Pregnant and paranoid? Well, you should be!

Pregnancy is the most amazing phase a woman goes through in her entire life. The feeling of nurturing an unborn life who is a genetic copy of you is just indescribable.

It is funny how all the emotions start long before you give birth.  You are constantly worried about the wellbeing of the fetus. Being paranoid is the right way for mothers to make sure their babies are safe and protected. Enjoy this new phase of life where just your baby matters.

Pregnant women who have a healthy diet and exercise regularly are less likely to develop complications. Anybody who is a low-risk pregnancy can engage in moderate exercise during pregnancy, for 30 minutes, four times a week.While exercising is beneficial, during pregnancy, you need to be extremely careful or could end up paying a heavy price.

So you can start working out in while pregnant?
Here are the key rules for safe exercising during pregnancy, so that no harm befalls your bundle of joy;

  1. While stretching is great, overstretching could lead to muscle tears and cause some serious trouble. A hormone called relaxin, produced during this time enhances the flexibility of your muscles. So, think before you stretch.
  2. Just as too much stretching is bad, so is too much exercise. It’s a bad idea to put your body through too much strain during pregnancy. So, try to increase exercises gradually on a day-to-day basis. When in doubt, walk! It can’t get safer than that.
  3. Certain exercises involve waist twisting, jumping, jerking and stretching, crunches, which could cause variations in blood pressure during pregnancy. These sudden changes in blood pressure are harmful to you and your baby. So get expert advice for workouts during pregnancy.
  4. Make sure you sit down or lie down and take breaks rather than standing for a long time. Standing could result in uneven blood flow to the uterus and excess flow to legs could lead to dizziness. You don’t want that, do you?
  5. As pregnancy progresses, the ligaments and joints around the pelvic region begin to loosen preparing for labor. So, any activity requiring jumping and jerking movements would risk injury to the area and hence best avoided.
  6. Heavy lifting is a no-no during this time. Heavy lifting could put a lot of stress on your heart, bones, and muscles.
  7. Try to avoid exercises that involve lying on your back as this could reduce blood flow to the fetus especially during the first three months of the pregnancy.
  8. While yoga is great, but make sure you don’t hold your breath for long while exercising, as this could make you dizzy. Not to forget that tiny bundle inside you depending on you for oxygen!
  9. No matter how much you love being active while pregnant, you need to let go your favorite sport. Any activity that increases the risk of falls and changes center of gravity—including gymnastics, water skiing, tennis, and squash—should be avoided.
  10. Intuitively, you know you cannot lie on your tummy during pregnancy. Obviously, avoid exercises too in this position.

A pregnancy workout routine can make you feel healthy and decrease some common discomforts, relieves stress, build stamina required for labor. However, be extremely careful while doing it and always consult your doctor for the dos and don’ts of exercise during pregnancy. After all, safeguarding your precious baby is top priority!