Sport and pregnancy: a good team!
Sport has many benefits for pregnant women: Regular exercise strengthens the immune system and therefore increases protection against infections. Sport also strengthens the muscles, which can prevent or at least alleviate back pain during pregnancy.
Sport is also recommended for pregnant women in other respects: Circulatory or digestive problems are less likely to occur. It also reduces the risk of hemorrhoids, varicose veins, thrombosis and muscle and calf cramps. Sport also strengthens the pelvic floor, which can prevent incontinence later on.
Last but not least, exercise during pregnancy counteracts excessive weight gain and slows down the excessive growth of the unborn child. Exercise is also recommended for pregnant women to prevent and treat gestational diabetes.
Video: Sport during pregnancy: the top 3
Light endurance training during pregnancy
Pregnant women should only consider sports that put a lot of strain on the joints (such as tennis or badminton) after consulting their gynaecologist or midwife. This also applies to physical training with a high risk of injury (such as martial arts or soccer).
Swimming during pregnancy
Sports such as swimming, aqua fitness and aqua jogging are particularly suitable for keeping fit during pregnancy. The buoyancy of the water makes every movement easier and the physical strain is less. As the water also dissipates heat well, you won’t sweat so easily. The temperature of the water should be between 18 and 25 degrees. As the water quality in swimming pools is constantly monitored, there is hardly any risk of infection.
The crawl and backstroke are relaxing. When swimming breaststroke, lifting your head high can cause tension in the neck and shoulder area.
No diving!
Diving is not recommended as a sport for pregnant women because holding your breath interrupts the child’s oxygen supply. Diving with compressed air cylinders is completely forbidden, as there is a risk of pulmonary embolism in the unborn child.
Running sport
Warm up well before running to prevent injuries. Increase the load slowly to avoid getting out of breath. Good running shoes protect against twisting your ankle and injuries. During pregnancy, joints and ligaments are particularly loose and therefore susceptible to injury. You should avoid outdoor sports in hot weather.
Gymnastics and strength training during pregnancy
Exercise is also suitable for pregnant women, for example with an exercise band. However, make sure you do not do any exercises in a prone position and avoid jerky movements.
Avoid stretching exercises during strength training, as ligaments and joints are more elastic during pregnancy and can easily be overstretched. Exercises that tighten the straight abdominal muscles are also prohibited, as this can cause the left and right abdominal muscles to move apart and create a gap (rectus diastasis). So if you do abdominal muscle training at all, then only exercises for the oblique muscles – but it is best to wait until after the birth to do abdominal muscle training.
Pulse as a measure of stress
When it is better to refrain from sport
If you experience bleeding, cramps, pronounced edema, premature contractions or a rise in blood pressure during pregnancy, you should stop exercising immediately. Sport for pregnant women is also prohibited if you have an acute infection, suffer from a heart condition or are expecting multiples. As a general rule, you should always talk to your doctor first about whether and what kind of sport you can do during pregnancy.
