, may improve sex for you and your partner, and help prepare you for pushing out a baby.

To check the strength of your pelvic floor muscles, try stopping the flow of urine while you’re peeing. If you can’t stop the flow, it’s a sign of weak muscles. Or you can insert two fingers (or your partner’s penis) into your vagina and tighten the muscles. If they are weak, Kegel exercises will help. If your muscles are very tense, or if it hurts to have sex or it’s painful or difficult to pee or poop, then pelvic floor bulging and relaxation will help.

Kegel Exercise (Pelvic Floor Contraction)

• Get in any position (sitting, standing, or lying down).

• Focus on the muscles around your urethra (where pee comes out) and vagina. Tighten those muscles as you would to stop the flow of pee. It should feel like you’re lifting the pelvic floor. (Try not to tighten the muscles of your butt, thighs, or belly.

• Hold the contraction as tightly as you can for a slow count of 10. (Don’t hold your breath.)

• Repeat 10 times throughout the day.

Pelvic Floor Relaxation and Bulging

• Pee before doing this exercise. Then get in any position (sitting, standing, or lying down).

• Relax: Focus on the muscles around your urethra (where pee comes out) and vagina. Relax those muscles, imagine them letting go, melting, or becoming heavy.

• Bulge: Bear down gently with your pelvic floor muscles, as you do when having a bowel movement. (Don’t bear down forcefully.) • Hold for three to five seconds, then stop bearing down and relax.

• Do this once a day.