Exercise and pregnancy

Ah, spring is in the air! I love this time of year in Bahrain. When I was at home in Australia in spring, I loved how the fruit trees blossomed and my mother's garden became a swirl of bright colours.

It also meant fishing time as the fish would return into the local waters from the north. Baby birds nested in the gum trees in the park across the road, too.

Spring is definitely about new beginnings, including babies. And strangely, lots of women I know (including one of my three sisters, and a workmate) are currently pregnant, or have just had a baby!

If there is something in the water, then I'm switching to fruit juice, just to be safe....

Pregnancy is a normal natural and even necessary, part of the human life cycle. You could say that pregnancy is at the very core of our life cycle!

Exercise is a normal, natural and necessary part of life too. However, when you put the two together, they suddenly became abnormal, unnatural and unnecessary. That is, up until the last decade or two. When my mother was pregnant with me, she was sternly told to rest ... and then rest some more!

There are many benefits to both mother and baby if exercise is maintained right into the third trimester - it is just a matter of mum changing her exercise routine to accompany the many physical and hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy, that is important.

Let me first make the point that no solid research has been done regarding maximal exertion, since it is highly unethical and immoral to put the health of an unborn baby, and that of the mother, at risk.

It is also important for a more thorough pre-exercise questionnaire and health screening process to take place before the mother even lifts a finger.

This is why a lot of testing just doesn't even get to the first phase.

The best judge of what is best for the mother and the unborn baby is ... the mother and the unborn baby! Since the baby and mother compete for energy and oxygen, and are growing and changing together every day, the onus is on 'them' to find an activity that meets their needs, and not a lab technician or even a fitness instructor.

Having said all that, there are definitely some exercises and guidelines that produce good physiological outcomes.

These outcomes can be measured in terms of better health for baby and an easier labour, and faster post-natal recovery for mother.

Swimming springs (pardon the pun!) to mind. The water acts as support, maintains body temperature, hides any body issues mum might have, acts as a gentle massage for tired legs and back and works all the muscles in the body while strengthening your lungs.

It is kind on varicose veins and prevents jarring of relaxed joints, thus limiting the risk of injury.

A growing belly shifts a woman's centre of gravity forward and makes all balancing activities harder. At the same time, it restricts all folding and bending movements. So, mum might need to swap her normal yoga lesson and tai chi classes for a pilates floor class. This will also do wonders for mother's stretched abdominal muscles during the second trimester.

Pilates coupled with walking will ensure a safe and effective combination of weight-bearing and non weight-bearing activity that is gentle on the spine and promotes great circulation and tummy strength with zero impact.

Cycling on a stationary bike might be for the fitter mums-to-be, who want to maintain aerobic fitness. Make sure the room is well ventilated and cool.

The seat on the bike must be well padded and the pedals must be smooth-moving and non-slip.

Low impact dance aerobics classes can really boost things like circulation, lower body strength, fat burning, lymphatic drainage, spine stability, and of course, aerobic fitness. It will also shift her focus away from her body by forcing her to concentrate on things like co-ordination and rhythm.

Exercises to avoid include all obvious high risk, high impact, and high intensity activity, along with activity with a high unpredictability factor - hiking is OK, for example, but not when you are going alone, on rough terrain, where you might come across wild animals, and the radio said there might be a storm in the afternoon!

It always surprises me that so many expectant mothers do not know all the facts about their own bodies when it comes to pregnancy, let alone exercise and pregnancy.

For example, the mother is carrying a lot more blood in her body, putting more stress on the heart and some women report feeling hotter all through the second and third trimesters. These two factors put the mother at risk of high blood pressure, over-heating and reaching sub-maximal heart rate a lot faster when exercising.

It should not be taken for granted that if mum was a super marathon runner before falling pregnant, that she must still be capable of rigorous activity while pregnant. Her body, and not a text book or a gymnasium, should dictate how she will exercise.

A lesser known fact is that the expectant mother's body is producing a new hormone called 'relaxin'. As the name suggests, it relaxes mum's joints in readiness to give birth. The ligaments around the hips are the thickest and strongest in the human body and this can hinder labour. Nature has come up with a plan to ease the strain by sending relaxin coursing through her blood stream.

However, relaxin also affects other joints in her body including the spine to a degree. Less stability means more chance of dislocation and overstretching.

If the pregnant woman notices any major discomfort like stomach cramps, dizziness, breathlessness, contractions, deep back pain, chest pain or palpitations, she should consult a doctor and give a thorough explanation of the activities she has been doing.

I wish all my pregnant readers, and new mums, warm congratulations and good luck!