Childbirth requires a woman to have special physical training, which should be considered from the first days of pregnancy. The main ones are exercises that are aimed at improving the psychological state and maintaining physical fitness.
Expectant mothers need to engage in feasible physical exercises. But before you start, you need to consult your gynecologist.
Moderate physical activity will help to overcome the crucial stage without complications and give birth to a healthy and strong baby. Exercise for pregnant women helps to feel light in the body and gives an excellent mood. Pregnant women need to spend all 9 months in such a way as to maintain physical fitness, not overweight and give birth without complications.
Can I do exercise and gymnastics during pregnancy?
According to doctors, charging at any stage of pregnancy is simply necessary. But it is very important to think over and verify all the loads, as well as the exercises should correspond to the gestational age and general condition of the woman. Only in this case moderate exercise will give positive results and will be beneficial for the health of the mother and baby.
The best option is to perform a set of exercises that is selected individually, taking into account the physical condition and health of the pregnant woman. During such classes, weight gain and the appearance of stretch marks will be minimized, breathing will improve, and the general mood will improve.
All exercises of the complex of charging for pregnant women are designed taking into account the duration of pregnancy.
All movements must be performed smoothly, not to allow additional load on the abdomen, not to jump. The main rule - a woman should feel good and comfortable. If you have any pain, you need to stop charging and see a doctor.
Benefits and contraindications
It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of charging for pregnant women at home or in groups; doctors recommend performing it every day for almost every pregnant woman.
The benefits of gymnastics:
- It has a general strengthening effect on the whole body;
- the work of all organs improves, metabolism, immunity increases;
- improves mood and helps to overcome depression;
- the cardiovascular system is strengthened;
- helps to avoid swelling;
- relieves spine, improves posture;
- gymnastics allows a woman to quickly return to shape after childbirth ;
- prepares a woman for childbirth;
- allows the pregnant woman not to gain excess weight;
- Teaches you how to control breathing and control your body;
- Eliminates prenatal depression.
But there are contraindications that every pregnant woman needs to know in order to avoid negative consequences. It is not recommended to do exercises for pregnant women with:
- placenta previa;
- the threat of miscarriage or premature birth;
- risk of bleeding;
- uterine hypertonicity;
- hemorrhoids and varicose veins;
- anemia, hypertension, hypotension;
- toxicosis at the end of pregnancy.
There are exercises that can be performed at any time and which have no contraindications - these are breathing.
Breathing exercises for any duration
These exercises are performed every day for half an hour before and after the main exercise for pregnant women. But you can also do them at any time during the day.
Exercises:
- Lie on the floor, bend your legs at the knees. Put one hand on the stomach, the other on the chest. In this position, slowly inhale the air (as deep as possible), and exhale it slowly.
- In the same position, put the right hand on the stomach, the left - on the chest. Take a deep breath, raising your head and shoulders, but do not change the position of the abdomen. Then change hands and do the exercise again.
- Sit on the floor, legs crossed, lower your arms along the torso. Raise your arms, bending them at your elbows, while your fingers should stay at chest level. At this time, take a breath, slowly lower your arms and exhale.
How should I exercise during pregnancy?
You need to exercise only with good health and in a good mood. All movements of a pregnant woman should be smooth, you can not jump, make sharp turns, bends, lift weights, run.
If unpleasant sensations occur during charging, you need to take a break, breathing exercises and rest, on this day you should not continue to exercise, because during pregnancy the main rule is not to overwork.
In an interesting position, you can not exercise for weight loss. All exercises for pregnant women are designed to support muscle tone and preparation for childbirth.
1 trimester
For a woman in the position of the first 12 weeks, a very responsible and important period. This is the time when all the organs are laid in the fetus. The first months of pregnancy also include appropriate exercises that are aimed at maintaining a good mood, breathing training, and relaxing the body. Charging for pregnant women in the 1st trimester is best done in the morning for 20-25 minutes.
You can start the exercises with a cross stroke. Then you can, with your feet shoulder-width apart, torso to the right and left.
The next exercise for pregnant women in the 1st trimester at home is to put your hands on your belt and perform back deflections (while inhaling), returning to the starting position (while exhaling).
You can complete all exercises in circular rotations, lifting on your toes. This exercise serves as a good prevention of seizures and varicose veins.
When pulling pains in the abdomen occur, charging should be discontinued.
2 trimester
The second trimester is a calmer period, the woman is not worried about toxicosis, her hormonal and emotional background is stabilizing. Charging for pregnant women in the 2nd trimester is not a burden for her, but it is recommended to perform exercises for no more than 30 minutes.
Gymnastics should begin in a sitting position, legs crossed in front of you, and make head turns in different directions, then slowly rotate the body, arms apart.
Exercise for pregnant women in the 2nd trimester at home can be diversified with exercises, using benches, ottomans, high chairs. Charging helps to improve sleep and prevent swelling, improves blood circulation, which favorably affects the baby. It receives the right amount of oxygen and nutrients. But you should be careful about her with poor health.
Contraindications for charging for pregnant women in the 2nd trimester are: placenta previa, anemia, the threat of termination of pregnancy. You should immediately stop the exercise if there is a pulling pain in the lower back and abdomen, with the appearance of brown discharge, with headache, with nausea. You can not perform exercises on the abdomen during this period (it can provoke a miscarriage) or on the back (it can lead to fetal hypoxia).
3 trimester
During this period of pregnancy, a woman becomes clumsy and awkward. This period requires special exercises, for example, fitball exercises.
It should be noted that in the last trimester of pregnancy, it is necessary to reduce the intensity of the exercises. Exercise for pregnant women in the 3rd trimester is aimed at the development of respiratory techniques and the preparation of muscles and ligaments for early childbirth.
You can not perform exercises lying on his back, on his stomach, on his side. It is strictly forbidden to perform physical exercises if placenta previa or the threat of premature birth are diagnosed.
After charging for pregnant women in the 3rd trimester, you need to take a walk in the fresh air and drink fortified juice.
General recommendations for pregnant women
Regardless of the gestational age, a woman should adhere to such rules:
- Take breaks between exercises, that is, do not do the whole complex “in one go”.
- If the condition worsens, exercise should be discontinued.
- If spotting appears after gymnastics, see a doctor.
- Do not make sudden movements.
- Do not engage immediately after eating, only after a few hours.
- Charging is best done in comfortable and loose clothing.
- Gradually increase the time of classes, start with 10 minutes.
- It is better to ventilate the room in which charging is done.
- If nausea occurs, the pulse quickens, dizziness appears, you need to reduce the intensity of the exercises.
Fitball gymnastics
At present, doing fitball exercises has become very popular. They have a very beneficial effect on the course of pregnancy, strengthen the joints of the spine, pelvis. The most common and useful exercises:
- Having sat on the ball, lean on it with your hands and swing the pelvis from side to side and in a circle. This exercise is very useful for the back and lower back, it can also be performed during contractions, it alleviates pain and helps to open the cervix.
- To strengthen the muscles of the legs, it is necessary to sit on the floor, bend the legs at the knees, put the fitball between the legs and try to squeeze it with all your legs.
- Sit on the ball, spread your legs as wide as possible and lean toward one leg or the other (you can only perform the exercise in the first trimester).
- For back muscles, the following exercise is useful: to sit on the ball and make turns in different directions.
- To relax all the muscles, you need to kneel in front of the fitball, lie on your head with his body and relax your back muscles as much as possible.
Fitball exercises are comfortable and safe. In a pregnant woman, blood circulation normalizes, blood pressure decreases, and overall health improves.
Yoga
Yoga is a very good way to prepare for childbirth, it helps to learn how to breathe correctly, overcome fear and cope with stress.
All exercises must be performed with a straight back. The most universal exercise is to sit in the lotus position and stretch upward, take a deep breath of air, in this position inflate the stomach and chest, then slowly begin to exhale and relax the chest, and then the stomach.
Water aerobics
Water gymnastics is the most popular type of gymnastics. Water is a good sedative; body weight in water is reduced. In addition, doctors say that this is the safest type of gymnastics. You can do it already from the beginning of 2 trimesters and continue until 39 weeks. In addition, many doctors prescribe this type of aerobics with rapid weight gain in a pregnant woman.
Kegel exercises
These exercises help strengthen your urination and intimate muscles. It is only necessary to determine which muscles need to be strengthened. During urination, try to hold him, those who tensed at this moment, and you need to train.
Scheme of exercise: tighten those muscles that delay urination for 10 seconds, then relax. Repeat exercise 8 times. About 20 such approaches can be performed during the day.
These exercises will prepare the body for childbirth and help to avoid tears during the birth process.
Many women during pregnancy think about whether it is possible to do exercises during pregnancy. The answer to this question for each woman is individual and only a doctor can give it. In general, breathing and exercise positively affect the body of a woman and a child.