quick clicks

pregnancy today articles

pregnancy today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

A Perfectly Fit Pregnancy

Staying Fit the Safe Way

By Teri Brown

For people who work hard at staying fit and healthy or are heavily involved in a sport, pregnancy can seem like an enforced period of rest. Such people are often apprehensive about keeping up workout or training programs. Studies are indicating, however, that they shouldn't be too concerned.

Women who are physically fit before and during pregnancy have been proven to develop fewer complications, gain less weight and give birth to healthier babies. On the other hand, pregnancy does demand that women who are trying to keep active understand the limitations and safety precautions needed to ensure fetal health.

Erica Myers-Russo, a mother of two from Griswold, Conn., was very concerned about keeping up her active lifestyle during her first pregnancy. "During the first pregnancy I was much more concerned about the baby," says Myers-Russo. "During the second pregnancy, I had much greater awareness of how my increased fitness was helping my baby, and also I had much greater confidence in my body's ability to get through the pregnancy and handle what I was doing."

Myers-Russo made sure to remain hydrated and listened to her body during aerobics, but other than that, she considered keeping up with her various exercise activities to be essential to her physical and emotional well-being.

Jon Chipko is a pre and postnatal certified strength and conditioning coach and founder of Bodygoals.com. He believes research has now proven that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial as long as some basic precautions are taken and the workouts are not taken to the extreme.

"Many clinical studies have been done on exercise and pregnancy in humans," says Chipko. "In general, these studies have been positive. Findings have included easier delivery, no apparent fetal defects and normal birth weight. The negative effects of excessive exercise during pregnancy, shown in animal studies, may be balanced by positive nutritional and health practices. "

Want to see more?

• Pilates and Pregnancy: The Perfect Preparation for Labor and Delivery
• Pregnant? It's Not Too Late to Start Exercising
• Mama's Got Biceps: Building Muscle with Strength Training
• Talk about it!

Post As:
Enter your comment below:
Title
Comment Text
CAPTCHA
Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection.