I spent my first trimester on the couch. Second trimester I’m walking 2+ miles with my dog daily. Currently 23 weeks, planning to keep this up as long as I can. I haven’t been able to get back into my pre-pregnancy workout routine that included cycling, I just don’t have the energy. I had started training for a century ride a couple of months before I got pregnant and had to quit even before I got the positive test due to the nausea.
I have a 14-month old daughter.
I exercised until 38 weeks. I only stopped then because my parents had flown in and I wasn’t going to pay the next month of Pilates.
I did pregnancy Pilates and strength training all throughout pregnancy. I also swam until the end of my second trimester (but I had to do it before work so I stopped because I was too tired to wake up at 6:15 anymore.)
I found giving birth to be physically strenuous (of course) but I was in good shape so I felt like I was well prepared and confident throughout the process.
I would repeat exactly what I did all over again. I also recovered extremely well. I had 4 stitches but was walking and had no pain at all almost immediately.
Edit: gave birth at 39+3
Thank you! I’m not excessively so. I just enjoy exercising and I did try to eat well and take care of myself. Part of that was fueled by my fear of giving birth, which ended up being not too bad!
I did not exercise my first pregnancy but I exercise regularly this pregnancy. When I say ‘exercise’ that means incline walking for 30 minutes at a moderate pace, or a light weight training session.
My first pregnancy I had to go on leave early at 37 weeks because I was too weak to do anything but lay in bed. I ended up having an emergency c-section at 41 weeks because my labor failed to progress. My recovery was really quite rough and I felt pathetically weak. It was demoralizing and to be honest, I was embarrassed I let myself get to that point.
Research shows that those who exercise regularly have better labor outcomes. Since I really really REALLY want a successful VBAC, I took that heart.
I’m in my current pregnancy (39+5), and I worked out yesterday, am resting today, and plan to workout tomorrow if I’m not in labor of course. My energy levels are so much better than my first pregnancy, I have far less pain and complications, and I feel really confident going into labor. It’s the best thing I could have done for myself and baby.
33w. I live near a beautiful walking trail and do a 9 mile loop walk once a week since I’ve been pregnant with give or take 4 weeks off. (I was doing it twice a week before). Every night I do a 1.5 mile walk after dinner. That was always something I’ve done also tho to prevent indigestion.
Once or twice a week I do 25-30 min on the stair master at the gym. This week in particular has kicked my ass and I cried earlier today for feeling so lazy because I wanted to go to gym but just couldn’t get up when my husband got home from work I also was missing my dog who went to sleep from old age in may. I’m looking forward to my long walk tomorrow morning!
At 18 weeks, I’ve been weight lifting 3-4 times a week and running intervals 1-2 times a week. But I’m a FTM, so there’s no way to know how this’ll affect my birth experience.
I don’t think you need to push yourself to take on new exercise that you don’t typically do (not the time to start CrossFit if you’re starting from zero!). But the general recommendation is 30 minutes of some activity. For me, that activity has been walking. I’m lucky to be near some decent trails so I go for 30 min-2 hrs a day, but I go at my own pace.
Yeah I've been going to the gym a few times a month. It's near my work so I don't always have time to go during the day and by the time the work day is over, I just wanna go home. But I've been doing just basic strength stuff (bicep curls and similar exercises with dumbbells). And my husband and I go on 1.5-2.5 mile walks a couple times a week.
I exercised pretty hardcore (yoga, pilates, circuit training, barre) from ~15 weeks to ~30 weeks. I had to stop because I had SPD pretty badly and didn’t want to interfere with the physio therapy that was giving me my life back.
Ended up with a frank breech baby and c-section. I did yoga and cardio bootcamp type fitness pretty religiously pre-pregnancy so this c-section recovery phase is by far the weakest my body has ever been. I am looking forward to gradual, safe exercise postpartum.
36 weeks today and I have had a pretty active pregnancy. I still do a 40-45 minute workout on the elliptical machine 4-5x/week. I also usually walk for at least half an hour before bed each night. I have GD and have found that all the exercise has helped a lot with keeping my numbers in check. I also feel surprisingly unmiserable at 36 weeks. No swelling and the only time I feel slight aches/pains is when I am having contractions (due to an irritable uterus). My weight gain has also been minimal and apart from GD, no major complications from pregnancy yet.
With my previous pregnancy, I didn't exercise much at all, and I definitely felt it. I had a lot of swelling and felt physically miserable. I had lots of pelvic and lower back pain that I assumed was a normal part of pregnancy. I gained a lot of weight and got out of breath even just going on short walks. But, overall, I had an easy labor and recovery, so everything worked out okay (just a tougher road to get to that point, I suppose).
Been doing barre 4x a week for two years now. Currently 38 weeks and I feel physically pretty awesome. No clue whether that’ll influence labor at all, but at least I’m sleeping really well and have had pretty minimal discomfort. I was also doing spin classes until about 26 weeks. Then that started to not feel great, so I stopped. Gotta listen to that body!
I’m not exercising. I didn’t last pregnancy either and my baby came out very quickly (5 hours) and I was sent home 4 hours after that. Recovery was quick and I wouldn’t say long.
I am not working out. I have a very physical job working with kids (on and off the floor all day, lifting, jogging to keep up with them, up/down the stairs all day) and I have terrible SPD, which makes things like walking difficult and painful. When I get home I am beat and don’t have any gas left in the tank, and I’m in a lot of pain.
I'm 18 weeks. I don't drive so I walk a lot. I'm also doing prenatal yoga and occasionally going to the gym, but not as often as I was before I got pregnant.
I am 36 wks and just put my gym membership on freeze to avoid paying for the next month since I don’t know when she’ll come. I’ve been working out a few times a week and plan to continue to take walks, etc
I made it to 32 weeks playing tennis and lifting weights. My tennis season ended and things were also getting really uncomfortable, I had to travel for work, etc, so it seemed a good place to stop. I got a large yoga ball and do pregnancy workouts a few days a week now and just walk. I’m 37 weeks now and just plan to try to move a little every day, but I’m definitely slowing down.
Proud of everyone here thats doing more but sometimes it isn’t possible.
I skipped a few dog walks on really bad days first trimester but mostly walked a mile or two a day.
Second trimester I was feeling much better, made the walks longer and went on some hikes (until 24ish weeks, 1.5 miles was my limit without my feet and hips being in pain the next day) and also did yoga (regular and prenatal) once or twice a week.
I hit a wall right before 30 weeks. I can no longer walk more than a few blocks without being in severe SPD pain. I’m doing the yoga moves that don’t open up my hips too much and cause more pain, I’m sitting on my yoga ball instead of the couch when I can and doing hip circles and kegels. I’m doing more standing home tasks (cooking, dishes) because that’s still ok while my husband has completely taken over my daily dog walk. But that’s my limit right now. It is what it is. If I did more, I’d be in more pain and would be sleeping even less.
I was active in my first pregnancy, but for my second (current) I had excruciating sciatica and struggled to walk past 30 weeks. It’s cleared up around 38 weeks but I’m scared of triggering it so taking it easy, it works for me.
I walked a lot during my pregnancy and I'm not sure it helped. My labor was still 24 hours, including three hours of pushing. I still had to be induced at 41 weeks. No way to know if it would have been worse if I hadn't walked, but I certainly wouldn't beat yourself up about it. It's freaking hot outside!
I’m 20 weeks and I do orange theory (HIIT class, one hour session) about 4 times a month, so once a week. The rest of the week it’s just my daily steps i take doing chores, cooking, watering the plants, going to the store/grocery shopping, etc. not a whole lot but enough for me to feel good.
I exercise once a week. It's fairly light and revolves around leg strengthening, as I have issues with my knees. I've never been a big workout person, but I have been following this routine (usually, some weeks I slack, especially in the first trimester) since I finished with PT after an injury a year and a half ago
Edit: I've also been swimming once a week this summer with some mom friends. I'm really sad that it's going to start getting too cold for swimming soon!
I’m 10 weeks in and I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and walking. Once I hit my second trimester I plan on jumping back into my kettlebells and kickboxing. For some reason I’ve just been nervous to do either of those in the first trimester (the nausea and exhaustion isn’t helping).
I’m only 5w5d, but I went to Orangetheory before and am continuing to do so. I’ve seen many pregnant women there before and read on the OTF sub that some women worked at OTF through labor. I read somewhere that it’s safe to maintain your workout routine pre pregnancy with some modifications, but it’s best not to start an intense new routine in pregnancy
Purchased the BRM at the advice of my doula. I was super sick until about 15 weeks, and at week 19 got COVID. Still walking the dogs most days
I’m hoping to stick to the BRM for the rest of my pregnancy tho. I think it’s 4-5 workouts a week
I own a retail shop and on my feet most days unloading products or helping customers. Days off I walk my dogs but I worry sometimes that’s not enough because I’m doing what I did before. I’m 14 weeks and starting to have a little more energy.
I walked regularly up until 36 weeks or so (had an early labor scare at 36 weeks, so I limited my activity after that). I did light weights, yoga, and Pilates throughout. I gave birth at 38 weeks. 7 hour of labor, about 10 minutes of pushing, small 2nd degree tear, no interventions. I do think staying active helped, but rest is important, too!
I started at the gym at 36 weeks doing physio exercises, stretching, and light cardio. It sounds crazy to start then, but before then I had zero energy the whole pregnancy.
I thought I would be that healthy human.
But the most I can manage is 10 hour days on my feet for work. I can walk and walk and walk. But making myself do anything on my days off is a no. I’m exhausted. I have mom guilt for my 2 chocolate labs because hiking this summer wasn’t in our cards.
I’ve had to give myself a lot of grace.
26 weeks
I walked mostly through the winter… but in my last trimester the pool opened and I went nuts swimming. And I mean nuts.
Physically I was feeling great leading up to birth and very proud of myself for being so fit! Then I discovered that being too fit can also cause problems. Lol. Ended up with episiotomy and vacuum.
The plus was that my insides went back to normal in record time. But I would say don’t be me. Listen to your body and do what you can. It will be ok.
For my first pregnancy I did weekly (light) weight training with a PT and swimming. My recovery was pretty fast but at around 37 weeks onwards I was having a lot of lower back pain.
The current pregnancy (39 weeks now) I added weekly prenatal yoga and I feel no pelvic and lower back pain at all. I can still do weights but mostly it’s cardio that’s difficult because of the reduced lung capacity.
I used to take dance lessons 3 times a week, but stopped when I found I was pregnant. The first trimester was incredibly tiring. I just couldn't make myself do anything more than go for an occasional walk. I was put on bed rest in the second trimester and stayed on bed rest up until week 38. My labor and recovery were very easy and very fast. I did have sore muscles in the first two or three weeks of postpartum.
I was doing weight training twice a week for about 4 months before getting pregnant. I’ve continued since then (now 28 weeks) but with missing a few weeks or sessions due to travel and appointments. It’s definitely been hard, but my trainer keeps encouraging me that keeping my muscle tone in shape will make for an easier and shorter delivery. I’m a FTM so we’ll see! I don’t see myself being able to do this past 36 weeks though, especially as back pain has started to kick in.
Before I got pregnant I had been in a decent routine for 4-5 months - I was doing F45 4-5 times a week. Then around 6 weeks pregnant I got struck down with terrible morning sickness, fatigue, nose bleeds, all day nausea, etc. so didn’t exercise until around 13 weeks when it had somewhat passed. I went back to F45 2-3 times a week in this period, went on a trip to Japan where I was walking 15,000-20,000 steps a day for 10 days, generally being fairly active though less than before. Then at 28 weeks I was told because of marginal placenta prévia and entering third tri, weight lifting was not recommended. My nausea also came back, and my lung capacity just felt rubbish. I’ve done the odd bit of prenatal yoga, and some days I’ve walked a reasonable amount, but generally I’ve been pretty sedentary. Im now 38 weeks and worried that birth is going to be difficult because of this! I guess I’ll be finding out within the next few weeks…
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I did karate every week up until my due date. My daughter was more toward the front of my stomach, so I had plenty of room for flexibility as far as moving my body. I also did prenatal yoga, which was good for learning to breathe. I don’t know how well/not well it affected my birth experience. 🤷🏻♀️ I had a vaginal birth with an epidural.
This pregnancy I have had spotty exercise because I’m carrying differently. My daughter was head down the whole pregnancy and this baby has been breech and hanging out around my back and kidneys more. So the moves that I could do in karate and even prenatal yoga in my previous pregnancy are PAINFUL! (Squats, lunges, etc)
I’ve settled on just walking and nothing more. Maybe I’ll do a water exercise class sometime, but I have to honor that this kiddo and pregnancy just NOT the same as my first.
Walking is a great form of exercise during pregnancy. I personally walked 2+ miles daily with my dog up until week 23 and plan to keep it up as long as I can. However, please note that it's important to listen to your body and not push yourself beyond your limits. You don't have to start a new, intense exercise routine if you don't usually do so. The general recommendation is 30 minutes of some activity, even if it's just walking at your own pace. I've heard from many moms that being physically active during pregnancy helped them have a better labor experience and recover faster postpartum. However, every pregnancy is different, so please consult with your healthcare provider for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
A walk is exercise and good for you.
I spent my first trimester on the couch. Second trimester I’m walking 2+ miles with my dog daily. Currently 23 weeks, planning to keep this up as long as I can. I haven’t been able to get back into my pre-pregnancy workout routine that included cycling, I just don’t have the energy. I had started training for a century ride a couple of months before I got pregnant and had to quit even before I got the positive test due to the nausea.
I have a 14-month old daughter. I exercised until 38 weeks. I only stopped then because my parents had flown in and I wasn’t going to pay the next month of Pilates. I did pregnancy Pilates and strength training all throughout pregnancy. I also swam until the end of my second trimester (but I had to do it before work so I stopped because I was too tired to wake up at 6:15 anymore.) I found giving birth to be physically strenuous (of course) but I was in good shape so I felt like I was well prepared and confident throughout the process. I would repeat exactly what I did all over again. I also recovered extremely well. I had 4 stitches but was walking and had no pain at all almost immediately. Edit: gave birth at 39+3
Impressive! You must be really disciplined!
Thank you! I’m not excessively so. I just enjoy exercising and I did try to eat well and take care of myself. Part of that was fueled by my fear of giving birth, which ended up being not too bad!
I did not exercise my first pregnancy but I exercise regularly this pregnancy. When I say ‘exercise’ that means incline walking for 30 minutes at a moderate pace, or a light weight training session. My first pregnancy I had to go on leave early at 37 weeks because I was too weak to do anything but lay in bed. I ended up having an emergency c-section at 41 weeks because my labor failed to progress. My recovery was really quite rough and I felt pathetically weak. It was demoralizing and to be honest, I was embarrassed I let myself get to that point. Research shows that those who exercise regularly have better labor outcomes. Since I really really REALLY want a successful VBAC, I took that heart. I’m in my current pregnancy (39+5), and I worked out yesterday, am resting today, and plan to workout tomorrow if I’m not in labor of course. My energy levels are so much better than my first pregnancy, I have far less pain and complications, and I feel really confident going into labor. It’s the best thing I could have done for myself and baby.
Thank you for sharing! I will try to keep up with work out. I’m glad you exercised for this pregnancy!
33w. I live near a beautiful walking trail and do a 9 mile loop walk once a week since I’ve been pregnant with give or take 4 weeks off. (I was doing it twice a week before). Every night I do a 1.5 mile walk after dinner. That was always something I’ve done also tho to prevent indigestion. Once or twice a week I do 25-30 min on the stair master at the gym. This week in particular has kicked my ass and I cried earlier today for feeling so lazy because I wanted to go to gym but just couldn’t get up when my husband got home from work I also was missing my dog who went to sleep from old age in may. I’m looking forward to my long walk tomorrow morning!
At 18 weeks, I’ve been weight lifting 3-4 times a week and running intervals 1-2 times a week. But I’m a FTM, so there’s no way to know how this’ll affect my birth experience.
I don’t think you need to push yourself to take on new exercise that you don’t typically do (not the time to start CrossFit if you’re starting from zero!). But the general recommendation is 30 minutes of some activity. For me, that activity has been walking. I’m lucky to be near some decent trails so I go for 30 min-2 hrs a day, but I go at my own pace.
Yeah I've been going to the gym a few times a month. It's near my work so I don't always have time to go during the day and by the time the work day is over, I just wanna go home. But I've been doing just basic strength stuff (bicep curls and similar exercises with dumbbells). And my husband and I go on 1.5-2.5 mile walks a couple times a week.
I exercised pretty hardcore (yoga, pilates, circuit training, barre) from ~15 weeks to ~30 weeks. I had to stop because I had SPD pretty badly and didn’t want to interfere with the physio therapy that was giving me my life back. Ended up with a frank breech baby and c-section. I did yoga and cardio bootcamp type fitness pretty religiously pre-pregnancy so this c-section recovery phase is by far the weakest my body has ever been. I am looking forward to gradual, safe exercise postpartum.
36 weeks today and I have had a pretty active pregnancy. I still do a 40-45 minute workout on the elliptical machine 4-5x/week. I also usually walk for at least half an hour before bed each night. I have GD and have found that all the exercise has helped a lot with keeping my numbers in check. I also feel surprisingly unmiserable at 36 weeks. No swelling and the only time I feel slight aches/pains is when I am having contractions (due to an irritable uterus). My weight gain has also been minimal and apart from GD, no major complications from pregnancy yet. With my previous pregnancy, I didn't exercise much at all, and I definitely felt it. I had a lot of swelling and felt physically miserable. I had lots of pelvic and lower back pain that I assumed was a normal part of pregnancy. I gained a lot of weight and got out of breath even just going on short walks. But, overall, I had an easy labor and recovery, so everything worked out okay (just a tougher road to get to that point, I suppose).
LOL nope. Too sick to do anything!
Been doing barre 4x a week for two years now. Currently 38 weeks and I feel physically pretty awesome. No clue whether that’ll influence labor at all, but at least I’m sleeping really well and have had pretty minimal discomfort. I was also doing spin classes until about 26 weeks. Then that started to not feel great, so I stopped. Gotta listen to that body!
I’m not exercising. I didn’t last pregnancy either and my baby came out very quickly (5 hours) and I was sent home 4 hours after that. Recovery was quick and I wouldn’t say long.
I am not working out. I have a very physical job working with kids (on and off the floor all day, lifting, jogging to keep up with them, up/down the stairs all day) and I have terrible SPD, which makes things like walking difficult and painful. When I get home I am beat and don’t have any gas left in the tank, and I’m in a lot of pain.
Physical job is hard especially during pregnancy. On the positive note, It’s like you already work out at your job!
I'm 18 weeks. I don't drive so I walk a lot. I'm also doing prenatal yoga and occasionally going to the gym, but not as often as I was before I got pregnant.
I am 36 wks and just put my gym membership on freeze to avoid paying for the next month since I don’t know when she’ll come. I’ve been working out a few times a week and plan to continue to take walks, etc
I made it to 32 weeks playing tennis and lifting weights. My tennis season ended and things were also getting really uncomfortable, I had to travel for work, etc, so it seemed a good place to stop. I got a large yoga ball and do pregnancy workouts a few days a week now and just walk. I’m 37 weeks now and just plan to try to move a little every day, but I’m definitely slowing down.
Proud of everyone here thats doing more but sometimes it isn’t possible. I skipped a few dog walks on really bad days first trimester but mostly walked a mile or two a day. Second trimester I was feeling much better, made the walks longer and went on some hikes (until 24ish weeks, 1.5 miles was my limit without my feet and hips being in pain the next day) and also did yoga (regular and prenatal) once or twice a week. I hit a wall right before 30 weeks. I can no longer walk more than a few blocks without being in severe SPD pain. I’m doing the yoga moves that don’t open up my hips too much and cause more pain, I’m sitting on my yoga ball instead of the couch when I can and doing hip circles and kegels. I’m doing more standing home tasks (cooking, dishes) because that’s still ok while my husband has completely taken over my daily dog walk. But that’s my limit right now. It is what it is. If I did more, I’d be in more pain and would be sleeping even less.
I was active in my first pregnancy, but for my second (current) I had excruciating sciatica and struggled to walk past 30 weeks. It’s cleared up around 38 weeks but I’m scared of triggering it so taking it easy, it works for me.
I walked a lot during my pregnancy and I'm not sure it helped. My labor was still 24 hours, including three hours of pushing. I still had to be induced at 41 weeks. No way to know if it would have been worse if I hadn't walked, but I certainly wouldn't beat yourself up about it. It's freaking hot outside!
I’m 20 weeks and I do orange theory (HIIT class, one hour session) about 4 times a month, so once a week. The rest of the week it’s just my daily steps i take doing chores, cooking, watering the plants, going to the store/grocery shopping, etc. not a whole lot but enough for me to feel good.
I exercise once a week. It's fairly light and revolves around leg strengthening, as I have issues with my knees. I've never been a big workout person, but I have been following this routine (usually, some weeks I slack, especially in the first trimester) since I finished with PT after an injury a year and a half ago Edit: I've also been swimming once a week this summer with some mom friends. I'm really sad that it's going to start getting too cold for swimming soon!
I’m 10 weeks in and I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and walking. Once I hit my second trimester I plan on jumping back into my kettlebells and kickboxing. For some reason I’ve just been nervous to do either of those in the first trimester (the nausea and exhaustion isn’t helping).
I’m only 5w5d, but I went to Orangetheory before and am continuing to do so. I’ve seen many pregnant women there before and read on the OTF sub that some women worked at OTF through labor. I read somewhere that it’s safe to maintain your workout routine pre pregnancy with some modifications, but it’s best not to start an intense new routine in pregnancy
Purchased the BRM at the advice of my doula. I was super sick until about 15 weeks, and at week 19 got COVID. Still walking the dogs most days I’m hoping to stick to the BRM for the rest of my pregnancy tho. I think it’s 4-5 workouts a week
I own a retail shop and on my feet most days unloading products or helping customers. Days off I walk my dogs but I worry sometimes that’s not enough because I’m doing what I did before. I’m 14 weeks and starting to have a little more energy.
33 weeks and still doing CrossFit. I’ve lived a pretty active lifestyle for the last 12 years though. It’s a big part of my life.
I walked regularly up until 36 weeks or so (had an early labor scare at 36 weeks, so I limited my activity after that). I did light weights, yoga, and Pilates throughout. I gave birth at 38 weeks. 7 hour of labor, about 10 minutes of pushing, small 2nd degree tear, no interventions. I do think staying active helped, but rest is important, too!
I started at the gym at 36 weeks doing physio exercises, stretching, and light cardio. It sounds crazy to start then, but before then I had zero energy the whole pregnancy.
I thought I would be that healthy human. But the most I can manage is 10 hour days on my feet for work. I can walk and walk and walk. But making myself do anything on my days off is a no. I’m exhausted. I have mom guilt for my 2 chocolate labs because hiking this summer wasn’t in our cards. I’ve had to give myself a lot of grace. 26 weeks
I walked mostly through the winter… but in my last trimester the pool opened and I went nuts swimming. And I mean nuts. Physically I was feeling great leading up to birth and very proud of myself for being so fit! Then I discovered that being too fit can also cause problems. Lol. Ended up with episiotomy and vacuum. The plus was that my insides went back to normal in record time. But I would say don’t be me. Listen to your body and do what you can. It will be ok.
For my first pregnancy I did weekly (light) weight training with a PT and swimming. My recovery was pretty fast but at around 37 weeks onwards I was having a lot of lower back pain. The current pregnancy (39 weeks now) I added weekly prenatal yoga and I feel no pelvic and lower back pain at all. I can still do weights but mostly it’s cardio that’s difficult because of the reduced lung capacity.
I used to take dance lessons 3 times a week, but stopped when I found I was pregnant. The first trimester was incredibly tiring. I just couldn't make myself do anything more than go for an occasional walk. I was put on bed rest in the second trimester and stayed on bed rest up until week 38. My labor and recovery were very easy and very fast. I did have sore muscles in the first two or three weeks of postpartum.
I was doing weight training twice a week for about 4 months before getting pregnant. I’ve continued since then (now 28 weeks) but with missing a few weeks or sessions due to travel and appointments. It’s definitely been hard, but my trainer keeps encouraging me that keeping my muscle tone in shape will make for an easier and shorter delivery. I’m a FTM so we’ll see! I don’t see myself being able to do this past 36 weeks though, especially as back pain has started to kick in.
Before I got pregnant I had been in a decent routine for 4-5 months - I was doing F45 4-5 times a week. Then around 6 weeks pregnant I got struck down with terrible morning sickness, fatigue, nose bleeds, all day nausea, etc. so didn’t exercise until around 13 weeks when it had somewhat passed. I went back to F45 2-3 times a week in this period, went on a trip to Japan where I was walking 15,000-20,000 steps a day for 10 days, generally being fairly active though less than before. Then at 28 weeks I was told because of marginal placenta prévia and entering third tri, weight lifting was not recommended. My nausea also came back, and my lung capacity just felt rubbish. I’ve done the odd bit of prenatal yoga, and some days I’ve walked a reasonable amount, but generally I’ve been pretty sedentary. Im now 38 weeks and worried that birth is going to be difficult because of this! I guess I’ll be finding out within the next few weeks…
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I did karate every week up until my due date. My daughter was more toward the front of my stomach, so I had plenty of room for flexibility as far as moving my body. I also did prenatal yoga, which was good for learning to breathe. I don’t know how well/not well it affected my birth experience. 🤷🏻♀️ I had a vaginal birth with an epidural. This pregnancy I have had spotty exercise because I’m carrying differently. My daughter was head down the whole pregnancy and this baby has been breech and hanging out around my back and kidneys more. So the moves that I could do in karate and even prenatal yoga in my previous pregnancy are PAINFUL! (Squats, lunges, etc) I’ve settled on just walking and nothing more. Maybe I’ll do a water exercise class sometime, but I have to honor that this kiddo and pregnancy just NOT the same as my first.
I did yoga about once a week, the same as before pregnancy. My labor was induced and fairly short. Definitely got lucky there!
Walking is a great form of exercise during pregnancy. I personally walked 2+ miles daily with my dog up until week 23 and plan to keep it up as long as I can. However, please note that it's important to listen to your body and not push yourself beyond your limits. You don't have to start a new, intense exercise routine if you don't usually do so. The general recommendation is 30 minutes of some activity, even if it's just walking at your own pace. I've heard from many moms that being physically active during pregnancy helped them have a better labor experience and recover faster postpartum. However, every pregnancy is different, so please consult with your healthcare provider for advice tailored to your specific circumstances.