Why Exercise During Pregnancy?
Welcome
Everyday exercise is becoming a staple in more and more female American’s lives, this includes: women in school, those who are working, those looking for weight-loss, those who are mothers, and even those women expecting. Many women view exercise as an integral, if not vital, part of their daily lives and schedules (Wang and Apgar, 1998). The goal of this website is to provide information on the research available regarding the changes occurring within the body during pregnancy, safety, benefits, and contraindications, with exercise, as well as exercise descriptions and sample exercise protocols which can be followed during pregnancy. All women should consult their physician before beginning any exercise program to confirm they do not possess any contraindications for exercise.
History
The knowledge of science is constantly evolving; everyday
new discoveries are being made. With
this in mind the information on this site is as current as the research used. Looking back through history
the beliefs of how exercise affected pregnancy have changed. With deficient
knowledge about the female's anatomy and physiology the majority of medical
doctors were earlier convinced physical exercise and female health were
incompatible. Exercise and the female were rarely spoken of; exercise
during pregnancy was not even imagined. For instance, towards the end
of the 19 th century there was a fear “the female organs might slip
when straddling and female fertility was put at severe risk,” while
performing gymnastics. Evolution of these 
beliefs reflects the growing
acceptance of exercise throughout gestation. Early standards limited pregnant
women to walking one mile a day (Artal and Gardin, 1986). Walking one mile
could be accomplished today with a shopping trip to a mall. American College
of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) first approved aerobic exercise routines
for expecting women in 1985, but the routines were restricted to merely
15 minutes (in duration) and the heart rate to 140 beats per minute (exercise
intensity) (ACOG, 1985). The next addition or change in the recommendation
by ACOG came in 1994 when ACOG stated, “during pregnancy, women can
continue to exercise and derive the health benefits even from mild to moderate
exercise routines. Regular exercise (three times per week) is preferable
to intermittent activity” (ACOG, 1994). In 2002 ACOG presented the
first formal recommendation to include exercise throughout pregnancy, stating, “in
the absence of either medical or obstetric complications, 30 minutes or
more of moderate exercise a day on most, if not all, days of the week is
recommended for pregnant women” (ACOG, 2002). This recommendation
still holds today...so get moving!
Reasons
Females come from many backgrounds, live in many different lifestyles, possess various jobs, and have a wide range of goals regarding exercise and health during their lives. This implies there are numerous reasons females partake in exercise throughout ones life. The reasons for exercising throughout life are similar to those expressed as reasons to exercise during pregnancy. Some reasons for participating in exercise during pregnancy include: maintenance or even improvement of physical fitness, the potential of having a less problematic gestational development, as well as having a possibly shorter and less painful delivery, the desire for companionship, forming new social ties, joining in with groups of people with similar interests, and relief of mental and/or emotional stress (Brown, 2002; Hartmann and Bung, 1999). Mental and/or emotional stress might arise during pregnancy as a result of emotional changes or psychological dissatisfaction triggered by the long-term carrying of a child (Goodwin et al., 2000). Not all of these reasons apply to every pregnant women, and some might have their own unique reason, all this should be taken into consideration when deciding what exercises (walking, aerobics, weights, biking, etc.), how much exercise (every other day, everyday, multiple times a day, etc.), and where to exercise during pregnancy (the local park, the local YMCA, your home, etc.).