Exercising during pregnancy can help women stay healthy, feel good and strengthen important muscles that will help with endurance and recovery after the baby is born.
The general recommendation for healthy, low-risk pregnancies is to exercise at a moderate level for 30 minutes a day on most days of the week. The type of exercise depends on how fit you were before pregnancy.
"If you're used to walking, continue with that exercise. It's important to continue and not stop because you're pregnant," says chartered physiotherapist Tricia Murphy, who teaches antenatal Pilates classes at Mount Merrion Physiotherapy in Dublin.
While pregnant women should avoid high-risk sports, jumping, lying on their backs for more than 30 seconds at a time and any activity where there is a risk of falling, “safe exercise in a safe environment is advisable”, says Murphy.
“Pilates is definitely one of the best things to do during pregnancy. It’s good for getting the blood flowing, staying strong and becoming more aware of different muscles in the pelvic floor and tummy, which will have to be rehabilitated.”
The classes also focus on arm and leg strength.
“Mums will have to carry the baby around once it arrives, so it’s important to have strong arms,” Murphy says.
“When you’re pregnant, there’s a risk of low back problems, so we strengthen the gluteal muscles and legs to support the low back. Pilates is really good for keeping the bum and core muscles strong so that instability [caused by hormonal loosening of the ligaments around the pelvis] will be less of an issue.”
Get the blood flowing
Murphy says yoga is another popular choice for pregnant women, but there is not as much emphasis on core strength.
“Any exercise is good, though. It gets the blood flowing and gets people out and about,” she says.
Steph Sinnott is the founder of Baby Body Fit, pre- and postnatal fitness classes in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
She says the best exercises for pregnancy are walking, swimming, prenatal yoga and Pilates and toning classes specialised for pregnant women.
Women can sign up for Sinnott’s classes after they receive clearance from their doctors at their 12-week check-up. After giving birth, women can come to class after their six-week check-up with their doctor’s recommendation.
Returning to exercise after having a baby depends on the person’s fitness level, how they feel and whether they had a caesarean section or complications during birth.
“It’s recommended to ease back into exercise slowly. A lot of women go out walking with the buggy whenever they feel ok. Walking is ok as long as it’s gentle because joints can still be soft,” Sinnott says.
Case study
"It's very active, having two young children. Inevitably, you do a lot of exercise anyway. There are a lot of stairs in the house, so I'm running up and down all the time," says Irene Kelly, who has two children under three and lives in Rathmines.
Kelly, who was active before and during her pregnancies, said exercise helped with her mood and gave her a sense of community with other pregnant women. Pregnancy yoga helped her mentally prepare for labour and taught her how to breathe properly.
“When I was pregnant, I religiously went to yoga for pregnant women,” she said, adding that the instructor would ask each woman how she was doing during class.
“You could say what was bothering you that week. It made you realise you’re not alone in this, and everybody’s in the same boat.”
Kelly also cycled, walked, swam and did antenatal Pilates while she was pregnant. She built exercise into her day by walking or cycling to work.
She thinks it was easier to keep up her fitness routine because she exercised before pregnancy.
It is harder to exercise now that she has two small children, but she still incorporates it into her day by cycling her daughter to Montessori and squeezing in a run when she can.