Advice Articles / Exercising while pregnant

Exercising while pregnant

Sarah Munson
4 minute read
exercising while pregnant

Table of contents

  1. Benefits of exercising while pregnant
  2. How much exercise should I do while pregnant?
  3. What exercises can I do while pregnant
  4. Exercises that help with labour and recovery
  5. Exercises to avoid while pregnant
Table of contents
  1. Benefits of exercising while pregnant
  2. How much exercise should I do while pregnant?
  3. What exercises can I do while pregnant
  4. Exercises that help with labour and recovery
  5. Exercises to avoid while pregnant

Pregnancy can be hugely physically challenging and if you’re expecting, regular exercise may be far from your mind.

Alongside good nutrition, keeping active while pregnant helps to keep you physically and mentally healthy and support your growing baby.

If you are already active, or considering getting into fitness, it’s important to make sure that the activities you choose are safe for you and your baby.

Benefits of exercising while pregnant

Being physically active during pregnancy can have great benefits for your baby, as well as your physical and mental health.

Benefits of exercise during pregnancy for you:

  • Lowers risk of gestational diabetes and excessive weight gain
  • Lowers risk of pre-eclampsia
  • Improved mental health; this study even found that physical activity can reduce perinatal depression
  • Improves sleep
  • Helps to ease constipation
  • Helps to prevent varicose veins and swollen limbs
  • Can help with labour itself; pregnancy charity Tommy’s even states that you’re a third less likely to need a caesarean if you exercise regularly.

Benefits of exercise during pregnancy for your baby:

  • Improved blood flow and lower foetal heart rate
  • Good for their brain development
  • Can prevent hypertension

How much exercise should I do while pregnant?

The NHS recommends trying to do at least 150 minutes of exercise per week while you are pregnant.

You could split this into five 30-minute sessions, three 50-minute sessions or however you like. It includes a mix of cardiovascular and strength training exercises.

What exercises can I do while pregnant

While it is often safe to continue with most or all of your usual exercise regime, you may need to be easier on yourself as your pregnancy progresses.

Pregnancy can affect your balance and joints, as well as cause you to become out of breath and tired a lot more easily, so don’t feel you have to meet the same fitness standards as you usually do.

Adaptions to your exercise that you could make include:

  • A long walk instead of a short run or hike.
  • Doing home workout videos that are designed for pregnant people instead of your usual ones.
  • Cycling on a stationary bike instead of outdoors to reduce risk of falling.
  • Using a reclining indoor bike instead of an upright one as you may find this easier on your back.
  • Using dumbbells instead of certain weight machines or barbells if your bump is restricting your mobility.
  • Taking up swimming as it offers a weightlessness and relief for your joints.

There’s a fantastic resource about continuing with your chosen form of exercise by The Active Pregnancy Foundation.

Exercises that help with labour and recovery

Keeping fit is said to help you to cope with labour better and there are even women who swear by certain moves that are designed to strengthen your pelvic floor and open your hips ready to give birth.

Exercises that can help you with labour and recovery after childbirth include:

  • Pelvic floor exercises – many of these can be done with no equipment; you can also buy Kegel balls online or even in chemists and supermarkets.
  • Moves to open your hips and stretch your pelvic muscles and perineum, including deep squats and certain yoga poses.
  • Perineal massage (not an exercise but a good idea), to reduce the risk of tearing.
  • Exercises to repair diastasis recti abdominis (the separation of abdominal muscles).

Please ask your midwife for advice on when it is safe to start any recovery-based exercises, especially if you’ve had a caesarean.

Exercises to avoid while pregnant

Some forms of exercise can be dangerous for you or your baby during pregnancy.

It is best to avoid:

  • Contact sports, such as hockey or rugby, as you could get hit in the belly or have a nasty fall.
  • Extreme and adventure sports like skiing, skateboarding and surfing, as they pose a high risk of injury.
  • Anything that involves lying flat on your back as the weight of your belly, particularly in the third trimester, can press on certain blood vessels and restrict blood (and thereby oxygen) getting to your baby.
  • Many ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups.
  • Jerky bouncy stuff because you’re at higher risk of injury.
  • Exercising in extreme conditions such as hot temperatures or high altitude because you might faint so no hot yoga or running in a heatwave please.

Will running or jumping be harmful for my unborn baby?

You will not damage your baby’s brain or have ‘shaken’ them by running or jumping during pregnancy.

However, both can put pressure on your pelvic floor and put you at risk of falling or injuring yourself (your joints are looser during pregnancy), so you may need to adapt any workouts you do that involve them.

As long as you do so safely and stop if you feel pain, you can continue these exercises.

How soon after birth can I start to exercise again?

How soon after giving birth you can exercise again is highly individual. If you’ve had a caesarean, episiotomy or tearing, you may need longer to allow your body to heal.

Ask your midwife before you start exercising again.

Can I exercise while breast feeding?

It’s generally completely safe to exercise while breast feeding. Your midwife or doctor can advise.

FAQs

Is it safe to exercise while pregnant?

Unless you are told not to exercise by a medical professional, it is generally safe and beneficial to both you and your baby to exercise while pregnant. There are exercises and sports that may be unsafe, however, such as contact sports and ab work, so these should be avoided.

What are the benefits of exercising during pregnancy?

Being physically active during pregnancy can be beneficial to your mental health, reduce the risk of gestational diabetes and help with possible side effects of pregnancy such as constipation, sleep difficulties and swollen limbs. It can also increase the blood flow to your baby, which helps their development, and reduce the risk of hypertension.

Is it okay not to exercise during pregnancy?

While there are mental and physical benefits to staying physically active during pregnancy, everybody is different and you may find it extremely difficult to exercise. The first and third trimesters in particular can be very physically demanding, with exhaustion, nausea, pain, difficulties with balance and loose joints being common experiences. It’s important to be kind to yourself and remember that your body is already doing something amazing.