Kiddipedia
by Jen Dugard
In the 2019 Canadian Guidelines for Physical Activity During Pregnancy, it is recommended that pregnant women should aim to get at least 150mins per week of moderate-intensity activity per week to achieve clinically meaningful health benefits and reductions in pregnancy complications. They stated that this exercise should be done over a minimum of three days, though being active every day is encouraged. They also recommended that pregnant women would benefit from a variety of aerobic and resistance training to achieve greater benefits.
Now we know that exercise is important for pregnant women comes the question of how we maintain this exercise or movement during pregnancy, especially if life is already quite full.
After 15 years of working with pregnant and postnatal women here are my top tips for starting, enjoying, and maintaining your exercise or movement throughout this time.
- It’s okay to slow down – Recommendations state ‘moderate intensity’ for benefits. This also aligns with the recommendation to work at a 7/10 in terms of perceived rate of exertion. This is helpful in maintaining as exercise during pregnancy can start to feel real hard, real quick. You may feel like you need to keep up or maintain your fitness levels in some way.
Allowing yourself to slow to a 7/10 and take the pressure off anything you ‘think’ you should be maintaining can ensure that moving while you are pregnant remains fun, achievable and reduces stress – the last thing we want to do is add pressure!
- You might need to look for a new community – Exercise during pregnancy comes with new recommendations and depending on the level of education in your current training environment you may need to look elsewhere. The great thing about finding exercise environments that are specific to pregnant women is that you will start to build your community of mums, and you will stay accountable; once it’s booked and in the diary it’s much harder to miss and you will gain the proper guidance for your journey right now. Find somewhere close to your workplace.
- Your lunch break is your friend – getting up out of your chair during your lunch break is one of the best things that anyone can do if they have an office role of any kind. When you are pregnant and trying to be time efficient using this time for your more focused exercise or movement can be great. That way if you are tired or don’t feel great in the morning you can be more flexible, sleep in or go for a gentle walk and the same in the evening knowing that you have moved well at lunchtime. Your workplace productivity will thank you for it too!
Examples of lunchtime activities might include a Women’s Health Physio-led Pilates class specifically for pregnant women or a strength session at your local gym with a trainer qualified in pre and postnatal exercise – find a MumSafe Trainer near you (www.mumsafe.com.au)
Whatever movement you choose to do during your pregnancy know that listening to what feels right for you is important, consistency is key and everyone’s journey is different (so compare yourself to no-one!)
Jen Dugard is the founder and creator of MumSafe™️ – the go-to website for mums to connect with Personal Trainers that are certified, experienced and partner with Women’s Health Physiotherapists so that you know you are in very safe hands.
