Physical activity

Staying active is healthy and safe for most pregnant women.
Physical activity helps your body get ready for childbirth.
Try to get 30 minutes of physical activity on most days.

Exercise during pregnancy

Some women think that pregnancy is a time to sit back and put their feet up. Not so! For most women, it’s important to exercise during pregnancy. In fact, it has many health benefits.

Healthy pregnant women need at least 2½ hours of exercise each week. This is about 30 minutes each day. If this sounds like a lot, don’t worry. You don’t have to do it all at once. Instead, split up your exercise by doing something active for 10 minutes three times each day.

Why is exercise during pregnancy good for you?
For healthy pregnant women, exercise can:

Keep your heart, body and mind healthy
Help you feel good and find the extra energy you need
Help you stay fit and gain the right amount of weight during pregnancy
Ease some of the discomforts you might have during pregnancy, like constipation, backaches, trouble sleeping and varicose veins (swollen veins)
Prevent health problems like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes
Help your body get ready to give birth
Reduce stress

Can exercise during pregnancy hurt your baby?
Exercise is safe for most healthy pregnant women. With your health care provider’s OK, exercising during pregnancy is safe for you and your baby. Talk to your health care provider before you start any exercise program. Ask about what kinds of exercise are safe for you to do.

Can all pregnant women exercise?
No. Not every woman should exercise during pregnancy. Don’t exercise if you have:

Heart problems that affect blood flow
Preterm labor. Preterm labor is labor that happens too early, before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.
An incompetent cervix. This is a cervix that opens too early, before the baby is full term.
Lung disease
A pregnancy with twins, triplets or more. Being pregnant with multiples increases your chances for having preterm labor.
Vaginal bleeding during the second or third trimesters (from 4 months of pregnancy on) that doesn’t go away
Ruptured membranes (when your water breaks)
Preeclampsia
Placenta previa. This is when the placenta sits low in the uterus and covers all or part of the cervix. The placenta supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. The cervix is the opening to the uterus that sits at the top of the vagina.

Ask your provider if it’s safe for you to exercise if:

You have a health problem, like anemia, high blood pressure, diabetes, a thyroid problem or seizures
You’re overweight or underweight

What types of exercise are best during pregnancy?
If your provider says it’s safe for you to exercise, pick activities you think you’ll enjoy. Some hospitals and health clubs offer aerobics and yoga classes just for pregnant women. Or try things you can do with your partner or friends, like walking or dancing.

Swimming is especially good for you. The water supports the weight of your growing body, and moving against it keeps your heart rate up.

If you exercised before you were pregnant, it’s usually safe to continue what you were doing. Be sure to check with your provider first. As your pregnancy continues and your belly gets bigger, you may need to change some activities or ease up on your workout.

If you didn’t exercise before you were pregnant, start slowly. Try to build up your fitness little by little.

Are there any types of exercise that aren’t safe during pregnancy?
Be careful and check with your provider when choosing your activities. During pregnancy, avoid:

Anything that might hurt you or cause you to fall, like horseback riding, downhill skiing, gymnastics or bike riding
Any sport where you might get hit in the belly, like ice hockey, kickboxing, soccer or basketball
After the third month of pregnancy, any exercises that make you lie flat on your back. Lying on your back can limit the flow of blood to your baby.
Any sport that has a lot of jerky, bouncing movements
Scuba diving. This can lead to dangerous gas bubbles in your baby's blood vessels.
Exercising at high altitudes (more than 6,000 feet) because it can lower the amount of oxygen that reaches your baby.
Exercising outside on hot, humid days because your body can overheat. Also, stay out of saunas, hot tubs and steam rooms.

When you exercise, drink lots of water. Pay attention to your body and how you feel. Stop exercising and call your provider if you have any of these signs:

Vaginal bleeding
Dizziness
Trouble breathing
Headache
Chest pain
Muscle weakness
Pain or swelling in your lower legs
Contractions
Leaking amniotic fluid
Your baby stops moving.

Does pregnancy change how your body responds to exercise?
During pregnancy, your body changes in many ways. When you’re exercising, you may notice these changes:

Breathing: You need more oxygen when you’re pregnant, especially in your second and third trimesters. Your growing belly puts pressure on your lungs, making them work harder in a smaller space. You may even find yourself feeling short of breath at times.
Heart rate: Your heart works harder and beats quicker during pregnancy to get oxygen to your baby. You may have less energy for exercise.
Body temperature: You start sweating sooner than you did before pregnancy. To protect yourself and your baby from overheating, your body starts sweating at a lower body temperature.
Balance: As your body changes during pregnancy, so does your sense of balance. You may notice that you lose your balance more easily.
Joints: Your hormones (chemicals made by the body) are at high levels during pregnancy. This can make the tissues in your body more relaxed. Try to avoid any movements that may strain or hurt your joints.

Can exercise during pregnancy help you after pregnancy?
Yes. Once your baby is born, exercise can help you regain your energy and get back to your prepregnancy weight. It also can help prevent the baby blues. Baby blues are feelings of sadness that some women have in the first few days after having a baby.

Once your baby is born, when can you start exercising again?
You may feel ready to exercise again a few days after your baby is born. Or you may want to wait longer. With your health provider's OK, you can start light exercise as soon as you feel up to it.

If you were active during your pregnancy, it’s easier to get back into exercise after your baby is born. Just be sure to start slowly. If you feel pain or have other problems during exercise, stop doing the activity and talk to your provider. If you had a cesarean section, don’t exercise until your provider says it’s OK. A c-section is surgery in which your baby is born through a cut your provider makes in your belly and uterus.

Last reviewed March 2012