Publication
Active living: keeping active during and after pregnancy
Getting started
starting from scratch
If you have never done much physical activity or have been inactive for some time, try the following.
- Begin with as little as 5 minutes of gentle activities a day (like walking or swimming).
- Build up to 15 minutes of continuous activity; try to do this 3 times a week.
- Try to gradually increase this to 30 minutes, 4-5 times a week.
already active?
If you are already active, the targets set above are sufficient. However, you may need to review the types of activity you are doing. Experts recommend that the aim of activity in pregnancy should be to achieve a good level of fitness NOT to maintain peak fitness.
when to start?
This will depend on how active you have been before becoming pregnant and how well you feel during the early stages of pregnancy — if you feel up to it, you may be active from the beginning. For others, the best time to begin may be during the second trimester when early tiredness and nausea have lessened.
how intense should activity be?
There are a variety of reasons why your activity should be moderate and not too strenuous.
- Your heart rate is already increased by 10–15 beats per minute during pregnancy.
- The extra weight you are carrying will make activity harder, place extra strain on muscles and joints and can interfere with balance and coordination.
- Hormones produced during pregnancy relax the ligaments that support your joints, making them more prone to injury.
- Activity that is too strenuous may take blood to the working muscles and away from other important parts of the body.
You can make sure you are not overdoing it by using the ‘talk test’! Can you keep up a conversation while you’re in action? If yes, fine! If not, slow down until you can.
You should always spend 5–10 minutes warming up (very light and gentle activity and stretching) and 5-10 minutes cooling down (gradually decreasing your actions back to resting levels).