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Many women worry about the weight gain that is inextricable with pregnancy. You often hear women talking about their bodies before and after baby, and how pregnancy really wreaked havoc on their body’s shape and their ability to lose weight. Since we live in such a body-image obsessed world, in which flawlessly skinny celebrities are often held as the ideal, weight worries can be a major danger zone for pregnant women, especially for those who worship at the temple of diet and exercise. This body-image mania can lead to under-eating and over-exercising during pregnancy. Let’s take a look at the ways that exercise can healthily be practiced during pregnancy in order to help you avoid doing any harm to your developing baby.
Regular, light exercise during pregnancy can help you feel good and keep your body moving and healthy. Light exercise such as stretching, yoga, and taking long walks can be really helpful and keep your muscles loose and your body and its metabolic processes running smoothly. Light exercise can also help prevent gestational diabetes, relieve stress, and build the stamina needed for the eventual labor and delivery.
Cardio during pregnancy can be ok, but you have to remember that cardio raises your core temperature, and your baby already has a higher body temp than you do-thus, too much cardio can overheat you and baby and lead to exhaustion and fatigue. When it comes to cardio, only you can know your limits, but you need to be aware that however you are feeling, your developing baby feels the same way only ten-fold. This is why it is best to limit your cardio workouts during pregnancy-you don’t want to overdo it and put yourself and your baby at risk.
Some women are actually not allowed to exercise during pregnancy. This includes women who have experienced recurrent miscarriages, are prone to pregnancy bleeding, have a weak cervix, a low placenta, or a history of premature births. Exercise can disrupt these women’s delicate bodies and cause miscarriage and premature birth. If you fall into one of these risk categories, limit your pregnancy activity to easy walks and simple stretches, but be sure to consult your doctor on what is safest for you.
Fitness during pregnancy is not a no no-you can definitely exercise and keep your body in shape while carrying your developing little one. The important thing is to know your own body, know if you fall into any of the exercise risk categories, and have a good rapport with your doctor so that you can get advice about the best pregnancy exercise route for you. However, remember that your life is not only about you anymore-everything you are doing is now affecting your baby. If that means you have to gain a little weight and it puts a little wear and tear on your figure then so be it. Your baby’s health should be the only driving force behind your pregnancy habits, plain and simple.
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