Exercise safely during pregnancy: what every mum-to-be should know

Pregnancy fitness guide for mums-to-be. Learn which exercises are safe, what to avoid, and how to stay strong, balanced and energised before and after birth.

Not only can you exercise during pregnancy, but it will also help you on so many levels. The right exercise can help minimise typical pregnancy aches such as lower back pain, stretch areas of tightness caused by the bump shifting your centre of gravity forwards, and it will keep you feeling positive and energised.

Check in with your doctor

If your pregnancy is straightforward and healthy with no complications, you can exercise right up to your due date and even beyond if you go overdue. The important thing is to make sure that your healthcare practitioners are happy for you to exercise, and that what you do is tailored for pregnancy by a specialist.

First trimester

Don’t attempt to start new forms of exercise during your first trimester. This is a key time, and whilst people may not see that you’re expecting, the very foundations of your pregnancy are being laid down.

Second trimester

Once you move into the second trimester, certain aspects of your pre-pregnancy fitness regime will need to be modified. For example, lying on your back for extended periods could make you feel faint and should be avoided. Classic abdominal exercises such as sit-ups, planks and Russian twists are no longer suitable and should be replaced by gentle activation of the deep abdominals and pelvic floor muscles.

Keeping exercise moderate

‘Moderate’ exercise means you should be able to work out comfortably and hold a conversation at the same time without getting breathless. It’s important to remember that your ‘moderate’ is never going to be the same as someone else’s. If you see someone on Instagram doing burpees in her second or third trimester, that doesn’t make it right for you. It also doesn’t necessarily make it wrong for her, although burpees in pregnancy aren’t something I’d advocate for many reasons.

Exercise to avoid during pregnancy

There are certain forms of exercise that must be avoided in pregnancy, such as contact sports, competitive sports, scuba diving and dangerous activities like horse riding, rock climbing and skiing.

Listen to your body

Always tune into the signals that your body is sending you. Don’t feel like going on that run but feel like you ought to? Take note, be kind to yourself and go for a walk instead. Also think about your recovery time after exercise. If recovery is taking longer and you’re having to force yourself to work out, it’s time to switch to pregnancy-specific movement.

Avoid overheating

You mustn’t allow yourself to overheat when exercising, as this isn’t good for your baby. Overheating can adversely affect your growing baby, and that includes saunas. Keep workouts cool, controlled and well-hydrated.

Avoid deep stretching

During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin helps loosen the ligaments in the pelvis to prepare for childbirth. Unfortunately, the body can’t just target relaxin to that area, so your ligaments are extra ‘stretchy’ everywhere. Deep stretches can exploit this and lead to permanent joint instability, so keep them gentle and short.

Relaxin also causes your blood vessels to dilate, leading to what’s called vascular underfill. This can make you feel faint if you do too much up-and-down movement, so avoid switching rapidly between the mat and standing positions.

Don’t skip strength training

The dramatic increase in relaxin levels also causes a degree of laxity around the joints, which can lead to classic aches and pains in the pelvis, back, knees and wrists. Keeping strong through pregnancy-safe strength training helps counter this instability, as strong muscles support your joints. If you love cardio, keep it, but add some strength work—it’ll likely improve your performance too.

Post-birth recovery

It’s incredibly tempting to dive straight back into intense exercise after giving birth. You’re done with pregnancy and eager to reclaim your body, but diving in too soon can be detrimental. Intense workouts post-birth can lead to pelvic floor damage that may require surgery later.

Don’t miss out on the basics

You need to rebuild your core and pelvic floor—the foundations that will help you get fitter and stronger than before pregnancy. Pelvic floor exercises should be started as soon as possible after birth, as they promote blood flow to the perineum and aid healing.

Walking is another great way to get moving post-birth. It’s gentle, baby-friendly, and helps restore mental balance while getting you out in the fresh air.

Wellness Wednesdays with The Baby Show

The Baby Show team believe now, more than ever, is a vital time to support, guide and empower parents-to-be. With this in mind, they’ve introduced #WednesdayWellness with The Baby Show Live @ Home—a place where you can ask questions during Instagram Live Q&As, talk with other like-minded parents, get practical parenting advice, join in fitness and wellbeing sessions, learn essential First Aid skills and much more!

Tune in @thebabyshow every Wednesday evening to hear from top industry experts sharing their top tips and advice on pregnancy, birth and beyond. I’m also proud to be a MyBump2Baby favourite blogger.