Doing activity while being pregnant is one of the important thing a pregnant mother has to pay attention to, including exercise. The feelings of discomfort, tiredness and nausea often made pregnant mothers reluctant to do any exercise. However, does Mama know that exercising during pregnancy is beneficial for Mama and your little ones?
Benefit of Exercise During Pregnancy
Reported from Alodokter, exercise is one of the best activities to improve Mama’s condition during pregnancy. There are many benefits that Mama will receive, as if, exercise can improve Mama’s mood and posture. It can also help during the labor process because exercise increases Mama’s stamina and strengthens the muscles. Regular exercise is also great to prevent gestational diabetes and lower back pain, constipation, bloating, and swollen feet.
Beside that, 85% pregnant mothers who exercise regularly are more likely to avoid risks of preeclampsia, hypertension, and gestational diabetes. Still, there are things that Mama has to take into account while exercising. The exercise has to be adjusted to Mama’s conditions and the pregnancy’s phase. For example, a history of certain illness, body’s condition, and time span of the pregnancy itself. That’s why, if Mama has a history of certain illness, Mama can pick a light exercise to do during pregnancy like walking or yoga.
Reccommended Exercises According To Pregnancy Phase
It was common for pregnant mothers to experience certain conditions in the first, second, and third trimester. Let’s find out what are the perfect exercises to do during each trimester!
1. 1st Trimester
In the first 3 months of pregnancy, Mama usually experiences morning sickness and heightened sensitivity to smell. To alleviate the discomfort, Mama can try light physical exercise like walking, a 30 minutes yoga per week, swimming, and light aerobics.
2. 2nd Trimester
Mama’s stomach in this trimester has gotten bigger compared to the first, but Mama can still do some exercises to stay fit. Mama can try swimming, yoga, static bike, and walking. However, it is recommended to swim in shallow water and to pay extra attention to avoid any bump.
3. 3rd Trimester
Entering the third trimester, Mama’s stomach is getting bigger and Mama also gained more weight that imposed limitations on your activities or exercises. However, Halodoc recommends Mama to still exercise even in this final phase. Some of the things Mama can do are yoga, walking and swimming. But since it’s already the third trimester, it will be better for Mama to swim in the breaststroke or backstroke position.
Exercises Mama Should Avoid
There are some exercises that could help Mama during pregnancy but on the other hand, there are some that Mama should avoid. Here are some exercises that we do not recommend to try during pregnancy:
- Exercise that requires a lot of physical contact that could potentially hurt Mama due to any crash or bump like ice hockey, soccer, basketball, and volleyball;
- Exercise that’s intentionally meant to lose weight and too draining;
- Exercise that requires balance;
- Exercise that involves height and depth, like diving;
- Doing yoga in a high temperature place;
- Exercise that has a long lying down pose;
- Exercise that involves stomach’s movement
- Exercise that requires agility.
Exercising during pregnancy is indeed recommended, however Mama still needs to pay attention to your condition. Please consult the doctor on which exercise is suitable for Mama during a certain phase of pregnancy. Have fun exercising!
Writer: Fabian Roshan
Translator: Athyra Elmilla
Editor: Mega Pratidina
Sources:
https://hellosehat.com/kehamilan/kandungan/olahraga-untuk-ibu-hamil/
https://www.halodoc.com/artikel/4-olahraga-ini-baik-untuk-kesehatan-ibu-hamil
https://www.verywellfamily.com/pregnancy-your-week-by-week-guide-4159265