Exercise during Pregnancy plays an important role in keeping women healthy, aside from providing them great energy during their day-to-day tedious tasks. According to some notable surveys in different parts of the world, only 5% women who are going through pregnancy, prefer to do exercise. This is indeed a very discouraging data as it shows the lack of interest as well awareness among women.
Many of the birth complications in women are sometimes directly attributed to lack of exercise. It is indeed a fact that most of the women remain inactive and desk-bounded during their entire pregnancy stage. This is a wrong approach. Maintaining fitness and exercise during early as well as the later stages of pregnancy is extremely important for women, as it helps them in maintaining a proper shape and also prevents any form of harmful health conditions from accumulating inside the body.
Another reason, why women usually avoid exercise during their pregnancy stage, is the influence of family and friends. It is a general behavior of the family, friends and colleagues to post unusual comments when you choose to exercise in your pregnancy days. It is strictly advised to women to ignore such people wherever possible and carry on with their proper pregnancy exercise routines in order to be prepared in advance for child-birth.
Following are some of the important benefits of exercise during pregnancy which will reveal its importance during this sensitive phase of women’s lives:
Table of Contents
10 Advantages of Exercise During Pregnancy
1. Exercise Increases Energy levels
Exercise helps greatly in increasing your daily energy levels during pregnancy stage. This is because of the body’s hormonal response to exercise which benefits body’s ability to endure stress and difficult tasks in a most effective way. Pregnancy often brings many psychological and physiological changes in women. Exercise helps women in enhancing their mood as well as the capacity to work during pregnancy. It also keeps them in shape, preventing lots of harmful diseases and health problems. Yoga during pregnancy, can be an extremely effective exercise for helping the body during this sensitive stage. >> Importance of Morning Yoga.
2. Reduction in Sickness and Fatigue During Pregnancy
Exercise during pregnancy helps in stabilizing the blood pressure. With the help of daily workout sessions many of the symptoms such as fatigue, stress and sickness, which are most commonly experienced by women during pregnancy, can be completely eliminated. It helps in keeping women charged and energetic for a long time, maintaining all health functions effectively.
3. Effectively Carrying the Pregnancy Weight
Many of the pregnancy exercises focus specifically on the pregnancy postures. These help greatly in improving your body movements which can further help in a proper growth of babies. Another major advantage of exercise is that it helps women in feeling relaxed and comfortable during the pregnancy stage. Maintaining small regular workout sessions can not only provide women with additional strength and energy during pregnancy but can also provide the capacity to carry their pregnancy weight in a most effective way.
4. Preparations for Labor and Birth
This is probably the most important benefit of exercise during pregnancy. Most of the women who lack any kind of physical activity during pregnancy often face extreme conditions during child-birth phase. Exercise not only keeps them fit during pregnancy but also prepares them in advance for labor and child-birth. Physically fit women usually experience less difficulty in the recovery stage after child-birth. It provides them the right energy and mental attitude to work their up this sensitive phase of life.
5. Preparation of Body for Post Child-birth Stage
Maintaining exercise and fitness can really help women in enduring the post child-birth conditions in a more effective way. Strong and well maintained body can eliminate the symptoms of lower back pain and muscle stiffness which are some medical conditions that are often experienced by women during pregnancy. Exercise during pregnancy also provides additional comfort and relaxation during the breastfeeding stage by reducing the strain and pain in neck as well as the upper back portion of the body.
6. Weight Loss During Pregnancy
Women who exercise during pregnancy can expect an increase of around 8-15 kg of body weight, depending on the size of the baby. Around 3-4 kg is usually the weight of the body and the remaining weight is in the form extra fluid, blood, breast tissue, amniotic fluid and the placenta. Women usually don’t like pregnancy weight, which is exactly the reason why exercise can help them tremendously in shaping and maintaining the body during pregnancy. Some specialized pregnancy exercise programs can bring lots of useful results for women that can really help them shed those extra pounds and remain fit throughout the pregnancy stage. >> Simple and Easy Exercises for Weight Loss.
8. Improved Blood Supply
Medical studies show that women who exercise during their pregnancy stage experience a more enhanced and improved blood supply to the placenta, not only for themselves but also for the baby. It can be extremely beneficial for the growth of both fetal and placental. This shows a highly bright side of exercise and its benefits during the pregnancy stage.
9. Stress Reduction
This is another major exercise benefit during pregnancy. Stress is probably the most harmful psychological condition which is experienced by most of the women during pregnancy. Exercise is the right tool to reduce stress. From a simple walk at the beach to some effective pregnancy exercises at home; all play an important role in keeping you relaxed and happy during pregnancy.
10. What to Eat During Pregnancy
Maintaining diet during pregnancy is extremely important as it helps the body in reducing many of the pregnancy symptoms along with providing a perfect nutrition. Foods such as pasteurized milk, yogurt, beans, lean meat, cereals, green vegetables, fish, fruits and fresh juices can provide women the right nutrition during pregnancy.
Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
Foods include caffeine, canned foods, plastic bottled drinks, fast food items and alcohol should be avoided during pregnancy. These must be avoided at all costs. Any other food item which is not certified by a doctor must be instantly discarded from your pregnancy diet in order to prevent any health complications during the pregnancy stage.