For most women, ACOG recommends exercising 30 minutes or more each day during pregnancy. Exercise can help improve many unpleasant symptoms experienced by some women (such as bloating, swelling, and backaches). It may also improve women's ability to cope with labor.

Exercise is an important way to prevent or treat gestational diabetes, a condition that poses risks to the developing fetus.

Some forms of activity should be avoided during pregnancy because they pose a high risk that the woman will fall and injure herself, her fetus, or both. It's also important to avoid getting dehydrated or overheated. The ACOG offers some specific recommendations for activities that are safe during pregnancy.

Fitness goes hand in hand with eating right to maintain your physical health and well-being during pregnancy. Pregnant or not, physical fitness helps keep the heart, bones, and mind healthy. Healthy pregnant women should get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week. It's best to spread your workouts throughout the week. If you regularly engage in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or high amounts of activity, you can keep up your activity level as long as your health doesn't change and you talk to your doctor about your activity level throughout your pregnancy.

Special benefits of physical activity during pregnancy:

• Exercise can ease and prevent aches and pains of pregnancy including constipation, varicose veins, backaches, and exhaustion.
• Active women seem to be better prepared for labor and delivery and recover more quickly.
• Exercise may lower the risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
• Fit women have an easier time getting back to a healthy weight after delivery.
• Regular exercise may improve sleep during pregnancy.
• Staying active can protect your emotional health. Pregnant women who exercise seem to have better self-esteem and a lower risk of depression and anxiety.
• Results from a recent, large study suggest that women who are physically active during pregnancy may lower their chances of preterm delivery.

Should I be physically active during my pregnancy?

Almost all women can and should be physically active during pregnancy. According to current physical activity guidelines, regular physical activity may

• help you and your baby gain the appropriate amounts of weight
• reduce backaches, leg cramps, and bloating
• reduce your risk for gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)
• reduce your risk for postpartum depression

There's also some evidence that physical activity may reduce the risk of problems during pregnancy such as preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy), reduce the length of labor and postpartum recovery, and reduce the risk of having a cesarean section (or C-section).

If you were physically active before you became pregnant, you may not need to change your exercise habits. Talk with your health care professional about how to change your workouts during pregnancy.

Being physically active can be hard if you don’t have childcare for your other children, haven’t exercised before, or don’t know what to do. Keep reading for tips about how you can work around these hurdles and be physically active.

How much and what type of physical activity do I need?

According to current guidelines, most women need the same amount of physical activity as they did before becoming pregnant. Aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. Aerobic activities—also called endurance or cardio activities—use large muscle groups (back, chest, and legs) to increase your heart rate and breathing. Brisk walking is a form of aerobic activity.

How can you tell if you’re doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity? Take the “talk test” to find out. If you’re breathing hard but can still have a conversation easily—but you can’t sing—that’s moderate intensity.

If you can only say a few words before pausing for a breath, that’s called vigorous-intensity activity. If you were in the habit of doing vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or were physically active before your pregnancy, then it’s likely okay for you to continue these activities during your pregnancy.

You can talk to your health care professional about whether to or how to adjust your physical activity while you’re pregnant. If you have health issues such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or anemia (too few healthy red blood cells), ask your health care professional about a level of activity that’s safe for you and your unborn baby.

How can I stay active while pregnant?

Even if you haven’t been active before, you can be active during your pregnancy. Here are some tips.

• Go for a walk where you live, in a local park, or in a shopping mall with a family member or friend. If you already have children, take them with you and make it a family outing.
• Get up and move around at least once an hour if you sit most of the day. When watching TV or sitting at your computer, get up and move around. Even a simple activity like walking in place can help.
• Make a plan to be active while pregnant. List the activities you’d like to do, such as walking or taking a prenatal yoga class. Think of the days and times you could do each activity on your list, such as first thing in the morning, during your lunch break from work, after dinner, or on Saturday afternoon. Look at your calendar or phone or other device to find the days and times that work best and commit to those plans.

How can I stay safe while being active?

For your health and safety, and for your baby’s, you should not do certain physical activities while pregnant. Some of these are listed below. Talk to your health care professional about other physical activities you should not do.

Safety do’s and don’ts

Follow these safety tips while being active.

For most healthy moms-to-be who do not have any pregnancy-related problems, exercise is a safe and valuable habit. Even so, talk to your doctor or midwife before exercising during pregnancy. She or he will be able to suggest a fitness plan that is safe for you. Getting a doctor's advice before starting a fitness routine is important for both inactive women and women who exercised before pregnancy.

If you have one of these conditions, your doctor will advise you not to exercise:

• Risk factors for preterm labor
• Vaginal bleeding
• Premature rupture of membranes (when your water breaks early, before labor)

Physical activity is important for everyone, including women who are pregnant. Staying active during pregnancy can help you feel better right away — and it can even make your labor shorter and recovery faster.

Getting active during pregnancy may also make it less likely you’ll have complications like:

• Gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that happens during pregnancy)
• Preeclampsia (a condition that causes high blood pressure and other problems)
• Postpartum depression

If you were already physically active before your pregnancy, it's healthy to keep it up. And if you weren’t active before your pregnancy, it’s not too late to start!

Before you start...

Talk to your doctor about getting active during your pregnancy. As long as there isn’t a medical reason for you to avoid physical activity during your pregnancy, you can do moderate-intensity physical activity.

Aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity.

• If you weren't physically active before, start slowly — even 5 minutes of physical activity has real health benefits, and you can build up to more over time
• Choose activities that make your heart beat faster — like walking fast, dancing, swimming, or raking leaves
• Be sure to drink extra water before, during, and after getting active
• Take a break if you get short of breath or feel uncomfortable

Do muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week.

• Do repetitions (lifts) with light weights instead of straining to lift heavier weights — you can also use bottles of water or cans of food as weights
• Make sure you're not holding your breath — breathe out as you lift the weight, and breathe in as you lower it

Avoid high-risk activities.

• Avoid doing any activities while lying on your back after the first trimester (12 weeks) — it causes problems with blood flow
• Stay away from activities that increase your risk of falling, like downhill skiing or horseback riding
• Avoid playing sports where you could get hit in the belly, like basketball or soccer
• Don't scuba dive while you're pregnant

Listen to your body.

• If an activity doesn’t feel right, try something else — you can find a way that works for you!
• Find ways to adapt your favorite physical activities if they don’t feel right during pregnancy

Low-impact activities at a moderate level of effort are comfortable and enjoyable for many pregnant women. Walking, swimming, dancing, cycling, and low-impact aerobics are some examples. These sports also are easy to take up, even if you are new to physical fitness.

Some higher intensity sports are safe for some pregnant women who were already doing them before becoming pregnant. If you jog, play racquet sports, or lift weights, you may continue with your doctor's okay.

Keep these points in mind when choosing a fitness plan:

• Avoid activities in which you can get hit in the abdomen like kickboxing, soccer, basketball, or ice hockey.
• Steer clear of activities in which you can fall like horseback riding, downhill skiing, and gymnastics.
• Do not scuba dive during pregnancy. Scuba diving can create gas bubbles in your baby's blood that can cause many health problems.

Pregnant or not, being physically active helps keep your heart, muscles, bones, and mind healthy. Some of the many benefits of exercise during pregnancy include:

• Prevent aches and pains of pregnancy, such as backaches and leg cramps.
• Improve your digestion and help prevent constipation.
• Help you sleep better.
• Prevent varicose veins.
• Improve your energy levels.
• Reduce your risk of depression and anxiety.
• Help you and your baby gain appropriate weight.
• Lower your risk of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) and large-for-gestational-age babies.
• It may lower your risk of preterm (early) delivery.
• Prepares your muscles and joints for labor.
• Reduce the length of labor.
• Helps you have a faster recovery after labor and delivery.
• Helps you get back to a healthy weight after delivery.

Your pelvic floor muscles support the rectum, vagina, and urethra in the pelvis. Toning these muscles with Kegel exercises will help you push during delivery and recover from birth. It also will help control bladder leakage and lower your chance of getting hemorrhoids.

Pelvic muscles are the same ones used to stop the flow of urine. Still, it can be hard to find the right muscles to squeeze. You can be sure you are exercising the right muscles if when you squeeze them you stop urinating. Or you can put a finger into the vagina and squeeze. If you feel pressure around the finger, you've found the pelvic floor muscles. Try not to tighten your stomach, legs, or other muscles.

Kegel exercises

1. Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for a count of three, then relax for a count of three.
2. Repeat 10 to 15 times, three times a day.
3. Start Kegel exercises lying down. This is the easiest position. When your muscles get stronger, you can do Kegel exercises sitting or standing as you like.

Lack of motivation is one of the main reasons people abandon their exercise routine. You’re more likely to continue your exercise program if you do activities you enjoy at a convenient time in your daily schedule. Here are some tips to stay motivated:

• Start small. You don’t need to start doing 30 minutes of physical activity every day; you can start with 10 minutes and build up gradually to reach 30 minutes of exercise.
• You don’t need to join a gym. You can exercise in your everyday life by walking through your neighborhood, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or walking around the grocery store a few times.
• Join a class. If you’re struggling to get more active in your daily life, try joining a class such as prenatal yoga.
• Find an exercise partner. Involve your partner, a family member, or a friend in your fitness routine.
  

Water is essential for the human body, especially during pregnancy. When you’re pregnant, you need water for yourself and for the life growing inside you.

Not getting enough water during pregnancy can result in constipation, excessive swelling, urinary tract infections, or even lead to premature (early) labor. Thirst is a sign of dehydration, don’t wait till you get thirsty to get some fluids into your body!.

You get the water you need from fluids and foods. The amount of water you need varies depending on your size, the climate, and your activity level. If it is hot, you’re being physically active, or you have diarrhea, or vomiting, you need to increase your fluid intake.

As a general rule, pregnant women should drink about 10 cups of fluids per day. Fluids include water, juices, soft drinks, tea, soups, etc. You can know if your fluid intake is good by looking at the color of your urine; if it’s pale yellow or colorless, you are well hydrated.

Follow these tips for safe and healthy fitness:

• When you exercise, start slowly, progress gradually, and cool down slowly.
• You should be able to talk while exercising. If not, you may be overdoing it.
• Take frequent breaks.
• Don't exercise on your back after the first trimester. This can put too much pressure on an important vein and limit blood flow to the baby.
• Avoid jerky, bouncing, and high-impact movements. Connective tissues stretch much more easily during pregnancy. So these types of movements put you at risk of joint injury.
• Be careful not to lose your balance. As your baby grows, your center of gravity shifts making you more prone to falls. For this reason, activities like jogging, using a bicycle, or playing racquet sports might be riskier as you near the third trimester.
• Don't exercise at high altitudes (more than 6,000 feet). It can prevent your baby from getting enough oxygen.
• Make sure you drink lots of fluids before, during, and after exercising.
• Do not workout in extreme heat or humidity.
• If you feel uncomfortable, short of breath, or tired, take a break and take it easier when you exercise again.

Stop exercising and call your doctor as soon as possible if you have any of the following:

• Dizziness
• Headache
• Chest pain
• Calf pain or swelling
• Abdominal pain
• Blurred vision
• Fluid leaking from the vagina
• Vaginal bleeding
• Less fetal movement
• Contractions

• Walk around the block, to a park, or a shopping mall.
• Take a prenatal yoga class.
• Go swimming.
• Cycling on a stationary bike.
• Lifting weights is usually okay as long as you stick to low weights.

Stomach-strengthening exercises:

These types of exercises strengthen your abdominal (belly) muscles and can help ease backaches.

To do these exercises, you must put yourself on all 4s with your hands under your shoulders, and your knees under your hips, with your fingers facing forward and your back straight. Then, you should pull in your stomach muscles and raise your back towards the sky, gently curling your trunk and relaxing your head. Hold this position for a few seconds and then repeat.

Make sure to never hollow your back. Repeat this exercise up to 10 times.

Pelvic tilt exercises:

To do this exercise, you should stand with your shoulders and bottom against a wall keeping your knees soft; then, you must flatten your back against the wall, hold this position for 4 seconds and then release.

Pelvic floor exercises (Kegel exercises):

Kegel exercises are done to help tone the pelvic floor muscles. The pelvic floor muscles are those that support your vagina, urethra, and rectum in the pelvis.

Toning your pelvic floor muscles can help you push during delivery and have a speedy recovery from birth. It also helps control bladder leakage and prevents hemorrhoids.

Kegel exercises are done by squeezing the same muscles you use to stop the flow of urine; therefore, you know you are exercising the right muscles if you stop urinating when you squeeze them. Another way to tell if you are exercising the right muscles is when you insert a finger into your vagina and you squeeze the muscles, you can feel the pressure around the finger.

Kegel exercises should be done by squeezing the pelvic floor muscles for three seconds and then releasing the pressure for another three seconds, repeating the exercise 10 to 15 times, three times a day.

Talk to your doctor if you're not sure whether a particular activity is safe during pregnancy. Consider avoiding:

• Activities that force you to lie flat on your back during your second and third trimester.
• Scuba diving, which can cause decompression sickness in your baby.
• Activities that could cause accidental injuries to your belly, such as contact sports (soccer, volleyball, hockey, basketball, kickboxing, etc.)
• Activities in which you could fall, such as skating, horseback riding, skiing, and surfing.
• Hot pilates or hot yoga.
• Exercise at a high altitude (more than 6,000 feet) as this can prevent your baby from getting enough oxygen. If you decide to exercise at high altitudes while pregnant, make sure to recognize the signs and symptoms of altitude sickness, which include nausea, headache, and fatigue. Return to a lower altitude and seek immediate medical care if you think you may have altitude sickness.
  

In healthy pregnancies, exercise does not increase your risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, or low birth weight.

Healthy mothers-to-be should get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes total) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week. However, if you’ve already engaged in high-intensity exercise before getting pregnant, you can still keep up your activity level as long as you get the all-clear from your doctor.

If you haven't exercised for a while, you can start with as little as 10 minutes of physical activity per day, gradually increasing it to 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and so on, until you reach at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day.

Aerobic exercise, also called cardio activities, increases your heart rate and breathing. Brisk walking is considered a form of aerobic exercise.

One way to know if you’re doing moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is to do the “talk test”; if you can have a normal conversation -but can’t sing- while exercising, then you’re doing moderate-intensity physical activity.

If, on the other hand, you can only say a few words and can’t follow a conversation normally while exercising, then you’re doing vigorous-intensity exercise. Doing vigorous exercise during pregnancy is likely okay if that was something you did before getting pregnant.

During pregnancy, your body goes through many significant changes:

• Joints: pregnancy hormones cause your ligaments to relax. Ligaments support your joints; therefore, your joints become more mobile and the risk of injury increases. Avoid bouncy or high-impact movements that may hurt you.
• Balance: your gravity center changes during pregnancy, which causes your joints and muscles to be more strained, especially on the pelvis and lower back. This makes you less stable and more likely to lose your balance, with the consequent risk of falling.
• Breathing: during pregnancy, your need for oxygen increases. This may affect your ability to exercise, especially if you are overweight or obese.
  

Although exercise during pregnancy is usually safe for both mother and baby, your doctor might advise you not to exercise in some cases. Always seek your doctor’s advice about when to stop exercising. As a general rule, you should not exercise if you have any of the following conditions:

• Certain types of heart and lung disease
• Severe anemia (low red blood cells)
• Risk factors for preterm labor
• Preeclampsia or gestational hypertension (high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy)
• Vaginal bleeding
• Problems with your cervix
• Placenta problems
• Premature rupture of membranes (this is when your water breaks early, before labor)
  

Stop exercising and seek immediate medical care if you start experiencing:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Vaginal bleeding
• Chest pain
• Increased shortness of breath
• Calf pain or swelling
• Muscle weakness affecting balance
• Painful uterine contractions that continue after rest
• Fluid coming out of your vagina
• Less fetal movement