amandanahas
New member
Hey, fit and pregnant mamas!
This is actually my first post on here, but I've been a member of this sub since a month or two before I became pregnant with my second child (I'm now 15 weeks along, hooray for being through the first trimester!). You all inspire me and motivate me on a daily basis, so I figured it might be time for me to contribute to this fabulous community.
As someone who didn't work out....well, at all....during her first pregnancy, I decided to make the commitment to keep up exercising after I found out that I was pregnant with my second. I am so glad that I did! While the physical benefits have been great, I have also found that the psychological benefits are beyond reproach. Even with a 2-year-old and an even crazier schedule than in my first pregnancy, I feel much more even-keeled emotionally. It is GREAT.
All of this pregnant-exercisey goodness has lead me to researching fitness during pregnancy quite a bit. I figured some of you ladies might find some of these links/articles interesting! I tried to limit the studies that I posted here to research done in the last five years. Sadly, there needs to be a LOT more research done on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, because (as many of these articles notes) cultural perceptions of exercising during pregnancy are only recently starting to shift toward the positive end of the spectrum.
American College of Sports Medicine Current Comment: Exercise During Pregnancy A nice summary of the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, that it is actually recommended by both the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and that women may absolutely continue with current exercise regimens OR begin new ones while pregnant.
American College of Sports Medicine Roundtable Consensus Statement: Impact of Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Postpartum on Chronic Disease Risk This one was really cool- exercise during pregnancy may actually reduce the risk of preeclampsia, other hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, joint and musculoskeletal pain, and depression in pregnant women. This article also includes a section on the effect of exercise on lactation that was well-substantiated- basically exercise has absolutely no effect on lactation; women who exercise produce just as much boob-juice as women who don't, and the compositions of said milk is exactly the same. (One study did note that "exhaustive exercise" at "maximum intensity" decreased certain immunological components of breast milk, though. But only for about an hour after said exhaustive exercise, then the components of the breast milk return back to normal. AH, the human body is so cool!) My favorite quote from this article (as a lady who loves to lift heavy and has continued to do so during this pregnancy): "fetuses of women who continue vigorous weightbearing exercise until onset of labor have normal amniotic
fluid erythropoietin levels, fewer worrisome fetal heart
patterns during labor, and decreased rates of both meconium
staining and cord entanglement at birth." Yesssss.
Post-Partum Exercise: What You Need to Know This shorty-short little article provided a totally healthy (and do-able!) post-partum exercise schedule based on the age-old "9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off" idiom: "Months 1 - 3: Emphasis should be on staying healthy and getting back into a routine. Months 4 - 6: Begin concentrating on light weight training and cardio. Months 7 - 9: Rebuilding strength, and higher intensity cardio."
Exercise in Pregnancy: Effect on Fitness and Obstetric Outcomes—A Randomized Trial This article was published in 2012 and documents the effect of perinatal exercise on women both during and after pregnancy. Highlights from this study: only about 16% of pregnant women exercise the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology-recommended 30 minutes per day. Not many obstetricians discuss exercise with their patients, and because data on fitness and pregnancy is relatively limited, not many docs in obstetrics programs even receive information on perinatal exercise in school (EEP!!!). Not a single woman who was part of the "exercise" group in this study developed gestational diabetes. The lengths of pregnancy and labor in the exercise and non-exercise groups were almost exactly the same, though 87% of women in the exercise group gave birth vaginally, compared to 61% in the sedentary group. Eight control subjects opted out to exercise rather than to continue in the sedentary group (yaaasss). Placenta weight was slightly higher in the active group, consistent with evidence that exercise augments placental growth during early and mid pregnancy. Aaaaand the last sentence of the paper: "The data are strong enough to suggest that every practicing obstetrician would be wise to provide each newly pregnant woman a prescription for exercise in pregnancy."
Maternal fitness at the onset of the second trimester of pregnancy: correlates and relationship with infant birth weight Published in 2013: "A positive relationship between maternal muscular fitness and infant birth weight highlighted maternal strength in pregnancy as a new determinant of infant birth weight." Basically, a fit mama tends to result in a higher birth weight in the baby.
Core Training Exercise Selection During Pregnancy Published in 2012 by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. It killed me that I would have to buy this damn article to read anything but the abstract...I love where it is headed though: "Abdominal core and muscular conditioning is seldom recommended for pregnant populations. A literature review clearly indicates support from the medical field for the application of core muscular training during pregnancy to help alleviate many issues associated with pregnancy. Specific core exercises are described to aid in the implementation of safe and effective training during pregnancy." WHAT ARE THEY I WANT TO KNOW
Perceptions of effective advice in pregnancy – The case of activity Again, this looks SO interesting, but $$$ to read the entire thing. Grr. "The paper highlights the inherent difficulties of providing effective advice during the short period of pregnancy; the need for clear and consistent messages to be provided by all health professionals involved in antenatal care as well as the difficulty of changing cultural expectations of pregnancy-appropriate behaviours."
The effect of maternal exercise during pregnancy on abnormal fetal growth Published in 2013. "The beneficial effect of maternal physical activity on fetal growth may be caused the impact of aerobic exercise on glucose tolerance. Fitness trainers and kinesiologists, as well as health care providers, should be educated on the benefits of regular exercise during pregnancy and safe physical exercise for pregnant women."
That's all for now! So if anyone criticizes you and your exercising pregnant bad-self, just show 'em some of these articles. Keep on keepin' on, ladies! Love you all!
This is actually my first post on here, but I've been a member of this sub since a month or two before I became pregnant with my second child (I'm now 15 weeks along, hooray for being through the first trimester!). You all inspire me and motivate me on a daily basis, so I figured it might be time for me to contribute to this fabulous community.
As someone who didn't work out....well, at all....during her first pregnancy, I decided to make the commitment to keep up exercising after I found out that I was pregnant with my second. I am so glad that I did! While the physical benefits have been great, I have also found that the psychological benefits are beyond reproach. Even with a 2-year-old and an even crazier schedule than in my first pregnancy, I feel much more even-keeled emotionally. It is GREAT.
All of this pregnant-exercisey goodness has lead me to researching fitness during pregnancy quite a bit. I figured some of you ladies might find some of these links/articles interesting! I tried to limit the studies that I posted here to research done in the last five years. Sadly, there needs to be a LOT more research done on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, because (as many of these articles notes) cultural perceptions of exercising during pregnancy are only recently starting to shift toward the positive end of the spectrum.
American College of Sports Medicine Current Comment: Exercise During Pregnancy A nice summary of the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, that it is actually recommended by both the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology, and that women may absolutely continue with current exercise regimens OR begin new ones while pregnant.
American College of Sports Medicine Roundtable Consensus Statement: Impact of Physical Activity during Pregnancy and Postpartum on Chronic Disease Risk This one was really cool- exercise during pregnancy may actually reduce the risk of preeclampsia, other hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, joint and musculoskeletal pain, and depression in pregnant women. This article also includes a section on the effect of exercise on lactation that was well-substantiated- basically exercise has absolutely no effect on lactation; women who exercise produce just as much boob-juice as women who don't, and the compositions of said milk is exactly the same. (One study did note that "exhaustive exercise" at "maximum intensity" decreased certain immunological components of breast milk, though. But only for about an hour after said exhaustive exercise, then the components of the breast milk return back to normal. AH, the human body is so cool!) My favorite quote from this article (as a lady who loves to lift heavy and has continued to do so during this pregnancy): "fetuses of women who continue vigorous weightbearing exercise until onset of labor have normal amniotic
fluid erythropoietin levels, fewer worrisome fetal heart
patterns during labor, and decreased rates of both meconium
staining and cord entanglement at birth." Yesssss.
Post-Partum Exercise: What You Need to Know This shorty-short little article provided a totally healthy (and do-able!) post-partum exercise schedule based on the age-old "9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off" idiom: "Months 1 - 3: Emphasis should be on staying healthy and getting back into a routine. Months 4 - 6: Begin concentrating on light weight training and cardio. Months 7 - 9: Rebuilding strength, and higher intensity cardio."
Exercise in Pregnancy: Effect on Fitness and Obstetric Outcomes—A Randomized Trial This article was published in 2012 and documents the effect of perinatal exercise on women both during and after pregnancy. Highlights from this study: only about 16% of pregnant women exercise the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology-recommended 30 minutes per day. Not many obstetricians discuss exercise with their patients, and because data on fitness and pregnancy is relatively limited, not many docs in obstetrics programs even receive information on perinatal exercise in school (EEP!!!). Not a single woman who was part of the "exercise" group in this study developed gestational diabetes. The lengths of pregnancy and labor in the exercise and non-exercise groups were almost exactly the same, though 87% of women in the exercise group gave birth vaginally, compared to 61% in the sedentary group. Eight control subjects opted out to exercise rather than to continue in the sedentary group (yaaasss). Placenta weight was slightly higher in the active group, consistent with evidence that exercise augments placental growth during early and mid pregnancy. Aaaaand the last sentence of the paper: "The data are strong enough to suggest that every practicing obstetrician would be wise to provide each newly pregnant woman a prescription for exercise in pregnancy."
Maternal fitness at the onset of the second trimester of pregnancy: correlates and relationship with infant birth weight Published in 2013: "A positive relationship between maternal muscular fitness and infant birth weight highlighted maternal strength in pregnancy as a new determinant of infant birth weight." Basically, a fit mama tends to result in a higher birth weight in the baby.
Core Training Exercise Selection During Pregnancy Published in 2012 by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. It killed me that I would have to buy this damn article to read anything but the abstract...I love where it is headed though: "Abdominal core and muscular conditioning is seldom recommended for pregnant populations. A literature review clearly indicates support from the medical field for the application of core muscular training during pregnancy to help alleviate many issues associated with pregnancy. Specific core exercises are described to aid in the implementation of safe and effective training during pregnancy." WHAT ARE THEY I WANT TO KNOW
Perceptions of effective advice in pregnancy – The case of activity Again, this looks SO interesting, but $$$ to read the entire thing. Grr. "The paper highlights the inherent difficulties of providing effective advice during the short period of pregnancy; the need for clear and consistent messages to be provided by all health professionals involved in antenatal care as well as the difficulty of changing cultural expectations of pregnancy-appropriate behaviours."
The effect of maternal exercise during pregnancy on abnormal fetal growth Published in 2013. "The beneficial effect of maternal physical activity on fetal growth may be caused the impact of aerobic exercise on glucose tolerance. Fitness trainers and kinesiologists, as well as health care providers, should be educated on the benefits of regular exercise during pregnancy and safe physical exercise for pregnant women."
That's all for now! So if anyone criticizes you and your exercising pregnant bad-self, just show 'em some of these articles.
Keep on keepin' on, ladies! Love you all!