During pregnancy, many women want to do as many things as they can to stay healthy. Eating good food is one way that pregnant women can stay healthy during pregnancy. Exercising is another thing that most pregnant women can do to maintain optimal health during pregnancy.
Of course, the number one consideration regarding exercising during pregnancy is to stay safe. Discuss exercise with your prenatal care provider at every visit, so that you always know how much of what kind of activities are appropriate for where you are in your pregnancy, given how your body is responding to pregnancy. For example, I exercised during both pregnancies but for each one I had to stop towards the end because I had to be on bed rest for preeclampsia.
Depending upon where you are at in your pregnancy, you may be so tired that you feel like smacking anyone who might suggest that you add extra activity into your day. Believe it or not, exercise can help you to fight fatigue. I certainly had to drag myself out the door to go walking on many occasions, but more often than not I found myself feeling happy and energized afterwards. Other positive side effects of pregnancy exercise include decreased bloating and gas.
While the topic of weight gain during pregnancy is contentious at best, I think that most women would prefer to gain only as much weight during pregnancy as they need in order to grow a healthy baby. After all, we don’t want to be stuck with the extra weight later on, after its baby – growing purpose has been fulfilled. Prenatal care providers vary in how they treat the topic of weight, so be sure that you check in with your provider about what they think will work best for you in terms of weight gain. At any rate, exercising during my first pregnancy helped me to keep my weight gain close to the limit that was suggested by my prenatal care providers. I was on a very short leash, so to speak, and was told that since I was “obese” I really only needed to gain about fifteen pounds. During my second pregnancy, my midwives set no target or limit on weight gain. Exercising helped me to feel good about my body, and I gained enough weight to grow a healthy baby boy, but not much more than that.
If exercising during pregnancy is safe for you, why not lace up your sneakers and take advantage of all of the benefits that it can bring.
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