10 Important Facts About Pre-Natal Exercise

from ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal by James Peterson, Ph.D.

1. Exercise makes the nine months of pregnancy easier. Sound exercise has been shown to help diminish several pregnancy-related discomforts, including backache, fatigue, constipation, and swelling of the extremities. The positive impact of exercise on the expectant mother's level of muscular fitness and muscular tonus has also been found to help with the physical demands of carrying extra weight.

2. Exercise offers a psychological "lift" to an expectant mother. At a time of relatively profound changes in her body, a pregnant woman can exert some degree of control over her body through exercise. Furthermore, exercise is relaxing and can help a woman maintain a positive self-image.

3. The intensity, frequency, and duration at which exercise is prescribed for a pregnant woman should be adjusted downward to an appropriate level. An exercise regimen for a pregnant woman should be kept at the low end of the intensity range-particularly for a woman who was sedentary before becoming pregnant.

4. Some exercise activities are more suitable than others for a pregnant woman who is just starting an exercise program. The most suitable aerobic exercises for a newly exercising pregnant woman are low-impact activities, such as walking, swimming, and cycling. A pregnant woman who wants to engage in resistance training should maintain strict control of the resistance while exercising (i.e., avoid throwing, jerking, or explosively moving the weight).

5. Properly warming up and cooling down before and after exercise is particularly important for a pregnant woman. During pregnancy, when a woman's joints and connective tissues become more lax (because of the excessive presence of relaxin hormone that tends to loosen some of her joints, tendons, and ligaments), joints are more susceptible to injury. So the primary goal of a stretching program during pregnancy should be to relieve muscle cramping or soreness or to relax the lower back not to improve range of motion.

6. A pregnant woman should avoid prolonged exercise in a supine (lying face-up) position. Exercising for a period of longer than five minutes in a supine position may cause a problem for some women because the excess weight of her fetus may obstruct the flow of blood back to her heart. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that exercise not be performed in a supine position at all after the fourth month of pregnancy.

7. An expectant mother should be especially sensitive to avoiding excessive heat stress while exercising. Exercise is associated with a rise in both maternal and fetal body-core temperature. Because the fetus on the mother's thermoregulatory abilities, a pregnant woman who exercises must ensure that she does not place herself or her fetus at risk for heat injury.

8. A pregnant woman should not exercise to the point of exhaustion. A pregnant woman should stop exercising as soon as she feels she is becoming fatigued.

9. Women with certain conditions should not exercise during pregnancy. Before initiating an exercise program, a pregnant woman should be evaluated for contraindications to exercise. The ACOG has identified a list of absolute and relative contraindications for exercise during pregnancy. It should be kept in mind that physicians are the only individuals qualified to evaluate for these contraindications.

10. Pregnant women who exercise should eat enough to meet the energy demands of exercise. Pregnant women should carefully monitor their diets to ensure that they consume adequate amounts of the appropriate nutrients both for themselves and the fetus. All factors considered, a woman's pregnancy is no time to start a diet or to exercise to lose weight.