Pregnancy is a special time in a woman’s life. It is also a time when you go through tremendous change in your physique and emotional development. This is where you take extra care in your daily habits while getting the exercise everybody needs is perhaps more crucial than normal or typical times.
It’s a simple fact to understand that you are carrying a lot more weight while you are pregnant. This means that your joints are loaded upon. Swimming is recommended for pregnant women as swimming during pregnancy is extremely beneficial to both the foetus and expectant mother. With water comes buoyancy and where you relieve the load bearing off your feet. You as well as your unborn baby would enjoy and benefit from such relief.
Owing to the feeling of weightless and the cushioning when enveloped by water, expectant mothers tend to feel carefree. Adequate exercise is essential during normal pregnancies and swimming tops the list since it is safe. It is low-impact since stress, shocks and weight is not impacted upon the joints. Swimming is safe because the risk of falling off-balance is always present when pregnant women perform exercise. Moreover, easy overheating is another discomfort when pregnant women exercise. Water is natural cooling environment.
Through swimming, mums-to-be could burn calories. This will make them feel more awake and less fatigued. Exercise also promotes sleep. Hence, they sleep better and are more able to cope with daily life and the challenges pregnancy poses. Moreover, aerobic exercise during pregnancy does help during labour. It appreciably decreases the duration of the second stage of labour during obstetric complications. This was discovered in a study by the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine. Therefore, this enhances the chances of smoother deliveries.
Exercise during pregnancy has another notable advantage. It helps you to get back into shape faster after delivery. This is because your muscles would be stronger and firmer especially at the arms, legs, back and hips – regions where you would be most prone to put on weight besides the tummy.
Adequate care should be taken for swimming during pregnancy. This is to ensure safety for mums-to-be and the yet-to-be-born child and there are certain things to note:
Firstly, you should slow down while exercising. You should also be aware of how you are feeling when exercising. This is to prevent from exhausting yourself. During the early stages of pregnancy, all swimming strokes are suitable. At the later stage however, breaststroke is preferred since it strengthens the back and chest muscles. On the other hand, backstroke should be avoided since it might exert pressure on the blood vessels of the abdomen.
Have a word with your gynaecologist and suit up to get ready for the pool.
