Sports During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, pregnant women should keep exercising because it can maintain the fitness of the body. Exercising regularly during pregnancy may lower the average heart rate of the fetus, and this effect lasts for a month after the baby is born. The low heart rate is an indication that the baby is in good health.

The sports which can be done by pregnant women are not the ones with high impact or high risk, and require the strength of back and joints such as tennis, weightlifting and volleyball because they can cause excessive fatigue, and also cause trauma to the muscle. The sports allowed are as light as a leisure walk, swimming, yoga, pilates, aerobics and pregnancy workouts. 

The exercise time for pregnant women is every day with a duration of 30 minutes or 5 times a week, but the duration is not recommended for pregnant women who are previously unfamiliar with the sport activity. For pregnant women who are just starting to exercise during pregnancy may begin with mild intensity.

Begin gradually with initial 5 minutes once every week then add 5 minutes each week up to 30 minutes, starting with warming up exercises and ending with cooling down exercises to prevent muscle injury. In general, exercise for pregnant women will be easy to do at least at Week 24 of pregnancy. 

To support the comfort in doing the exercises, wear comfortable clothes. Drink plenty of water during exercise and meet the nutrition either before or after exercise to replace fluids that come out during exercising. Invite the family or husband for exercise together so that Mommy will feel more comfortable and also well-supervised.