Exercise and Pregnancy

Many women wonder if they can exercise during pregnancy and if so, what is considered safe. The answer is women can and should exercise as they are able to whether it is aerobic activity or strength training! According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, exercising during pregnancy is correlated with higher rates of vaginal births and lower rates of excessive gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, preterm birth, Cesarean birth, and lower birth weight. However, if you are new to having an exercise routine, have a complicating medical or obstetric condition, or are having pain please consult with a doctor and a pelvic floor physical therapist for further guidance.

A big key in exercising especially as pregnancy progresses is decreasing exercise intensity. Pregnancy is not the time to start training for a major race or doing high intensity workouts! Some guidelines on knowing how hard to exercise is doing the talk test. If you can carry on a conversation while exercising, you are likely not overexerting yourself. Exercise should feel somewhat challenging, but if you feel out of breath slow down and take a break.

Throughout pregnancy, your soft tissue and joints will also become looser due to an increased amount of Estrogen, Progesterone, and Relaxin in your body. This is natural and a good thing as this allows your pelvis to expand with a growing fetus. On the other hand, this can contribute to instability and pain at your low back, hips, pubic pain, and sacroiliac joint in addition to pelvic organ prolapse. With guidance from a pelvic floor physical therapist, we can tailor an exercise routine to address these areas after assessing your core control, breathing, and pelvic floor function.

If you are unsure on where to start with your fitness journey during pregnancy, we can work with you to develop a plan so you can meet your fitness goals!

-Bernadine Hoang, PT, DPT

Note: If you begin to experience vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, amniotic fluid leakage, dizziness, chest pain, onset of joint pain, sexual dysfunction, urinary and/or fecal incontinence, or regular painful contractions, stop and check in with your medical provider.