Many expectant mothers ask themselves whether they can do sports during pregnancy – the answer is: Yes! Of course, you can’t just carry on as before, but with a few small adjustments, sport in an uncomplicated pregnancy has a positive effect on your well-being and can even positively influence the birth.
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Can I Do Sports During Pregnancy?
If you were not active in sports before pregnancy, you should start slowly and moderately. Gymnastics, for example, is very popular, because it also has a positive effect on the preparation for delivery and can also help to prevent stretch marks.
If you were already active in sports before pregnancy, you can continue your physical activities with an adapted training plan. The prerequisite is that you put performance goals on the back burner for the time being, and high-performance sports should also be paused while you are “training as a couple”.
In addition, you are less likely to injure yourself or fall than women who have just started the sport.
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Other Sports That Are Good For Pregnant Women Include:
- Aerobics
- Aqua aerobics
- Chi-Gong
- Golf
- Cycling
- Swimming (at temperatures between 20 – 35° C)
- Tai-Chi
- Walking & hiking (not higher than 2.000 m)
- Yoga
If you are not sure which sport suits you best, consult your gynecologist. However, the above options do not replace pregnancy gymnastics, where you will also learn breathing techniques.
General Recommendations For Exercise During Pregnancy
- Exercise only as long and as intensively as it feels good for you.
- Avoid spinning around your own axis, rapid acceleration and abrupt stops.
- Team sports are also less suitable, as there is a risk of collision.
- When doing endurance sports, make sure that you consume enough carbohydrates and that your body temperature does not get too high.
- In case of multiple pregnancies, please check your training with your gynecologist.
- If you do weight training, your goal should be to maintain your muscles and not to build new ones.
- When training the abdominals, it is advisable to train the lateral abdominal muscles rather than the straight ones, as they will become softer to make room for the baby.
When Can I Start And When Should I Stop Exercising?
Exercise can be done even during early pregnancy – as long as there are no health reasons against it. However, high-impact sports should be avoided.
High-impact sports are all sports that place a high load on the circulation, joints or muscles. High-impact sports are also characterized by step patterns such as rotation around one’s own axis or briefly not being in contact with the ground.
As soon as your abdominal girth becomes too large and the sport therefore too burdensome, you should start taking a break from sport.
How Often Should Or May I Do Sports?
As often as you like, but the absolute maximum is seven times a week.
When Should I Take Special Care When Exercising During Pregnancy?
If the following symptoms occur during activity, you should urgently stop exercising:
- Abdominal pain
- Bleeding
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness & malaise
- Eye flickering
- Headache
Also, If You Have The Following Risk Factors, Be Careful!
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Previous miscarriage
- Thyroid disorder
- Just survived infection
- Cardiovascular disease
- Multiple pregnancy
You can find out what sports you can start after pregnancy here.
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