Five Pregnancy Workouts You Can Start Today

Taking regular exercise can help to reduce many of the aches and pains associated with pregnancy. Exercise can also help you to maintain a healthy weight gain, get a good night’s sleep, and reduce stress. Think of labour as a marathon – staying active by exercising regularly during pregnancy will help you to stay fit in preparation for the marathon.

Here are five pregnancy workouts that will help you stay fit during pregnancy:

1. Walking – half an hour of walking a day can raise your heartbeat, reduce stress and improve fitness. Try walking home from work or taking a brisk stroll during your lunch break. Try to include this exercise as part of your daily routine.

2. Swimming – this is a great full-body workout, and doesn’t put too much strain on your aching joints. The water helps to support your weight, allowing you to move easily through the water. Try to go swimming a couple of times a week, set yourself a goal of how many laps you want to swim, and see if you can increase this as the weeks go by.

3. Ball exercises – birthing balls aren’t just useful during labour, you can use them during pregnancy workouts, too. Get yourself seated safely on the ball, and then try rocking from side to side. Gently rotate your hips to open up your pelvis, and then try slowly making a figure of eight motion with your hips. You can also bounce gently on the ball. An easy way to add ball exercises into your daily routine is to do them whilst watching your favourite TV show. As the opening credits appear, position yourself on your ball, and gently rotate, sway and bounce your way through the programme. Or while you’re reading pregnancy information on the Internet …

4. Prenatal yoga – search online for a prenatal yoga class in your local area. The yoga instructor will teach poses that are beneficial during pregnancy, and may be able to advise on poses to reduce particular aches and pains. If there are no prenatal yoga classes in your neighbourhood, you could buy a prenatal yoga DVD to try at home.

5. Prenatal pilates – pilates encourages strength and flexibility, and is a great exercise to try during pregnancy. Your pilates instructor will teach poses and movements to strengthen your core, tone your muscles and improve your fitness level. Pilates is a great way to exercise your pelvic floor muscles, which is especially important during pregnancy. Look for a prenatal pilates class in your local area, or find a pregnancy pilates DVD to use at home.

What’s your ‘go-to’ pregnancy workout?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

5 Reasons Prenatal Yoga is the Perfect Pregnancy Exercise

Staying fit during pregnancy helps your body to prepare for childbirth. Spending nine months lounging on the sofa, eating for two, isn’t going to do much in the way of stamina – and you’ll need stamina for the marathon that is labour. Some women swear by prenatal yoga as the key to a healthy pregnancy, great birth and speedy postnatal recovery. Here are seven reasons why prenatal yoga is the perfect pregnancy exercise:

  1. It relieves stress – studies have found that yoga relieves stress. Pregnancy can be a stressful time, and it can be hard to switch off at the end of a long day. Taking yoga classes can help you to learn ways to relax. Prenatal yoga classes often include a segment of ‘relaxation time’ which is really quiet time for pregnant women. This will give you some much-needed rest, and allow you to feel completely and utterly relaxed (unless the pregnant woman snoring next to you is ruining your zen).
  2. You’ll meet other mums – the class will be full of women just like you. Sleepless nights can be tough, so you’ll need a supportive network of mum friends you can moan to at 3am. Start collecting now so you’ll always have someone to message during night feeds! Prenatal yoga instructors understand the importance of such a support network, and will often allow for socialising both before and after class in the hope of encouraging people to build relationships.
  3. It improves body confidence – learning yoga, and strengthening your body, may help to improve body confidence. As you become more aware of your body’s capabilities, you may feel more able to trust your body. And when better to trust your body, than during pregnancy and labour? You probably already feel pretty amazed by your body – after all, it is growing a baby – but learning to control your movement can be the cherry on top of your body confidence cake.
  4. It’s all about balance and strength – with your growing bump, you may be feeling clumsy and unbalanced. Yoga can help you to gain control of your changing centre of gravity, and improve posture to reduce aches and pains. Including yoga positions in your daily routine can help to strengthen your core muscles, open up your hips and pelvis, and may help to ease any discomfort caused by the pregnancy.
  5. It has transferable skills – the breathing techniques used during yoga are perfect for labour. You’ll learn breathing techniques and visualisations that can be used to keep calm and focus during contractions.

Are you taking a prenatal yoga class?

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.

Pelvic Tilt Exercises for Pregnancy

Pelvic tilt exercises are great for relieving and preventing back and pelvis aches during pregnancy. Pelvic tilt exercises can also be used to strengthen abdominal muscles, and relieve lumbar discomfort. There are various ways to perform a pelvic tilt, and you can either vary between the exercises, or stick to the one you find most comfortable.

Pelvic tilts are a good way to relieve back and pelvic discomfort at the end of a long day. Pelvic tilts are often recommended for women suffering from pelvic girdle pain (also known as symphysis pubic dysfunction), because these exercises can help to strengthen the muscles and relieve tension in the pelvic area. If you have been diagnosed with pelvic girdle pain, speak to your healthcare provider before trying new exercises.

Towards the end of the pregnancy, pelvic tilts can be performed during times of fetal activity in the hope of encouraging optimal fetal positioning. Pelvic tilts open up the pelvis, and may allow the baby to get into a good position for the birth. If you’re doing them on hands and knees, the abdomen acts as a hammock, allowing the baby to get into an anterior position to facilitate and easier birth.

Pelvic tilts can be used during labour, too. Some women find that the angry cat position (detailed below) provides relief from back ache during contractions. During labour, you may find that you move into various positions without much thought. If you find yourself on all fours, give the angry cat pelvic tilts a go to see if they help. You may wish to put your birth partner in charge of reminding you about this, since you’re likely to be focused on other things.

Standing pelvic tilts

  1. Stand with your bottom and shoulders against a wall.
  2. Keeping your knees soft, pull your tummy in towards your spine so that your back flattens against the wall.
  3. Hold for up to four seconds.
  4. Repeat up to 10 times.

Lying down pelvic tilts

  1. Lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. The natural curve of your spine will prevent your back from touching the floor in this position.
  2. Use your muscles to hold your back against the floor, working against the natural curve of your spine.
  3. Hold this position for up to four seconds.
  4. Repeat up to 10 times.

The yoga pose – angry cat:

  1. Position yourself on your hands and knees with your back straight. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart, and your knees should be hip-width apart.
  2. Breathe in and arch your back (like an angry cat), tightening your abdominal muscles as you do this.
  3. Hold for up to four seconds.
  4. Exhale slowly as you release the position.
  5. Repeat up to 10 times.

The exercises listed above can be repeated throughout the day. As you strengthen your muscles, you may find you are able to hold the positions for longer than four seconds.

Written by Fiona, proud owner of a toddler, @fiona_peacock

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.