EXERCISE DURING YOUR PREGNANCY

When you fall pregnant everything in your body is changing, from your hormones, posture, shape and mood. It is therefore important that you have a qualified trainer who understands all these physiological changes to best assist you during this happy event.

For many years women have not been encouraged to exercise during pregnancy due to the assumption that exercising during pregnancy carried risks. Research today has shown that this is definitely not the case if training correctly. Moreover the benefits of exercising during pregnancy far out way the risks.

Benefits of exercising during pregnancy:

• Reduce back ache and helps maintain good posture

• Helps increase blood flow

• Improves mood due to the release of endorphins

• Helps you sleep better – studies show more slow wave sleep with fit individuals

• Improves self image

• Increase in muscular strength, making delivery and labour easier

• Additional strength and increased musculature of the legs, back and pelvic region help support the additional weight gained during pregnancy

• Better energy throughout pregnancy

• Less subcutaneous fat gain

• Reduced chance of gestational diabetes

• Produce less large-for-gestational-age infants

• Have leaner babies

• Experience fewer complications during delivery

• Training during pregnancy helps build bone density to offset the lactation induced loss of bone density, therefore reducing the risk of osteoporosis

• Preventing or reducing the leaking of urine when you cough or sneeze

• Women who have higher levels of fitness have been shown to have shorter labour periods

Research has shown that women who exercise during pregnancy...

• Have a shorter labour period

• Babies are born with a lower fat percentage than those born to non exercising women *

• Babies have a better neurobehavioral profile as early as 5 days as appose to non exercising mothers *

• Children at the age of 5 years still display greater learning skills, visual motor integration and motor performance

*Clapp JF III, et al. Neonatal behavioural profile of the offspring of women who continue to exercise regularly throughout pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999; 180:91

Postnatal Exercise:
After birth settling into your new routine with a baby can be very stressful and exhausting. The physiological and morphological changes that you experienced during pregnancy persist for four to six weeks after giving birth. It is therefore very important that your exercise regime is monitored closely, and the required exercises are introduced at the appropriate time. As everyone’s body adapts and heals differently your training routine should be individualized for your specific recovery needs.

Benefits of exercising after birth:

• Helps with postnatal depression

• Helps reduce lower back pain associated with carrying and bending over the baby

• Correcting postural problems that could be associated with lifelong problems

• Regaining body weight and shape

• Reduces urinary incontinence