This intense, strenuous and even explosive Latin aerobic dance form can combine surprisingly well with pregnancy. Many Zumba dancers report a surge of energy to combat fatigue, and YouTube videos show women eight months pregnant instructing classes with vigor. The bottom line: Listen to your body. Don't start Zumba during pregnancy unless you are already a reasonably fit dancer. Do continue with it if it feels good: Your baby may be bopping right along as the tiniest class member.
Expert Opinion
Mayo Clinic head obstetrician Dr. Roger W. Harms notes that, in the past, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists "recommended a heart rate of no more than 140 beats a minute for exercise during pregnancy." The college has revised this recommendation to recommending 30 minutes of exercise a day during pregnancy for most women without any specific heart rate limits; a broader guideline that keeps Zumba feasible.
Warning
Harms recommends getting your health care provider's approval for exercise such as Zumba during pregnancy, especially if you have a history of diabetes, high blood pressure or preterm labor. Know your limitations, adds obstetrician Dr. Lisa Haddad of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston: Tuck in your bottom and use your stomach muscles to keep upright to avoid the risk of harm from a fall. Tone down jumping and leaping in the last three months and do low-impact dancing during the last six to eight weeks. Not all women are able to continue dancing until delivery, she notes.
Effects
Strenuous dance exercise such as Zumba will be more of a struggle during pregnancy, as the amount of blood circulated by the heart increases to as much as 30 to 50 percent above normal, fitness expert Tracey Mallet writes on the BabyCenter website. The heart rate rises and the risk for muscle strain, tearing or other injury increases, since the same hormone that helps the uterus expand also weakens the body's connective tissues.
Benefits
Certified Zumba instructor Adelicia Villagaray of Baltimore, Maryland, describes a woman she taught who did Zumba throughout her pregnancy, performing modifications for the jumps and twists. "The baby knew she was going to Zumba, so as soon as 12 o'clock hit, it was completely still, due to the rocking motion," she said. Although it was the woman's first child, "the doctor said it was the fastest delivery he had ever done, maybe because her core muscles were so stable," she said.
Considerations
"Personal trainers say the best thing is to continue exercises but not to start a new exercise while you are pregnant," Villagaray notes. "Try to do 30 minutes of dance exercise three to five times a week and do modifications" of the more strenuous routines, she suggests. Instructors can suggest modifying routines to avoid impact and twisting and to slow transitions. Mallet suggests keeping one foot on the floor at all times, marching instead of jumping, using fewer arm movements and avoiding quick turns.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise during pregnancy: Is heart rate a concern?
- Adelicia Villagaray, certified Zumba instructor, Baltimore, Maryland
- BabyCenter: Is a strenuous dance class safe during pregnancy?
- Healthline: Dance as Exercise During Pregnancy
- Kendra Hyson: Zumba?? What's That?!
