When Carol Grams of Seattle, Wash. became pregnant, she decided to start an exercise regimen even though she had never before exercised regularly. She had heard exercise was good for the baby and that it could make her labor easier, so she began walking two or three times a week.

When Grams was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she learned that exercise could help control her blood sugar, so she increased her walking to six or seven days a week, using a NordicTrack during inclement weather.

Expectant mothers like Grams are not unusual. Just as some women quit smoking or begin making healthier food choices when they become pregnant, some women begin an exercise program.

Benefits of exercise include better circulation, the release of endorphins – which make women feel better – and stronger back muscles that will decrease back pain. But one of the best benefits of exercise during pregnancy is that it prepares women for the hardest physical work they will ever do: labor and delivery.

"The general advice is to go slow, don't do anything that hurts, and obviously, people need to check with their midwife or doctor to make sure there are no restrictions," says Lisa Summers, senior technical advisor of professional services for the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Walking is the first type of exercise Summers recommends for pregnant mothers who have not been exercising regularly, and she suggests they walk with a friend. "Often women are not accustomed to exercise because they don't enjoy it," Summers explains. By making it a social event, women are more likely to stick with it.

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