Exercise During Pregnancy: What’s Allowed and What’s Not

Talking about what pregnant women are allowed or not allowed to do is no longer like before. Previously, pregnant women were encouraged to rest and avoid activity out of fear for the baby. Today, however, there is an urgent need for pregnant women to practice special, safe exercises that offer many health benefits. Doctors now emphasize light exercises that improve both the health and mood of pregnant women.

If you are pregnant and want to exercise, you need to know what’s allowed and what’s forbidden, and how to perform certain exercises that help prepare you for a natural birth — the best option. For this, "Nadormagazine" spoke in a special interview with obstetrics and newborn consultant Dr. Mariam Younes, who shared some light, safe exercises for pregnant women that reduce stress, improve mood, relieve various pregnancy pains, and prepare for childbirth:

General Benefits of Exercise for Pregnant Women

• Stretching Exercise: One of the most important benefits of exercising during pregnancy is avoiding excessive weight gain.

• Safe exercises greatly help reduce common pregnancy discomforts such as constipation, back pain, and swollen limbs as pregnancy progresses.

• Exercise improves mood and relieves stress and anxiety, while also enhancing sleep quality.

• Light exercise can help prevent gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm labor, and reduce the chances of cesarean delivery.

• Gentle exercise strengthens pelvic muscles, facilitating natural delivery.

Safe Light Exercises During the First Stage of Pregnancy

1. Walking:
   Walking is the simplest and safest exercise for pregnant women, especially in the early months. Start with short walks and gradually increase duration. Walking improves mood, provides immediate mental relief, boosts circulation, strengthens leg muscles, and supports heart health.

2. Swimming:
   Swimming is one of the best exercises during pregnancy because it benefits joints and reduces the feeling of heaviness, especially in the second and third trimesters. Warm water swimming is recommended to avoid overheating. It relieves pressure on the back and knees, improves breathing and lung health, and reduces swelling caused by fluid retention.

3. Stretching and Flexibility Exercises:
   These can be done safely at any pregnancy stage with caution and slow movements to avoid injury. They enhance muscle and joint flexibility, reduce muscle pain and tension, improve posture, and ease back pressure caused by the growing baby.

Breathing Exercises to Reduce Stress in Pregnancy

• Pursed-Lip Breathing:
  Sit comfortably with relaxed shoulders and neck, close your eyes and mouth, breathe through your nose for 2 minutes, then purse your lips as if blowing out a candle, and exhale slowly in multiple bursts through pursed lips.

• Lion’s Breath (Yoga Exercise):
  Sit in a squat position, lean forward with hands on the floor, inhale deeply through the nose, then exhale sharply while saying “Ah,” look up toward your forehead, and repeat several times. This relaxes the facial and jaw muscles.

• Box Breathing:
  Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds, hold breath for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, then hold breath for 4 seconds. This technique reduces overthinking and calms the mind, especially near delivery.

Allowed and Forbidden Exercises Near Delivery

• You can practice relaxation exercises, squats, yoga, and crawling exercises.

• Practice the Taylor (Cobbler’s) Sitting: sit with feet lightly touching, gently press knees downward. This helps open the pelvis for easier delivery.

• Do Kegel exercises to strengthen and tone the pelvic floor muscles and reduce the risk of tearing during birth.

• Use an exercise ball to strengthen your back muscles.

• Avoid lying flat on your back because the baby’s weight can press on major blood vessels causing dizziness, rapid heartbeat, or low blood pressure.

• Avoid balance exercises that might cause falls.

• Strengthen leg muscles daily to support increased weight in the last trimester.

• Avoid abdominal weight exercises to prevent separation of the abdominal muscles (diastasis recti), which is common in late pregnancy.

Tips for Pregnant Women While Exercising

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

• Wear loose, cotton clothes to keep cool and avoid excessive sweating.

• Use supportive, non-slip shoes suitable for exercise.

• Adjust exercise intensity based on your body's feedback.

• Breathe deeply and monitor your heart rate during exercise.