Fitness during pregnancy

I would ask your doctor honestly.

Bump to read later.. I am 10 weeks 5 days Preggo and Have been wondering the same...

IT is really great for delivery!! You can do strength just not as heavy and there are modified forms you can do look them up. I have an Oxygen subscription and in the back they always show two pregnant exercises in each magazine you can do most of it just modifed and lighter weights.

I continued to teach step classes and swim through my pregnancy. Plank was the only ab workout I did while pregnant, I got the okay from my doctor. She didn't know what they were, so I showed her and she chuckled and said "yes, they should be fine." I had a woman in a class who still did crunches, when I asked her about it she said that she had an okay from her doctor to do crunches. The programs that I teach have plank as a pregnancy option.

After the baby is born the rules change for a few weeks. You shouldn't do any core work at all until the separation between your left and right abdominal wall is less than 2 fingers, which may take up to 8 weeks (mine took a little longer).

Hey Michaela,

sure you can. But I would keep an eye on squads, etc.
All thinks with a big pressure to your abdomen are not that good. So it´s on how low your "low impact" is
But I think, you don´t do heavy weight squads, don´t you? So try to control the pressure by breathing right etc. and everything will be fine.

My son is 19 months old now and I worked out way before I was pregnant and continued to work out while pregnant. My dtr said that as long as I wasn't lying flat on my back after the 1st trimester that I was ok for to me continue to work my abs. I did a lot of plank work while pregnant and strongly believe it helped keep my abs strong during pregnancy and helped get my abs back after pregnancy. Some prenatal videos I did had plank work in them. But you can always double check with your doctor.

I don't see why there would be anything wrong with it, but it's always good to ask questions to your midwife or obstetrician. That's what they get paid for!

Pregnancy is natural, and NOT a disability, so don't let anyone make you feel that way. Staying fit and eating well throughout your pregnancy will be beneficial to you when it matters most, LABOR! If nothing else, find ways to strengthen your back during your pregnancy. Good luck

But every pregnancy is different and what is OK for one woman may not be for another. Only her doctor knows if it's OK for this particular pregnant woman to do any particular exercise.

I don't see why there would be anything wrong with it, but it's always good to ask questions to your midwife or obstetrician. That's what they get paid for!

Pregnancy is natural, and NOT a disability, so don't let anyone make you feel that way. Staying fit and eating well throughout your pregnancy will be beneficial to you when it matters most, LABOR! If nothing else, find ways to strengthen your back during your pregnancy. Good luck

Just because pregnancy is natural doesn't mean it its health proof from complications or gives a free pass that you can do whatever you want. There are certain exercises that can end up lowering the blood flow to the fetus. Its best to talk to your doctor.

As a self appointed pregnancy police.

You can do the same level of as you did before you got pregnant. I would not be ok with Squats, planks, or anything that would stress the abdominal area. This is non negotiable.

So stop.

-Pregnancy Police.

Again, I would check with your doctor but if you were doing plank work before you got pregnant, you should be able to continue you. Yes, every woman is different. I did regular plank, see plank, side plank with leg raises, regular plank with leg raises, etc. but I was doing all of that before I got pregnant. Your doctor might be different but every time I asked my doctor about a certain exercises, she would tell me if I was doing it before I was pregnant, I could continue while pregnant and just modify when needed and listen to my body.

I find it entertaining that the "pregnancy police" advice is coming from a man.

OP-talk to your doctor, but trust yourself in this as well. If it feels good to continue working out, by all means do it. I did yoga and swam throughout my pregnancy. I jogged before, but it became uncomfortable after the first trimester, so I stopped. Towards the end of the third trimester, I had to back off on my swimming laps because they triggered contrations for me. So my advice is to listen to your body and do what feels safe and right for you (and your baby).

Because men can't know things about women, we are super-duper mysterious.

I don't see why there would be anything wrong with it, but it's always good to ask questions to your midwife or obstetrician. That's what they get paid for!

Pregnancy is natural, and NOT a disability, so don't let anyone make you feel that way. Staying fit and eating well throughout your pregnancy will be beneficial to you when it matters most, LABOR! If nothing else, find ways to strengthen your back during your pregnancy. Good luck

But every pregnancy is different and what is OK for one woman may not be for another. Only her doctor knows if it's OK for this particular pregnant woman to do any particular exercise.

Right, and thanks for brining that up. My reply was based on a normal, low-risk pregnancy. There are lot of precautions to take once you are deemed "high-risk" by an OB or a MW.

I find it entertaining that the "pregnancy police" advice is coming from a man.

OP-talk to your doctor, but trust yourself in this as well. If it feels good to continue working out, by all means do it. I did yoga and swam throughout my pregnancy. I jogged before, but it became uncomfortable after the first trimester, so I stopped. Towards the end of the third trimester, I had to back off on my swimming laps because they triggered contrations for me. So my advice is to listen to your body and do what feels safe and right for you (and your baby).

Because men can't know things about women, we are super-duper mysterious.

The OB that delivered my daughter was a man

Either way, she needs to ask her doctor. People ask a lot of health questions here that are not appropriate for an online forum.

I agree that when in doubt about something that may be serious, ask your certified caretaker! It's not a bad idea to chat about it, like she is doing here, either. But the ultimate decision should be made between her, her MW or OB, and whatever research she does on the topic. I still think that most women can benefit from having a strong back during labor. The trick is finding a way to acheive it without disrupting the pregnancy.

Either way, she needs to ask her doctor. People ask a lot of health questions here that are not appropriate for an online forum.

I agree that when in doubt about something that may be serious, ask your certified caretaker! It's not a bad idea to chat about it, like she is doing here, either. But the ultimate decision should be made between her, her MW or OB, and whatever research she does on the topic. I still think that most women can benefit from having a strong back during labor. The trick is finding a way to acheive it without disrupting the pregnancy.

Oh, absolutely. When I was first pregnant, my doctor was feeling my belly. I have killer abs and always have (though now you can't actually see them) and he said I would have an easy/quick delivery because of it. 6 hours of labor and 20 minutes of pushing ... So, yeah! lol

But I still wouldn't decide on an exercise plan based on advice from here. I'm guessing her doc will OK it, but he should be the last word, not us.

That's AMAZING! I was the opposite. I fell into the "I'm preggo so I can't do anything" trap and had a very unhealthy nine months and a pretty traumatizing birthing experience =/ Since then, I've done so much research on child birth and one of the main consistencies I find is that women who eat healthy and stay fit during their pregnancies tend to have "easier" labors (lol at easy and labor in the same sentence.) Not to say that a healthy pregnancy can't end in a disasterous labor...

Apologies, I didn't mean to sound so utterly condescending about the pregnancy police comment. It simply made me think of my husband, who claimed the title "pregnancy police" and proceeded to hand out ridiculous advice. I've known quite a few fantastic male OBs.

My husband read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" from cover to cover. I didn't even read it! They try lol