The most common question that bothers women is whether they can continue to exercise during pregnancy? What are best Pregnancy Exercises? Whether they can still maintain their daily routine to remain fit even after carrying an additional weight in their wombs? Whether they can still care to enjoy their earlier freedom?
What are Pregnancy Exercises?
An answer to this rests on the medical advice which is of the opinion that women can surely continue to exercise with ease provided they are not rigorous in nature. But before undertaking such pregnancy exercises women need to consult their physicians to acquire knowledge of the benefits & ill-effects of the same.
Benefits of Exercises During Pregnancy
Continuing your normal routine of exercise during pregnancy soothes your mind and comforts you by releasing endorphins, thereby revitalizing your energy
Physical Comfortless Is Ensured By
- Toning & strengthening the hip, back and thigh muscles.
- Speeding up the intestinal movement which reduces constipation.
- Constant body movement during exercise helps in lubricating the joint fluids.
- Relieving back pain during pregnancy and improving your posture
- Helping in relieving stress to ensure sound sleep at night.
- Increases the flow of blood to the skin to help it glow.
All this prevent you from becoming obese during pregnancy and strengthens your body and heart for an easy delivery. Yoga exercises enhance your breathing ability to be able to endure the labour pain. It also reduces the risk of pregnancy complications which normally occurs during the gestational period and to reduce morning sickness.
What are Some Pregnancy Exercises?
Some modifications are required for continuing exercise during pregnancy depending on the level & pregnancy complications.
Experts are of the opinion that a pregnant woman requires devoting not less than 150 minutes of exercising activity per week of a moderate nature to stay fit and healthy. A prior consultation with the doctor is required before doing pregnancy exercises.
Suitable Exercise During Pregnancy
- Walking is the most commonly suggested exercise during pregnancy as it does not strain the heart neither it is too exhausting for the mother. One should prevent climbing hills and terrains.
- Swimming makes the body feel lighter as it relieves pressure and weight and soothes and heals joint aches and pains.
- Yogic exercises help stretch body muscles which prevent cramping and aching. Moreover, the mental peace that one experiences relieve the pressure of bearing a child.
- Aerobic activities which are light helps in increasing the rate of a heartbeat to a moderate extent.
Besides these activities, cycling, biking, and dancing are also permitted but all such exercises are subject to body warnings which at times may not prove beneficial as the energy level of the body keeps fluctuating or reducing during pregnancy. So one needs to be cautious of the kind of regime that one undertakes. Further at the later stage of pregnancy, the growth of the baby within the mother’s womb may cause a breathing discomfort during exercise.
Yoga Tips, Exercise and Pregnancy
Yoga is one of the greatest techniques in the world for being away from stress and tension
This has some techniques which help people who are pregnant and in some countries, this is being treated as the technique only available for pregnancy. The main reason for people considering in this manner is yoga helps the pregnant womanto feel relax, flexible to the situation and prepares themselves to give birth to a new child.
If you are the one interested in learning this kind of yoga then there are many ways like moving to yoga class or with a help of yoga books you can do the same at home or using videotapes. But make sure of one thing before doing any one of this, consult your physician whether this kind of yoga suits your body condition or not.
The reason for telling this is that if you have normal pregnancy then there is no harm in doing yoga but this is not the same case with another kind of pregnancy. Also if you do yoga for conceiving a baby then you should stop that yoga once you are conceived hence consulting with your yoga professional as well as a physician is the good choice before doing anyone.
The reason for pregnant woman advised to do yoga is that it teaches them how to relax, breath, stretch and even how to strengthen their body, mind and spirit during pregnancy and even after that.
Here are certain pregnancy exercises that you should avoid during your pregnancy period.
These positions are to be avoided during various periods in pregnancy. In the fifth month of pregnancy, the uterus will grow at a rapid speed and turns heavier than what it is before. so, in this time if you are the one who is doing yoga like lying back for more than 10 minutes then avoid it as a whole.
Because this compresses blood vessels as a result blood flow to uterus decreases as well as the oxygen to baby decreases.
Also in the same month, your stomach may look bigger than it is seen earlier hence lying down in the stomach is also not good. It is better to avoid yoga positions which you feel uncomfortable as your stomach grows bigger proportionally to the number of months.
Yoga Pregnancy Exercises
I think now you are aware of what pregnancy exercises that you should not do and in what period. Now here is the brief description of what are the pregnancy exercises one should do in their early and ending stages.
First is the “pregnancy sit up”
This sit up helps you to keep the position of your baby in the stomach incorrect manner. First, lie on the floor on your back with hands holding the neck. Take a long breathe inside with head and shoulders up, then twist to the left. Release your breath as you go back to normal position. The same has to be repeated for the twist on the right. This helps your abdominal muscles to be strong to hold your baby.
Next is the “Modified Child’s Pose”
This helps the pelvic area to open widely along with a comfortable position to rest. Rest on the floor by keeping your knees wide apart then bend forward. While bending forward keep your arms together and rest your chin on that. Repeating the same for few minutes helps the pregnant woman to rest fully relaxed and comfortable.
“Modified Forward Bend”
This is also same as the above one helps to open pelvic area. The pose for this is just sitting on the floor by widening your thighs to make your abdomen rest inside the gap. Then just bend forward and hold the toes with your hands. While bending forward try to keep knees straight else doing this is of no use.
“Cobra Pose”
This is a simple exercise for pregnancy. Stand straight with feet nearby or wide as you feel comfortable with a hand at the back. Take a long breath and move your head backwards and breathe gently. Then push your arms and chest back by taking a fresh breath. After doing this push your hip forward this will reduce the abdominal pressure and strengthens the legs.
“Modified Cat Pose”
This strengthens the lower back limber as well as the legs. Keep your head straight and lift one leg up behind you by inhaling fresh air repeat the same with another leg too. While raising your leg behind you hold your breath and exhale when you’re lower the same.
“Wall Butterfly”
This pose also opens pelvic area and strengthens legs and spine. The position for this is lying with buttocks on the floor with soles together and feet touching the wall with knees open. Then push forward by hands so that knees touch the wall.
There are several other pregnancy exercises of the same type to open up the pelvic areas like wall squatting and pelvic lift. All these help the pregnant woman to open pelvic area so that they could feel comfortable during their delivery.
“Perineal Pregnancy Exercises”
Other than these there are some other perineal exercises. Lie down on your back with ankles crossed. Then tilt the pelvis up by pressing against the floor with your buttocks. While doing this exhale the breath with thighs together.
This will contract the pelvis. Try to hold the breath for few seconds and then inhale and relax. Next is just by sitting, squatting or standing with your feet. Release the breath to contract the muscles of the anal sphincter. After this try to keep in the same pose for 5 seconds then exhale and relax. By exhaling again vaginal muscles contracts.
These perineal exercises make the muscles of pelvic, anal and vaginal area strong and healthy. Also, this makes the muscles to stretch freely while giving birth.
As yoga has so many good things for a pregnant woman, it is considered as one of the best technique for keeping pregnant woman’s health and body in good condition. If you are the one who is pregnant and thinks of doing yoga pregnancy exercises for the betterment of you and your child then without hesitation get into this act.
But once again I’m reminding here that whoever peeps into yoga during pregnancy please consult with the physician and any yoga specialist before continuing it further as it may lead to some other health problems.
Warnings
There are several warnings which the body gives when the exercise regime has been too rigorous such as
- Weakness
- Back or pelvis ache
- Dizziness
- Breathlessness.
- Vaginal fluid leak or bleeding
- Uterine contractions
- Faster heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Sleeplessness
- Nausea
Avoidable Pregnancy Exercises
The first trimester period of pregnancy is very crucial in a woman’s life and as such should be dealt carefully. Activities which require a lot of movements such as bouncing, leaping, fast running, etc. should be strictly avoided to ensure the safety of the unborn baby.
Sports, scuba diving, horse riding and high scale aerobic pregnancy exercises are strictly prohibited for their risky nature.
Effects of Overdoing Pregnancy Exercises
Besides the above-mentioned warnings which may also be regarded as the ill-effects, a strenuous regime of exercise may harm both the mother and the unborn child. Rigorous exercise increases the normal body temperature of 39°C which in turn may have an overheating effect on the developing foetus.
Moreover one should avoid exercising outdoors in the scorching heat during summers. Excessive swimming during summers should be avoided as the body gets latently heated and during winters it may cause the mother to catch a cold which may further affect the baby.
Further pregnant women need to take special care when handling domestic chores as some of them are very risky and may put the mother in trouble.
Conclusion
Thus evading such pre-conceived notions that pregnant women should not exercise, research has proved that pregnancy exercises helps in de-stressing and keeping them mentally, spiritually and physically fit. They can also exercise their freedom to a certain extent and prevent themselves from developing obesity which is a normal fallout of pregnancy. so start Pregnancy Exercises today
Pregnancy Exercises helps healthy women to give birth to fit and healthy baby.