Life

Best advice for keeping fit while pregnant: Listen to your body

Pregnancy seems to invite unasked-for 'advice', especially when it comes to the topic of exercise. Abi Jackson speaks to some actual experts

Chat with their GP or midwife before taking up any form of exercise during pregnancy if you are not active already
Chat with their GP or midwife before taking up any form of exercise during pregnancy if you are not active already Chat with their GP or midwife before taking up any form of exercise during pregnancy if you are not active already

BEYONCE and Amal Clooney are expecting twins, while Amanda Seyfried, Natalie Portman and a string of other celebs – not to mention millions of non-A-list women out there – are sporting blooming bumps.


Whether or not you have the budget for personal trainers and five-star gyms, keeping well is a priority everybody deserves to honour. But exercising during pregnancy is a subject that throws up a lot of confusion, across the board.

IS THIS SAFE?


"There certainly is a good deal of confusion surrounding what's safe and what's not safe exercise-wise in pregnancy. There's a tendency for everyone to voice their views, especially when celebrities share their workouts on social media – suddenly the whole world has an opinion. It's almost as if when people fall pregnant, they become public property, others consider it their right to advise and even criticise," says pregnancy and postnatal fitness expert Dr Joanna Helcke, the brains behind the award-winning FitBumpBox and FitBumpBall exercise and wellness packages for mums-to-be (www.joannahelcke.com).

"Although this is usually well intentioned, the net effect is many women feel unsure as to what exercise can be done and what should be avoided."

WHAT WOMEN WANT


Recent research has found that 80 per cent of pregnant women would like to be more active. However, 13 per cent had been questioned or received negative comments for doing exercise, and 34 per cent confessed they were worried that being active could harm their baby.

Pip Black and Joan Murphy, co-founders of 'fitness destination' Frame, have just launched a new online platform for their 'Mumhood' classes, which feature yoga, Pilates and barre classes for different pre and post-natal stages (www.mum-hood.com).

"Mumhood was born out of the fact that when Joan, and then I, became pregnant for the first time, even working in the industry, we found it really hard and at times very confusing to find information about exercising during pregnancy that didn't contradict itself, or err on the side of caution.

"As people who were used to being active and needed to be to keep us sane, we started to do a lot of research ourselves into the risks and what type of exercises were safe, and which also would benefit you in terms of preventing pregnancy-related aches and pains, helping with the birth and with post-natal recovery."

IT'S PERSONAL


Pregnancy – as with most things – does not affect every woman in the same way. Sometimes there are also long-term health concerns that might flare-up or affect somebody's needs or limits in terms of physical activity during pregnancy.

The Royal College of Midwives' official advice is clear: it is important to keep physically active during pregnancy – and this is the over-arching message. But that doesn't mean heaping a ton of pressure on pregnant women to make sure they meet some pre-determined fitness target, and neither should those who are able to be pretty active get criticised.

The guidelines also note that everybody consults with a healthcare professional for individualised advice, and also that their activity and fitness levels before pregnancy be taken into account.

"Every woman brings to pregnancy her own individual fitness levels, so what might be right for one person could well be entirely inappropriate for another," says Dr Helcke. "Women should be on the lookout for tell-tale signs such as feeling more fatigued than usual and taking longer to recover from a workout. Never attempt to work through these signs – they're our body's way of telling us to ease off."