Are you pregnant? It’s an excitement and scary time for women and families, especially in the current climate. This is also the time when women assess their lifestyle, eating healthily, getting enough sleep, and exercise. However, what kind of exercise should you or shouldn’t be doing while pregnant?
We’ve asked and searched on this subject, and to help reduce the confusion, there is advice and opinions out there that aren’t based on actual facts, so here at The Richards’ Centre we have the official guidelines to reassure you that most exercise is completely safe, and even better, encouraged my our industry professionals.
The Exercise Guidelines
The current UK Guidelines, commissioned by the Chief Medical Officers have created an infographic based on the complete review of the research, which includes the association between exercise in pregnancy and birth outcomes.
Why is Exercise recommended in Pregnancy?
Our Researches here at The Richards’ centre whilst pregnant. It has been shown to improve cardiovascular health and help reduce insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, pelvic girdle pain and other musculoskeletal pain, and gestational diabetes by 30%.
What Are The Risks To Exercise During Pregnancy?
Of course, sensible and moderate exercise comes with no risk. You should consider avoiding heavy exercises, such as gymnastics, water-skiing, off-road cycling, boxing – I think this is all stating the obvious. However, this is stating the obvious. a few other things to consider are that during pregnancy balance can be affected, so take care with jumping or one-legged stretching for example.
For active women, you should be aware of the changes to your body’s ability to regulate heat. Take care to stay hydrated, avoid humid, hot conditions, and do not exercise for more than an hour.
Of course, irrespective of being pregnant, if you feel dizzy, breathless, have chest pain, headaches, swelling or calf pain after minimal exertion you should seek medical advice. And those with pre-existing medical conditions may need to follow different advice.