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Exercises for Pregnancy
‘Whether you are going to have a “natural”
childbirth with little or no anesthesia or whether you choose some
pain-killing drugs, you still need to exercise during your entire
pregnancy to develop muscle strength for labor. Exercise also helps with
backaches, circulation, insomnia and weight control as mentioned in
other sections of this booklet. Here are a few exercises to help
everyone during pregnancy. These exercises will help you relax and
stretch. They will strengthen inner thigh muscles and pelvic muscles and
limber pelvic joints. Do them faithfully on a daily basis.
Standing Up:
Keep your back straight, tighten your
buttocks, bend your knees slightly, and rock your pelvis back and forth.
This is actually a belly dancing technique, called the hinge. To enjoy
your daily exercising more, put on some music and slowly walk about
doing the pelvic rock, or hinge. Your abdomen and bottom should work
like a hinge, while the rest of your body stays pretty upright. Once you
get the hang of it, you can understand why belly dancing is so popular
as a form of exercise, even for pregnant women - it’s fun!
The Pelvic Rock:
This is probably the most common exercise taught in
childbirth classes, and for good reason - it is excellent.
You can use it before and after delivery, first to give the fetus good
support and then to firm those abdominal muscles. You can do it lying on
your back, standing or in the “all fours on the ground” position.
All Fours:
Get on your hands and knees with your legs
and hands parallel to the floor. Pull your buttocks down and slightly
arch your back, tilting your pelvis forward. Then push your buttocks out
and back, tilting your pelvis back. Don’t let your back curve in as the
pelvis is rocked.
Kegel Exercises:
You can also do
another excellent exercise to tone muscles in the pelvic area and
improve circulation. This exercise should be continued after delivery to
promote more rapid healing and to improve the tone of the vagina. What
you want to do is control and relax certain sets of pelvic muscles, one
at a time. First, contract your muscles like you are holding back
urination. Then, tighten your muscles like you are holding back a bowel
movement. Finally, contract the vaginal muscles. It may take some
practice to isolate each of these sets of muscles, but keep practicing.
Relax and contract each set of muscles separately, contracting them
harder and longer each time. Do these anytime.
The Squat:
Stand with your back against a wall. Lower
your body slowly down the wall, with your hands against it, until you
are in a squatting position. Keep your feet parallel and your
heels flat against the floor. Then slowly raise your back up. A
variation of the squat: hold onto a heavy piece of furniture that won’t
tip over, squat down, keeping your heels flat on the floor and your back
straight, and letting your knees spread open. Slowly rise back up. This
exercise will help your back and it is good practice for proper lifting of heavy
weights. (Always lift heavy objects with your back straight, squatting
and using your leg muscles to propel you up.) Practice both types of
squat exercises daily.
Stress and Tension:
Be good to yourself during pregnancy. If
your in-laws want to come spend two weeks during your eighth month and
they make you nervous, ask them to postpone their visit. You do not need
additional stress during this special period in your life. You can
expect moodiness and plan for it. Do not put yourself in situations that
you know stress you. Do not plan too many busy activities. Rest. Use
periods of total quiet during your day to sit and breathe deeply for a
few minutes, relaxing your body and your mind.
Exercising during pregnancy is absolutely
vital to a healthy pregnancy, an easy delivery, and a speedy postpartum
recovery Don’t skimp in this area with excuses of “not enough time.”
It is best to avoid exercise that requires you to be
flat on your back
the last 3 months of your pregnancy.
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