Importance Of Exercise During Pregnancy

The period of pregnancy is normally an exciting moment for a couple who decides to start a family or for a family that is expecting a new baby. Though the period of pregnancy could bring excitement into a family, it also brings extra responsibilities which the family ought to carry out to support the pregnant woman. The responsibilities that are to be carried out by the members of the family especially the woman`s partner are a small portion of what the pregnant woman herself ought to play to ensure the safety of the pregnancy and hence, the life of the unborn baby as well as herself.

There are various things which the woman needs to consider during this period. One of these things is for her to visit the hospital or see her doctor regularly. Information such as the kind of food to eat, the times at which she is to attend antenatal care and other information concerning the pregnancy are made known to her whenever she visits the hospital or her doctor. Among the things that she is being told to do, exercising is not an exception. Many doctors and midwifes advice pregnant women who will not have complications if they should exercise to exercise regularly.

This therefore brings us to the topic: exercise during pregnancy. What is exercise?The importance of exercise to the pregnant woman, examples of exercises for pregnant women as well as exercises to be avoided by pregnant women will be discussed in subsequent paragraphs of this paper.

When we talk about exercise, we nearly always refer to physical exercise. Exercise is the physical exertion of the body thus making the body do a physical activity which results in a healthy or healthier level of physical fitness and both physical and mental health. That is to say, exercise aims to m...

... middle of paper ...

...ere falling is likely should be avoided.

• Contact sports such as softball, football, basketball, and volleyball

• Any exercise that may cause even mild abdominal trauma such as activities that include jarring motions or rapid changes in direction.

• Activities that require extensive jumping, hopping, skipping, bouncing, or running.

• Deep knee bends, full sit-ups, double leg raises, and straight-leg toe touches.

• Bouncing while stretching.

• Waist-twisting movements while standing.

• Heavy exercise spurts followed by long periods of no activity.

• Exercising in hot humid weather should also be avoided.

This information was gotten from WebMD (2014).

Exercise is so beneficial during pregnancy that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends pregnant women to exercise at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week (Baby Center, 2014)