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Fall into Fitness

Safe, Outdoor Exercises
for the Mom-to-Be

By Katherine Bontrager

Other things to avoid while working up a sweat? Tatum McCain, a physical therapist with the Texas Back Institute, advises pregnant women to avoid forms of exercises that include the following:

• Positions that involve abdominal compression in mid/late pregnancy.
• Supine positions held longer than three minutes in mid/late pregnancy.
• Positions that have the buttocks higher than the chest.
• Positions that strain the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles.
• Positions that encourage vigorous stretching of the hip adductors.
• Rapid, uncontrolled bouncing/swinging movements.
• Inversion positions.

But it's not just potentially dangerous forms of exercise that expectant moms need to be on the lookout for. Other considerations, such as breathing, body core temperature and water consumption, are important to consider.

"For pregnant women, the oxygen consumption at rest in pregnancy increases with advancing gestation," McCain says. "This increase is due to a higher metabolic rate, increased tissue mass, extra work needed to perform vital functions, etc. As the pregnancy advances it becomes more difficult to transfer oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air to the cells. Pregnant women have to compensate for this by breathing more deeply. Women should be aware of the decreased oxygen available for aerobic exercise during pregnancy. Pregnant women should stop exercising when fatigued and not exercise to exhaustion."

In addition, most women have been warned about the use of hot tubs and saunas while pregnant, but that concern also extends to how hot your body becomes after a simple workout.

Want to see more?

• Get Into the Swing of Things: Golfing During Pregnancy
• Mama's Got Biceps: Building Muscle With Strength Training
• Pregnant?: It's Not Too Late to Start Exercising
• Talk about it!

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