Since then there has been a dramatic change in how doctors and scientists perceive exercise during pregnancy. Exercise is now thought to be great for the mother and the unborn child.

1. Exercise
During
Pregnancy
By. Guthe Mahaedhie

3.  Exercise is defined as regular, leisure-time physical activities to
improve physical condition, ability or health. Previous studies
indicate that women with uncomplicated pregnancies are fit
for exercise with few restrictions, without any risk of harm to the
mother or fetus.
 A myth prevails that athletes, gymnasts and horsewomen may
experience difficult labors due to strong pelvic floor muscles,
and these questions are frequently discussed on chatting
websites for pregnant women.
 However, training of the pelvic floor muscles may produce
strong and well controlled muscles that will facilitate labor, and
one randomized controlled trial has demonstrated that
intensive pelvic floor muscle training in pregnancy prevented a
prolonged second stage of labor in about one in eight women.
 Improved aerobic capacity and general muscular strength
may also be beneficial and facilitate labor, but this has been
sparsely studied in randomized controlled trials.
Salvesen, K. Å., Stafne, S. N., Eggebø, T. M., & Mørkved, S. (2014). Does regular exercise in pregnancy influence duration of
labor? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 93(1), 73-79.
doi:10.1111/aogs.12260

4. Moyer, C., Livingston, J., Xiangming, F., & May, L. E. (2015). Influence of exercise mode on pregnancy outcomes: ENHANCED
by Mom project. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 15(1), 1-7. doi:10.1186/s12884-015-0556-6
 Understanding the effects of exercise during pregnancy on the
fetus and neonate is just beginning to be explored. The effects
of aerobic exercise on maternal health have been long
understood, with the body of research indicating the safety and
efficacy of maternal exercise training regarding fetal and
neonatal health is growing .
 The fetus is not at risk of hypoxia or significant bradycardia
during maternal exercise. The neonate of exercising women is
also not at risk of being born disproportionately or underweight,
but is similar to women who have not exercised.
 Moreover, fetuses of exercising women have decreased body
fat mass compared to fetuses of non exercising mothers.

5. Based on socio-cultural reasons, pregnant women
are encouraged to reduce physical activity during
pregnancy because of worries about potential
harms such as early pregnancy loss or reduced
placental circulation.

6. In 1985, the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) published a guideline for the safe
physical activities during pregnancy. According to ACOG
recommendation, pregnant women are encouraged to do
low-impact, moderate-intensity and regular exercises during
this period.
They also were told to avoid intense activities (such as
jogging or cycling) for more than 15 minutes per session.
ACOG recommended doing low-intensity exercises every
day more than or equal to thirty minutes. They also
suggested high intensity exercises to be done three times a
week with twenty minutes or more duration.

7.  Since then there has been a dramatic change in how doctors
and scientists perceive exercise during pregnancy.
 Exercise is now thought to be great for the mother and the
unborn child.
 Researchers are also now starting to look even more closely at
how exercise can influence a baby’s health in the womb and
how these effects might translate into protection from future
health problems.

8. Domingues, M. R., Matijasevich, A., Barros, A. D., Santos, I. S., Horta, B. L., & Hallal, P. C. (2014). Physical Activity during
Pregnancy and Offspring Neurodevelopment and IQ in the First 4 Years of Life. Plos ONE, 9(10), 1-8.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0110050
 Physical activity during pregnancy is known to result in health
benefits as much as among non-pregnant individuals.
 For example, women who exercise while pregnant experience
less muscular discomforts and depressive symptoms, keep their
weight gain within normal ranges and present lower blood
pressure and blood sugar levels.
 Evidence also shows that children may benefit from maternal
exercise, as preterm birth is less frequent among exercisers.
Besides, active mothers are more likely to present healthier
lifestyles that may influence future health outcomes such as
future diabetes and hypertension.

9.  There is no debt about benefits of physical activity among the
general populations. Recommendations are available about
benefits of physical activity during pregnancy.
 Similar to other periods, physical activity will be valuable for
reducing cardiovascular problems, limiting weight gain,
decreasing musculoskeletal discomfort, reducing lower limb
edema and pregnancy specific benefits such as reducing risk of
developing gestational hypertension and diabetes.
 Most women are concerned about effects of physical activity
on their own health and fetus health
Tanha, F. D., Ghajarzadeh, M., Mohseni, M., Shariat, M., & Ranjbar, M. (2014). Is ACOG Guideline Helpful for Encouraging
Pregnant Women to Do Exercise During Pregnancy?. Acta Medica Iranica, 52(6), 458-461.

10. Reason # 1
Why women should exercise during pregnancy :
This is due to hearth health.
 It’s been known that those who exercise—including
pregnant women—tend to have lower resting heart
rates than those who don’t.
 Lower heart rates can be a sign of an efficient heart;
high heart rates have been linked to greater risk of
cardiovascular disease.

11. Reason # 2
Why women should exercise during pregnancy :
The benefits of exercising while pregnant also last into a
child’s life after birth
higher heart rate variability if they had exercised along
with their moms in utero(Walker). These benefits can lead
into healthier childhood years, in which they have more
efficiently pumping hearts.

12. Reason # 3
Why women should exercise during pregnancy :
Prepare women and her body for birth
Strong muscles and a fit heart can greatly ease labor and
delivery. Gaining control over your breathing can help
you manage pain. And in the event of a lengthy labor,
increased endurance can be a real help.

13. Reason # 4
Why women should exercise during pregnancy:
Regain pre-pregnancy body more quickly
Woman will gain less fat weight during her pregnancy if
you continue to exercise (assuming she exercised before
becoming pregnant). But don't expect or try to lose
weight by exercising during pregnancy. For most women,
the goal is to maintain their fitness level throughout
pregnancy

14. May’s Study
 Linda May, now at East Carolina University in North Carolina,
has long been interested whether benefits like this extended
to baby.
 In a 2010 study, she and her colleagues collected a group of
26 pregnant women who reported that they’d been
exercising three times a week for more than 30 minutes per
session.
 When researchers brought the moms into the lab at 36 weeks,
they found that the babies in their bellies, too, had lower heart
rates than those carried by the moms they studied who
weren’t regular exercisers.

15. May’s Study
 In another study, May recruited 60 women at 13 weeks of
pregnancy and brought them into the gym three times a week
for either aerobic or mixed aerobic and weight training exercise.
A control group of women came in to stretch and chat with
researchers, keeping their heart rates low.
 At 34 weeks—about six weeks before the babies’ due dates—the
researchers checked in with the hearts within the wombs.
Whether their moms were pumping iron or spinning, the babies in
the bellies of exercising moms played along—their heart rates
were lower and more variable, another sign of heart health, and
pumped more blood with each beat than the tiny hearts inside
moms in the control group.

16. May’s Study
 The results indicate that exercise during pregnancy, far from
harming the fetus, can be incredibly beneficial for both mom
and baby. And timing matters: exercise during pregnancy, as
opposed to pre-pregnancy fitness, seems to be doing
something extra-special, May says.
 In this most recent study, about half of the group hadn’t
exercised previously, and still saw similar effects on their babies’
hearts. In some of May’s past work, she collected data on
moms’ pre-pregnancy body mass index and their resting heart
rates, ages, and how much weight they gained in pregnancy.
But these things didn’t explain the link between the fetus’s heart
health and the exercise done in pregnancy.

17. Benefits at Birth, and Beyond
Such benefits to the heart may last into a child’s early
life. Earlier this year, May and colleagues found that
month-old infants still had higher heart rate variability
if they had exercised along with their moms in utero.
Another set of results from May’s group, not yet
published, suggests that kids up to six years old still
carry some of these early workouts with them:
youngsters whose moms exercised while pregnant
have higher “ejection fractions,” which indicates their
hearts are pumping blood more efficiently.

18. As for what types of exercise bring the most
benefit, May has found that aerobic
exercise is great for the mom—lowering her
heart rate and helping her gain less fat—but
a mix of aerobics and strength training may
be even better for the baby.

19. Precautions:

20. Avoid aerobic exercise during pregnancy if you have:
 Hemodynamically significant heart disease
 Restrictive lung disease
 Incompetent cervix/cerclage
 Multiple gestation at risk for premature labor
 Persistent second- or third-trimester bleeding
 Placenta previa after 26 weeks of gestation
 Premature labor during the current pregnancy
 Ruptured membranes
 Preeclampsia/pregnancy-induced hypertension

21. Take precautions with aerobic exercise during
pregnancy if you have:
 Severe anemia
 Unevaluated maternal cardiac arrhythmia
 Chronic bronchitis
 Poorly controlled type 1 diabetes
 Extreme morbid obesity
 Extreme underweight (BMI <12)
 History of extremely sedentary lifestyle
 Intrauterine growth restriction in current pregnancy
 Poorly controlled hypertension
 Orthopedic limitations
 Poorly controlled seizure disorder
 Poorly controlled hyperthyroidism
 Heavy smoker

22. There are certain exercises and activities that can be harmful
if performed during pregnancy. Avoid:
 Holding your breath during any activity
 Activities where falling is likely (such as skiing and horseback riding)
 Contact sports such as softball, football, basketball and volleyball
 Any exercise that may cause even mild abdominal trauma, including
activities that include jarring motions or rapid changes in direction
 Activities that require extensive jumping, hopping, skipping, or bouncing
 Deep knee bends, full sit-ups, double leg raises and straight-leg toe touches
 Bouncing while stretching
 Exercises that require lying on your back or right side for more than three
minutes. (especially after your third month of pregnancy)
 Heavy exercise spurts followed by long periods of no activity
 Exercise in hot, humid weather
 Scuba diving

23. Thank You