Get Physical
Exercising during your pregnancy is one of the best things you can do for yourself--and your baby. Regular exercise (walking or swimming for 30 minutes three or more times a week, for example) will help you control your weight, reduce the risk of some illnesses associated with pregnancy, and may also help you sleep better at night. Add some strength-training to keep your muscles toned and strong, and to help with your posture as your center of gravity shifts along with your growing belly.
By Dana Sullivan for Your Baby Today
Exercising during your pregnancy is one of the best things you can do for yourself--and your baby. Regular exercise (walking or swimming for 30 minutes three or more times a week, for example) will help you control your weight, reduce the risk of some illnesses associated with pregnancy, and may also help you sleep better at night. Add some strength-training to keep your muscles toned and strong, and to help with your posture as your center of gravity shifts along with your growing belly.
The latest research shows that regular exercise is not only smart and safe for pregnant women, but may also enhance their experience. "Many women say that exercise reduces the aches and pains associated with pregnancy, and boosts their energy levels and self-esteem," says prenatal fitness expert Larry A. Wolfe, Ph.D., director of the clinical exercise physiology laboratory at Queen's University, in Ontario, Canada.
Wolfe says that while there's no proof that exercise shortens labor or makes it less painful, or that it will prevent certain complications, many women who have participated in his research have told him that it gave them the stamina they needed to endure labor. Also, that being in shape made recovery from childbirth easier.
Jump to full text of this article here.
Categories: Pregnancy,
Related Articles: Emotional and Physical Comfort for Expectant Moms,
Boy's problem May Be Physical: Sylvia Rimm on Raising Kids,
