Prenatal Exercise

Pregnancy is beautiful and exciting but can leave you with many uncertainties about what's happening with your body and how you can manage the changes.

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is about exercise and whether it should continue throughout your pregnancy.

Many people are afraid to continue with their exercise routines and are unsure as to what is or what isn’t recommended.

Well, the good news is research dating back to 2012 shows that physical exercise is beneficial throughout pregnancy and during the postpartum period. It's not associated with risks for the newborn and can lead to changes in lifestyle that can imply long term benefits.

More recently, in 2019, the first Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy was published.

It was stated in this review, that the benefits of prenatal physical activity are moderate and no harms were identified.

It also showed that ANYONE can participate in physical activity throughout pregnancy, with the exception of those who have contraindications. These will be explained to you by your doctor. So unless you have been told it is unreasonable for you to exercise, it is perfectly safe to do so during your pregnancy.

So what does this mean? A lot will depend on what your current exercise program looked like pre pregnancy. Generally, if you're already doing an activity, you can continue to do that throughout pregnancy. What you may find is your abilities could change and you have to slow down a little bit. But YOU get to decide what feels safe and reasonable.

Many people worry that exercising can be dangerous to their unborn child. However, in 2019, a journal article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, reviewed many different articles suggested that prenatal exercise is not increased with the odds of miscarriage or perinatal mortality. In plain terms, exercise IS SAFE!

If you're new to exercise and you find out you're going to be having a baby, you may be wondering, where to start. You understand the important advantages to exercise during pregnancy, like reducing the risk of gestational diabetes, maintaining a healthy blood pressure, and lessening the risk of pelvic floor dysfunction, back pain, anxiety and depression.

But if you've never exercised before, is it even reasonable that you should start now? Think about this, if you weren't pregnant and wanted to start exercising, what would stop you? Perhaps your actual level of physical ability, knee pain, back pain, hip pain or just maybe nothing more than fear of the unknown. But there's no reason for you not to try something new.

You may need to start at a much lower level than some of your peers or other people in the class. You may find it difficult to begin with and not able to do the activity as often, but there's no reason for you not to try.

I realize many would question me advising pregnant people to start to exercise.

But during pregnancy, your body is going through countless changes and maintaining and perhaps increasing your activity level can actually provide endless benefits. It doesn't mean go and join a CrossFit class at 10 weeks pregnant or start doing aggressive marathon training in your second trimester. What it does mean is finding some kind of movement that your body likes, that you like, and you can maintain. This may make it easier for you to get back to activity after you have a baby. It may be following a workout video, joining a yoga class, or just going for a walk.

Pregnancy is not a pathology and therefore it's perfectly safe to start and continue with exercise.

If you're unclear as to what is or is not appropriate, reach out to your doctor, your midwife, your obstetrician, a pelvic health physiotherapist or a fitness professional to get clarification and guidance.

There's no shame in not knowing. Don't let fear stop you from embarking on a healthy and active pregnancy.

Nicola Robertson

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist