Exercise during pregnancy

If you are experiencing pelvic complaints or fatigue, it is better to take it a bit easier. In any case, it is wise to exercise under professional guidance, so you know exactly what to do and what not to do. Next to this, discuss your exercise plans with your midwife or gynaecologist, before you get started.

The tips below will help you to stay active for nine months, in a healthy and responsible way:

• Choose a form of exercise especially made for pregnant women. This way you can be sure that you're exercising responsibly.

• Mainly train the muscular corset around the pelvis, your core, the legs and the arms.

• Focus on breathing and posture.

• Maintain your endurance level with cardio exercises, like jogging or power walking. Make sure that you're able to talk during the cardio exercises. This way you know that you're not overexerting yourself.

• Listen to your body. Stop if you’re feeling dizzy or nauseous or when you're experiencing a hard stomach.

• Wear comfortable clothes.

• Make sure you eat carbohydrates before exercising, this will give energy.

• Walking is always a good exercise, as well as cycling. You can keep training your arms and legs with strengthening exercises. This will provide more strength, which you will need during labour. It will also make you feel more energetic.

• You can train your transverse abdominal muscles functionally during pregnancy: this helps to support your stomach. Do this by performing core exercises, for example, twists or side bends. You train your core in all the movements you make. Consciously training the rectus abdominal muscles is not recommended, because this can increase the diastasis and gives too many stimuli to the stomach. So, avoid doing sit-ups or crunches.

• Make sure that your body temperature doesn't increase too much.

• Drink enough water when exercising.

• Don't exhaust yourself.

• Don't exercise for more than one hour at a time.