The Importance of Exercise during Pregnancy

I was only eighteen years old when I got pregnant with my first child, so I was still in college living quite an active life. Active, in a sense that I went to the gym four times a week, I attended summer classes for my college course, and our Physical Education class during that time was swimming. Even after I learned that I was pregnant, I continued attending gym classes extending until two months and a half of my pregnancy. I also went through with the first semester of my second year in college, and since learning to swim is a pre-requisite, I need to attend swimming classes until the end of the semester.
I hardly felt the symptoms of my pregnancy. Never undergoing morning sickness, dizziness, fainting or nausea, that was because I have learned later that the more active and well exercised you are before and during pregnancy, the lesser would you feel these pregnancy discomforts.
Several benefits of exercising includes fewer symptoms associated with pregnancy, including backaches, excessive weight gain, fatigue, cramping, nausea, anxiety, and stress. Shorter labors and a lower frequency of cesarean section for the mother; higher APGAR score and fewer neonatal complications for the baby.
An ideal exercise regimen for pregnant women is composed of Cardiovascular exercise, the easiest cardio would be simply walking for 3 - 7 times a week for half an hour or 30 minutes. If you like, you could also monitor your heart rate with a portable heart rate monitor, keeping it between 140 - 160 bpm.
Second component is the resistive exercise, something to keep the important muscles for labor healthy and strong. Resistance must be focused on upper and lower back since during pregnancy, the breast and abdomen, respectively, increases in size. Tendency is, if you have weak back muscles, you will have a round shouldered, extra protruding belly (lordotic) posture.
Most importantly, pelvic and thigh muscles must be strengthened to help during the labor stage. As a Physical Therapist, I find it quite useful to purchase an elastic band, "Theraband", is the most common brand which can be found in pharmacies. It comes in different color, and each color in return provides different resistance. The lightest being the less resistant and the darkest being the most resistant. I suggest you get the blue or green color since I think it provides the ideal resistance for pregnant women. This band can be used by tying it in a post or simply asking somebody to hold it for you, folded in two, insert your thigh inside. Pull the band with your thigh towards the direction of your other thigh, and the two open ends to be pulled by somebody or tied to a stationary object. Do ten (1o) repetitions for each thigh. This is to help strengthen the inner thigh muscles. This exercise can also be done the same with the outer thigh muscles. Only, the direction of the pull should ba away fro your other thigh and the one who holds the open ends should be situated beside your other thigh to provide for the opposite resistance. Do ten (1o) repetitions for each thigh.
Kegel exercise, which is specific for women, is usually taught by Physical Therapist to women who have weakened pelvic floor muscles or those who have urinary incontinence. We usually advise the patient to feel your pelvic floor muscles by trying to stop your urine from flowing midstream. After identifying the muscle which contracts during urine stopping, it would be easier for you to contract the muscle even while sitting, standing, or lying in bed. All you need to do is to do ten (10) repetitions each day. This could greatly help during normal labor because this muscle is exactly the same muscle you need to use while pushing and bearing down and totally not your anal muscles. Plus, sometimes there are cases wherein too much trauma to the pelvic muscles during labor may cause urinary incontinence, so this is exactly the exercise which is right to prevent it.
Personally, however, I would also strengthen abdominal muscles by doing a simple form of abdominal crunches by trying to reach your bended knee with the tips of your fingers while lying on your back. This is personally tried and tested that if abdominal muscles are well toned before the tummy becomes more pronounced, there would be lesser to no appearance of abdominal stretch marks.
The last component would be flexibility or stretching exercises, which should be focused on back muscles to prevent back pains. Try "Cat abd Camel" exercise, same exercise used for patients with scoliosis. To do this exercise, you need to be on all fours, curl your back up like a camel's hump and down, creating a a slight U shape with your back just like how a cat stretches. Care must be taken to keep each position for ten counts and doing also ten repetitions of each.
Tailor exercises, which is done by doing a cross legged position and slightly leaning forward, much better if the arms are outstretched and reaching forward as far as you can. Another variation would be to do a cross legged posiiotn but the bottom of both feet should be in contact with each other and try to bring down both knees down to the floor, to stretch the pelvic floor muscles.
There are actually a lot of exercises you could do even while pregnant. If you have a regular exercise regimen, you may even continue it as long as your docotrs approves of it and you do not experience dizziness, fainting, nausea, vaginal bleeding or fluid leaks or uterine contractions during and after the exercise.
The most important thing is to keep your body healthy, even maintain an ideal weight during pregnancy ( body weight before pregnancy + 10 kgs) and I think the ultimate goal is to deliver a healthy baby with fewer labor complications.