If you're worried that exercising during pregnancy will negatively impact your developing baby, don't be. Provided that you have a normal pregnancy without complications and don't have a negative medical history, you can continue to exercise during pregnancy. If you didn't exercise before your pregnancy, discuss exercise with your doctor to determine the best program for you. Combine regular exercise with a healthy diet to give your baby the best start to life.
Fetal Heart Rate
According to Dr. James Clapp, author of "Exercising Through Your Pregnancy" and expert on prenatal exercise, doctors used to worry that exercise would cause fetal distress by increasing the baby's heart rate. About ten minutes into exercise, the fetal heart does increase and will continue to do so as mom exercises. This is a normal response that is not dangerous to the baby. In fact, newborn babies whose mothers exercised during pregnancy show an increased ability to adapt to life outside the womb, according to Clapp.
Birth Weight
Frequent, intense exercise may lead to reduced body-fat content, which can cause lower birth weights. Most babies' body-fat levels are about 14 percent, whereas those with exercising moms usually have a 9 percent body-fat level. A 2010 study by researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand found that babies whose mothers exercised during pregnancy also receive just as many nutrients as those whose mothers did not exercise. These studies show that exercise does not take away from baby's nutrition and may even decrease chances of obesity later in life.
Benefits for Mothers
During pregnancy, what's good for mom is also good for baby, and prenatal exercise provides numerous benefits for expecting mothers. According to Birgitta Gallo's "Expecting Fitness," Prenatal exercise benefits women in five particular areas: the heart and circulatory system; lung and placental gas support; body temperature and sweating; metabolic and hormonal responses; and muscle, ligament and bone adaptations. Body tissues are better able to take up and use oxygen. Pregnant, exercising women have increased abilities to deal with heat stress, since they are better able to eliminate excess heat. Finally, prenatal exercise may reduce laxity of ligaments and improve overall muscle strength and tone.
Misconceptions
A variety of myths surround prenatal exercise and its effects on the developing baby. Miscarriages are often mistakenly associated with exercise during pregnancy. However, continuing to work out during pregnancy does not increase the rate of miscarriages. Congenital defects are also unaffected by exercise, according to Dr. Clapp's studies. Ectopic pregnancy occurred only once in over 500 test subjects, which is an even lower incidence than the general population. Finally, exercise has not been shown to increase the incidence of placental problems, such as placenta previa, placental abruption or inadequate placental growth.
References
- Dr. James Clapp, M.D.; "Exercising Through Your Pregnancy"; 2002
- "Expecting Fitness": Birgitta Gallo; 2000
- Time Health: Study: Moms Who Exercise Give Birth to Lighter Babies; Alice Park; 2010
