Expecting a baby is a special and very important period in a woman’s life. The expectant mother cares not only about her health but also about the well-being of her baby. More young girls in recent years are involved in sports in everyday life and during the planning stage of pregnancy. So what should a woman do when she is already pregnant? Stop taking fitness classes and stay at home for the entire day playing at Woo Casino or watching movies or somehow combine them with the new situation? After all, pregnant women have to monitor their figure, health, and weight gain even more carefully than before pregnancy.
Can You Do Sports During Pregnancy
Everybody knows that sports have a positive influence on the physical and emotional state of people. Are there any benefits of sports during pregnancy? Of course, yes. A sedentary lifestyle contributes to weight gain, edema, and increased blood pressure. It isn’t a secret that sports exercises normalize the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, strengthen muscles that participate in childbirth, have a beneficial effect on psycho-emotional status, normalize sleep and improve appetite. Regular exercise reduces the percentage of pregnancy complications, contributes to the normal course of childbirth, and reduces the risk of perineal tears. Exercise during pregnancy improves blood circulation and metabolism of internal organs, which favorably affects the growth and development of the fetus and prevents edema. There is also scientific evidence that the children of women engaged in physical activity during pregnancy are less susceptible to various diseases, infections and stresses. A woman who was engaged in sports during pregnancy recovers faster in the postpartum period, and the risk of developing postpartum complications is significantly reduced.
In any case, before you start exercising during pregnancy, be sure to consult with an obstetrician-gynecologist, who supervises the woman.
What Activities Are Allowed for Pregnant Women
First, starting to do sports during pregnancy, consider the level of physical fitness before conception. If a woman has been regularly engaged in sports for many years, received intensive loads, of course, and during pregnancy in the absence of contraindications, she can afford more intense activities, though with the presence of a certain control. In particular, the heart rate in 5 minutes after the end of exercise should not exceed 100 beats per minute, and blood pressure should normalize independently during the same period of time. During training you should try to limit the time of intensive physical work to 15 minutes (by intensive work we mean the work, during which the pulse rate exceeds 150 beats per minute). It’s better to increase the time allocated to warming up and warming up. The training time itself should ideally not exceed 1.5 hours.
Women who did not engage in intensive fitness before pregnancy should be careful when starting to exercise during pregnancy, starting small and gradually increasing the load in a reasonable range.
Walking
One of the simplest, accessible to every woman, but effective physical activity, allowed absolutely all pregnant women, regardless of their training and well-being – is walking. Such exercises tone muscles in legs, buttocks and back, prevent the occurrence of varicose veins and hemorrhoids, fight against venous stasis in the pelvis. Regular walks improve uterine-placental blood flow, resulting in the fetus getting more oxygen and nutrients.
Swimming
Swimming is probably the best sport for pregnant women. Swimming has a positive effect on the mother and the baby. Exercises in water relieve spine, strengthen back and chest muscles, massage tissues, improve blood circulation in organs and tissues, edema disappears, flatulence. In addition, swimming eliminates the possibility of overheating, dehydration and injury to women, as well as excessive load on the joints. Swimming is a great way to keep your body toned and a great opportunity to get it in order after the baby is born. Water is an excellent shock absorber that allows you to optimally distribute the load on the body with any type of movement. You can just hold on to the water, walk in the water, swim, do aqua aerobics for pregnant women. In gyms, there are aqua aerobics classes for pregnant women under the guidance of instructors. The only thing to remember going to the pool is to wear a swimsuit that fits well, does not squeeze the stomach, and to take a bottle with clean drinking water to replenish fluids after the session, and to assess the cleanliness of the pool where you swim.
Yoga
Yoga is also a great option for exercise during the period of carrying a baby. Almost all of its varieties are suitable, but it’s still better, especially for beginners, to practice specially adapted yoga for pregnant women, under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Such yoga won’t harm your baby, there are no upside-down poses and exercises that must be done lying on your back. Another argument in favor of yoga is that a lot of time is devoted to breathing and relaxation while doing the exercises. This is beneficial for the baby’s development (proper breathing improves blood circulation and the baby gets more oxygen) and also prepares the mother for childbirth.
