I wanted to post this tonight because of something that happened at the gym last night. Now, when I first found out I was pregnant I had lots of people tell me things like:
"You shouldn't be working out right now." "You need to rest." "It's not good for the baby for you to workout." "You're going to the gym? What's wrong with you?" When I would hear these comments I would take the time to educate who ever was making the comment that in fact- exercising while pregnant not only benefits me, but it also benefits the baby. Over the course of my pregnancy, I have herd less and less of these comments. In fact, I have even heard some encouraging words regarding my dedication to staying active during this time. In fact, these words of encouragement are so common now, that I had forgotten about all the negative things I had heard in the earlier months. Until last night. Last night, as I was walking out of the gym I was met by a family. Now, I am not too upset about what happened because for one the person that caused my annoyance actually didn't say anything, plus she was quite a bit younger than me- so I am assuming her age has something to do with her reaction when she saw me walking out the gym. This young woman, eyed me up and down and stared on my belly for several seconds longer than what would have been polite. Not only that, she had a look, that I could only describe as disgust and perhaps shock. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her facial expression so you all could see what I saw as a judgmental look. But that is neither here nor there. I went about my evening as I am sure she did too. But the experience made me want to write a little bit about why I have stayed active during my pregnancy. 1) If you are pregnant you should consult your doctor prior to starting a new exercise regiment. Exercise is typically considered safe during pregnancy and it is typically encouraged. But always check with your doctor first- just to be safe. 2) If you were active prior to getting pregnant it is generally safe to continue to be active at the same level you were previous to becoming pregnant. There a tons of professional athletes who continued their training while pregnant. If you're curious look up a few of them: Serena Williams, Kerry Walsh Jennings, and Alysia Montano just to name a few. 3) Exercising while pregnant helps reduce backaches, bloating, constipation, and swelling. Let me tell you, when I would start puffing up around the ankles and hands- the cool waters of the pool felt SO amazing! Plus there are quite a few prenatal yoga poses that really help take the pressure off your back. 4) There has been some evidence that it may help prevent and even treat gestational diabetes, which would make since since exercise helps prevent Type II Diabetes as well. 5) It helps you sleep better. As the months go along, it gets more and more difficult to sleep. I have found on the days I hit the gym, I sleep more deeply in those few hours of sleep I get between night time restroom runs. 6) This may be due to sleeping better, but it will also increase your energy and improve your mood. Grant it- I am always in a better mood after working out rather I am pregnant or not. 7) A lot of what I have read is that exercising though out your pregnancy can help decrease your time in labor and can even make labor easier. In fact, it is said that women who exercise regularly during their pregnancy can shorten their active labor by 2 hours. I believe a lot of this depends on the type of exercise you are doing. Squats, lunges, and planks all help build muscles that are needed during labor and delivery. However- in my second trimester several old running injuries started acting up creating some pretty alarming fall risks, and my doctor told me not to do any squats, lunges, or exercises that would be considered "high impact" on my knees and hips. 8) Stay active during your pregnancy will help you lose the baby weight faster after giving birth. Big Win! 9) Women who exercise during pregnancy are 55% less like to need an episiostomy (please let this be true for me) and 4 times less likely to need a c-section (which can take longer recovery time). 10) I didn't have this problem as much, but many women report that even if they experience morning sickness, after a quick walk the nausea subsides. 11) One study that I read showed that children who had mothers who were physically active during their pregnancy, had a higher athletic ability than their peers. It helps condition their heart similar to the conditioning that an athletes heart sustains during training. 12) It lowers the risk of preeclampsia. Let me tell you, developing preeclampsia was/ is still one of my biggest fears when it comes to being pregnant. I had a family member that developed it and last month one of my friends delivered her baby girl a month early due to it. Every time I go to the doctor I am get super nervous when they put that blood pressure cuff on. These are just a few of the reasons why I have remained dedicated to working out while I am pregnant. The benefits are just too great to ignore. I will admit, I took last week off because I was super busy in the beginning of the week and then I got a summer cold in the middle of the week. But so far that has been the only time I have really taken off since becoming pregnant. Last night it felt so amazing to get back in the pool. It was so relaxing and soothing. It made me feel 1000 times better than I had felt all week long. As mentioned above I did have some ups and downs with some old injuries- but that just meant I needed to get creative and find a new outlet for exercising.
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AuthorAmber Ames Archives
January 2019
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