This is when exercise could be especially helpful

One of the most common questions expectant mothers ask during pregnancy is: “Is this safe?”

This question is usually oriented toward avoiding foods, chemicals, and activities that could harm their growing baby. Unfortunately, many moms mistakenly believe they cannot or should not exercise in pregnancy.

Exercise is one of the tools a woman can use to control and improve not only her pregnancy’s outcome, but also her and her baby’s long-term health.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends 20-30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity every day, or 150 minutes total per week. The medical literature has consistently demonstrated the benefits of regular, moderate intensity exercise in the following six areas:

1. Weight gain
   • Women who engage in frequent moderate-intensity exercise are less likely to gain excess weight during pregnancy and are more likely to lose the baby weight postpartum.
   • Babies born to mothers who exercise are more likely to be an appropriate weight for their gestational age.
2. Gestational diabetes
   • Regular moderate-intensity physical activity before and during pregnancy can reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.
   • Avoiding gestational diabetes helps to decrease the risk of developing diabetes later in life.
3. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
   • Pregnant women who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing gestational hypertension and preeclampsia.
4. Operative deliveries
   • Mothers who engage in moderate-intensity exercise consistently may expect to have a faster labor than mothers who do not exercise regularly.
   • Similarly, active pregnant women are less likely to need a cesarean delivery.
5. Mood
   • Regular exercise reduces the risk and severity of prenatal and postpartum depression.
6. Pain, injury, and urinary incontinence
   • Exercise can reduce the intensity of pain and the level of disability experienced as a result of lower back, hip, and pelvic pain in pregnancy.
   • Prenatal exercise, including pelvic floor muscle training, reduces the odds and symptom severity of prenatal and postnatal urinary incontinence.

Staying active and maintaining a balanced, nourishing diet is key to improving your health’s trajectory. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, it is important to begin a regular exercise regimen. It is wise to always gradually increase your activity, to allow your body to adjust to new levels of activity.

Give yourself the gift of consistent movement. Like brushing your teeth, exercise should be a reflexive part of every day.

There are few but important contraindications to exercise in pregnancy and specific types of activities that should be avoided. It is essential that you discuss with your doctor what exercises would be best for you in your pregnancy.  Your question shouldn’t be: “Is exercise safe in pregnancy?” It should be: “How can I exercise safely in pregnancy?”

Speak with your obstetrician/gynecologist about how you can make healthy happen for you.

Dr. Jessica Mitchell is an OB/GYN based at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill.