Women Should Adopt a Healthy Exercise Program During and After Pregnancy

A healthy exercise program benefits a woman’s overall health during and after pregnancy. 

Government research shows that there are very low risks for moderate-intensity activity performed by healthy women during pregnancy, and don’t increase risk of low birth weight babies, preterm delivery, or early loss of pregnancy. Some studies show that a healthy exercise program actually reduces the risk of pregnancy complications, like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and decreases the length of labor, but this research is in the early stages.

A regular exercise program, during a normal postpartum period,  benefit a woman’s health overall. Research indicates that moderate physical activity during the period following the birth of a child increases a woman’s cardio-respiratory fitness and improves her sense of well-being and mood. This exercise does not seem to have ill effects on volume or composition of breast milk, or infant maturation. 

A good exercise program also helps women accomplish and sustain a healthy weight during the postpartum period, and helps promote weight loss when integrated with caloric control. 

Here are Some Key Guidelines for Women During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period 

• Healthy women who are not already highly active or doing vigorous-intensity activity should get at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Preferably, this activity should be spread throughout the week. 
• Pregnant women who habitually engage in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or are highly active can continue physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period, provided that they remain healthy and discuss with their health-care provider how and when activity should be adjusted over time. 

And Of Course, Check with Your Health-care Provider Prior to Beginning an Exercise Program

Women who are pregnant should be under the care of a health-care provider with whom they can discuss how to adjust amounts of physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Unless a woman has medical reasons to avoid physical activity during pregnancy, she can begin or continue moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity during her pregnancy and after the baby is born. 

When starting physical activity during pregnancy, women should increase the amount gradually over time. The effects of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity during pregnancy have not been studied carefully, so there is no basis for recommending that women should begin vigorous-intensity activity during pregnancy. 

Women who do vigorous-intensity activity or high amounts of activity or strength training should continue to be physically active during pregnancy and after giving birth. They generally do not need to drastically reduce their activity levels, provided that they remain healthy and discuss with their health-care provider how to adjust activity levels during this time. 

During pregnancy, women should avoid doing exercises involving lying on their back after the first trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women should also avoid doing activities that increase the risk of falling or abdominal trauma, including contact or impactful or conatct sports.

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