Exercise During Pregnancy
If you are healthy and experiencing a normal pregnancy, exercise during pregnancy can be very beneficial for both you and your baby. But first, talk to your doctor about any exercise you have been doing and want to continue or want to start.
Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy
Exercising regularly may:
- Reduce back pain
- Ease constipation
- Decrease your risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean delivery
- Promote healthy weight gain during pregnancy
- Improve your general overall fitness and strengthen your heart and blood vessels
- Help you to lose the baby weight after your baby is born
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that pregnant women get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. Moderate intensity is enough to raise your heartbeat and make you start to sweat, but you should still be able to talk normally. Examples of safe exercises for pregnant women include:
- Brisk walking
- Swimming and water workouts
- Stationary bicycling
- Modified yoga and modified Pilates (avoid poses that require you to be still or lie on your back for long periods)
Activities to Avoid During Pregnancy
Although exercise is good for you, you should avoid activities that put you at risk for injury, such as:
- Contact sports, including hockey, boxing, soccer, and basketball
- Skydiving
- Activities that increase your risk of falling, such as skiing or snowboarding, water skiing, surfing, mountain biking, gymnastics, or ATV or horseback riding
- Hot yoga or hot Pilates, which could cause you to become overheated
- Scuba diving
Warning Signs
Stop exercising and call your doctor if you experience any of these:
- Bleeding from the vagina
- Feeling dizzy or faint
- Shortness of breath before starting exercise
- Headache
- Muscle weakness
- Calf pain or swelling
- Regular, painful contractions of the uterus
- Fluid leaking from the vagina
While exercise during pregnancy is beneficial, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor before starting something new or continuing your pre-pregnancy workout regimen.
After going to another clinic in Cheyenne that didn’t treat me as a priority, it was a breath of fresh air stepping into Cheyenne Women’s Clinic. The entire staff was amazing, but Dr. Dozier was exceptional. She was kind, patient & answered any questions I had with great detail. I will never not recommend her. I am so pleased with my experience here.
I feel so lucky to have had the doctors at the Women’s Clinic for all three of my deliveries and GYN care. They provide high quality, compassionate, evidenced based care and Cheyenne is lucky to have such a great group!
I absolutely have loved it here! We just finished having our second kiddo and have worked with the vast majority of doctors here and they are all excellent!
Had an absolute amazing experience with the Cheyenne Woman’s Clinic during my first pregnancy. They did their best to accommodate my labor desires and made me feel as comfortable as can be. My husband appreciated how they took care of me, and now we’re going back with our second pregnancy! Highly recommend.
All of my appointments I’ve attended through the Women’s Clinic have been amazing the nurses and doctors have been lots of help throughout my whole pregnancy with lots of advice and support, I love every person from there they definitely are a welcoming and loving place!
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