Exercise and Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be hard enough on the body considering you are growing a tiny human. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis states that there are various factors in life that can predispose an individuals to becoming a healthy or unhealthy adult. 

 

Children with high birth weight, wither by being born to obese mothers or mothers who experience gestational weight gain during pregnancy are more likely to be obese as adults (Schwartz et al., 2020).  

If you are choosing to exercise while pregnant it is important to speak with your medical doctor first to be cleared. If you are unsure of how or where ask for a referral to a local kinesiologist!  
 
If you are someone who exercised regularly prior to pregnancy it is most likely safe to continue the exercise you were doing pre-pregnancy. Do your research!  

The benefits of exercise during pregnancy:  

• Increase energy  
• Improve mood  
• Promotes muscle tone, strength and endurance 
• Improves posture 
• Prevention and\or management of gestational diabetes 

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Schwartz, N. L., Schmill, M. P., Cadney, M. D., Castro, A. A., Hillis, D. A., Mcnamara, M. P., & Garland, T. (2020). Effects of Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy on Offspring Body Composition and Voluntary Exercise. The FASEB Journal, 34(S1), 1-1. doi:10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.05824