Exercise During Pregnancy:

Being active during your pregnancy has many benefits. It can help with muscle aches and pains, constipation, sleep and reduce the chance of developing gestational diabetes.

In addition, the positive impact on mood cannot be overstated. Incorporating regular exercise into your routine is an essential part of preventing and treating anxiety and depression. 

The standard recommendation is to get 150 minutes or 2.5 hours of exercise weekly, or 30 minutes on most days. This should include some moderate intensity exercise (spinning, jogging, hiking, speed walking, swimming). During pregnancy you should limit your intensity to about 70% of your maximal effort (You should still be able to talk while you are exercising)

Incorporating some light weights or resistance training is recommended as well. 

Walking is a great way to be active during and after pregnancy. Bonus points if you can walk somewhere outside, as being out in nature definitely boosts the beneficial impacts of exercise on your mood. 

Activities with risk of trauma to the belly should be avoided including: contact sports, mountain biking, downhill skiing, waterskiing. 

Hot yoga should be avoided due to the extreme temperatures which can affect development of the fetal nervous system. 

Some core exercises will need to be modified in the second and third trimesters as they may exacerbate any diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles) that is present. Usually crunches/sit ups and related exercises should be avoided but planks and its derivatives are ok. 

Exercise Postpartum:

Be gentle on yourself! It took 9ish months to grow your baby and your body, muscles and ligaments have experienced some major changes. It will take time to heal. 

After a vaginal delivery most women will be able to return to gentle low impact activities in 1-2 weeks. You can return to most activities by the 6 week mark. It is usually advised to wait until you have stopped bleeding (often up to 6 weeks) to use a hot tub or swimming pool as your cervix may still be slightly open and there is a higher risk of infection. 

It is recommended to avoid jogging or running for 3 months postpartum to give your core ligaments time to heal. Running too early in the postpartum period has been linked to later development of urinary incontinence and pelvic floor prolapse. 

There are lots of great mama and baby exercise classes in Vancouver and so much online postpartum fitness content you can access if you are nap-trapped at home!