Exercise During Pregnancy

Abdominal Muscle Strengthening Exercises

Regular exercise has many benefits, one of which is the reduced need for a cesarean section and the increased chance of a normal delivery.

The more physically fit you are, the easier it will be for you to adjust to the changes of pregnancy. And there is no substitute for regular exercise for maintaining fitness during pregnancy.

Studies have shown that regular exercise during pregnancy is safe and effective. So if you don’t have any special health complications, you can exercise regularly during pregnancy.

In this case, it is important to find out which exercises will work for you and know how to exercise safely. Apart from that, the special cases in which it is necessary to stop exercising and consult a doctor should also be remembered.

In addition to these topics, this article highlights ways to exercise safely at home during pregnancy. Along with that, the rules of seven exercises that can be done at home are presented step by step in the last part of the article.

Why exercise?

Exercising during pregnancy can help you in many other important ways besides keeping you healthy. For example –

  • Reduce various types of pain during pregnancy including back pain by strengthening the muscles
  • Reduces constipation and flatulence
  • Reduce pregnancy complications. For example: Gestational hypertension, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes
  • Preventing excess weight gain during pregnancy
  • Increase the chance of normal delivery by reducing the chances of cesarean operation
  • Minimize the need for forceps-Ventus instruments during delivery
  • Helping to recover quickly after delivery and prevent postpartum depression
  • Increase body strength and performance
  • Keeping the mind mood lively
  • Helping you sleep better

Effects of exercise on delivery and post-delivery health

Studies have shown that those who exercise during pregnancy have a lower need for cesarean sections and forceps-ventus deliveries. That is, the possibility of a normal delivery increases. Apart from this, the incidence of premature births and low-birth-weight babies is reduced.

Not only that, but women recover faster after childbirth if they exercise during pregnancy. Losing weight makes it easier to return to your pre-pregnancy weight. It can also play an important role in preventing postpartum depression.

How do I exercise?


What kind of exercise should be done?

Aerobic exercise is often called ‘cardio’. In this type of exercise, you have to move large muscles like your arms and legs in a certain rhythm. As a result, the heart rate increases. For example: brisk walking, gardening, swimming, dancing, and cycling. You can opt for this type of exercise during pregnancy.

Apart from aerobic exercise, there are other exercises that help reduce stress and increase muscle strength. For example, yoga, Pilates, Tai-chi, and upper-body exercises. You can also do these exercises a few days a week in addition to aerobic exercise. However, before starting any exercise, like weight lifting, consult a gynecologist.

How long does it take to exercise?

2.5 hours a week of moderate-intensity ‘aerobic’ exercise is considered ideal for pregnant women. You can reach this goal by exercising for 30 minutes five days a week. If you want, you can exercise for 10 minutes a day in several parts. This routine will all depend on your comfort level.

How intense can exercise be?

Moderate-intensity exercise is generally recommended during pregnancy. Moderate intensity means exercising at least at such an intensity that your heart rate increases and you begin to sweat. But even in this case, you should be able to finish a complete sentence—it should be kept in mind.

If you start to feel pain while doing the exercise, then maybe the exercise is not for you. In that case, it may be necessary to reduce the intensity of the exercise. Along with that, the special precautions for exercise should be kept in mind. In some cases, it may be necessary to stop exercising and consult a gynecologist immediately. This is explained in detail below in the article.

How do you start if you don’t already have an exercise habit?

It’s okay if you haven’t been exercising since before you got pregnant. You can safely start exercising during pregnancy. But in this case, start slowly and build up your tolerance over time.

You can start by exercising for 5–10 minutes a day. Do this exercise 3–4 days a week. Then gradually increase the exercise time by 5 minutes a week.

In this way, increase the time and intensity of exercise to bring it to a level where you can exercise comfortably for 30 minutes a day. In this case, it is best to discuss your plan with a gynecologist before starting exercise.

It can be challenging to suddenly start exercising if you have never exercised before. For this, you can add some simple tasks to your daily routine.

If you go to the market or shop, you can choose to walk a little more. Choose the stairs instead of the elevator. The bottom line is that to get the full benefits of exercise, try to increase the amount of exercise a little each day and make it a regular routine.

Can heavy exercise be done?

If you have a regular heavy exercise routine before pregnancy, you can continue it with the advice of your gynecologist.

But keep in mind that as the pregnancy progresses, your tolerance will decrease. So do as much exercise as is tolerable for you. Do not overexercise, as this may injure you.

Also, heavy exercise can cause you to lose more weight than you should for your pregnancy month. In such cases, you may need to increase the number of calories you eat.

Some Home Exercises for Pregnancy

Some home exercises that can be done safely during pregnancy are:

  • Abdominal muscle strengthening exercises
  • Exercises to strengthen the back and waist muscles
  • Balance exercises
  • Kegel exercises or pelvic floor exercises
  • Pelvic tilt
  • Leg exercise
  • Hand exercise

Some tips for exercising safely during pregnancy

Some home remedies or tips should be followed to exercise safely and easily during pregnancy.

Do Whatever

  • Always warm up your body before exercise and give your body time to cool down after exercise. In this case, you can walk for 5 minutes before and after exercise. Also, you can move or stretch your arms, legs, neck, and waist.
  • What to do to prevent heat illness during exercise during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester:
  • Avoid exercising in very hot, closed, humid, or poorly ventilated areas. Avoid strenuous exercise, especially in hot weather. Choose a temperature-tolerant location with good ventilation. Exercise indoors or in a cool environment, if possible.
  • Keep a water bottle close at hand during exercise. Drink water before and after exercise and between exercises to prevent dehydration.
  • Exercise in loose and comfortable clothes.
  • Wear comfortable shoes and sports bras that provide good support during exercise. Wearing a special pregnancy belt in late pregnancy can help reduce discomfort when walking and running. Note that while choosing clothes and shoes, make sure that the cloth parts and shoe laces are properly tied and there is no possibility of falling.
  • Exercise on wooden floors or carpeted floors. It will facilitate stepping and maintaining balance. You can buy a yoga mat if needed. While exercising, choose a place where there is no chance of slipping or getting something stuck on your feet. When exercising at the gym, be careful where the equipment is located.

What not to do

  • Do not perform exercises that require jumping or sudden changes in posture. These can put pressure on your joints and cause pain.
  • Do not do exercises that involve raising or lowering both legs together, ‘sit-ups’ or knee-bending exercises. Apart from this, keep your legs straight and avoid the exercise of touching your toes with your fingers.
  • Do not stand up suddenly from lying or sitting on the floor. Stand up slowly; otherwise, you may feel dizzy after standing up. After standing, walk in one place for a while.
  • Do not do exercises like weightlifting without consulting a doctor. A doctor can determine the level of weight lifting for you based on factors such as your physical condition and the intensity of exercise you are used to.

Can no exercise be done during pregnancy?

There is one important thing to keep in mind while exercising during pregnancy. That is, exercise should not be done beyond normal tolerance. If you are not already in the habit of exercising, then build up the habit of exercising little by little without suddenly starting intense physical activity.

If you find it difficult to complete a full sentence naturally while exercising, it means you may be exercising beyond your tolerance.

While most exercises can be done safely during pregnancy, some exercises can be quite dangerous for you and your unborn baby. Such exercises should be avoided. For example,

  • In sports where there is a possibility of physical injury, especially to the abdomen, due to contact with the opponent, For example: football, basketball, hockey, judo, wrestling, boxing, taekwondo, and karate.
  • Any exercise or sport that involves jumping or whole-body jerking should be avoided during pregnancy unless previously used to. E.g., racket, badminton, and tennis There is a possibility of injury to the unborn child due to a fall. However, if you already have the habit of playing these games, you should play them carefully, keeping in mind the changing balance of the body.
  • Abdominal pain is likely to occur due to exercise or physical activity. Particularly noteworthy among these is any exercise that involves jumping from a high place or high above the ground. For example: gymnastics, diving, bungee jumping, horseback riding, and cycling anywhere other than paved roads.
  • Exercises that require lying down for a long time. Especially after the 16th week of pregnancy, when the size of the belly starts to grow, lying down with the growing belly for a long time can put pressure on the blood vessels of the body and obstruct the blood flow. Apart from this, work that requires standing in one place for a long time should also be avoided.
  • Exercises or sports that raise the body temperature too much are not safe for pregnancy. Eg: ‘Hot Yoga’. Even exercising in very hot, closed, or poorly ventilated areas should be avoided.

The reason for this is that if the temperature of the surroundings or your body rises too much, it can harm the unborn child. High temperatures can cause birth defects in the fetus, especially during the first trimester, when the body’s primary structures are forming.

  • Exercising in the ocean or underwater (e.g., scuba diving) is not safe during pregnancy. This is because the unborn child is at risk of complications called ‘decompression sickness’. In this case, even the brain of the child may have problems. Besides, the fetus may be at risk of physical defects and blood gas.

Special precautions for exercising during pregnancy


A healthy, normal pregnant woman usually has no restrictions on exercising. However, if you are at risk for certain diseases or pregnancy complications, not all types of exercise may be safe for you. In some cases, the doctor may even advise you to completely avoid exercise such as brisk walking, running, and swimming. Some such complications are:

  • Some diseases of the heart and lungs
  • Severe anemia
  • Any weakness or abnormality in the cervix. For example, the inability to hold the weight of the uterus properly or the tendency of the cervix to open before the time of delivery.
  • Gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia
  • Vaginal bleeding
  • A uterine complication called ‘placenta previa’ after the 26th week of pregnancy. In this case, the placenta descends from its normal position and moves closer to the cervix, which is dangerous for both the mother and the unborn child.
  • Risk of premature delivery. For example, carrying twins in the womb
  • Premature labor, i.e., water breaking before the due date of delivery

If you suffer from any of these complications, you must consult a specialist doctor before starting exercise. Apart from this, it is important to have regular pregnancy checkups to know if you are at risk of any special complications.

Important Information

If you experience any of the following symptoms while exercising during pregnancy, stop exercising and consult a gynecologist immediately:

  • Feeling dizzy or faint
  • Vaginal bleeding or watery discharge
  • Chest pain or shortness of breath before exercise
  • Pain or swelling in the calf muscle, the muscle below the knee, and at the back of the leg
  • Headache
  • Decreased fetal movement
  • Cramping or labour-like pains in the abdomen at regular intervals

Ways to exercise at home during pregnancy

Here are some home exercises that strengthen your muscles and help you carry extra pregnancy weight. It also improves blood circulation, increases joint strength, reduces pain, and overall helps to feel healthy.

Abdominal muscle exercises

As the baby grows in size, your belly also grows forward. Also, the waist area can be more bent. The result can be back pain. This exercise can be done to reduce this pain.

Abdominal Exercise
Abdominal Muscle strengthening Exercise
  • First, get into the ‘box position’ as shown in the picture, i.e., place all four hands and feet on the ground as if—
  • Knees are along the waist.
  • Palms are along the shoulders.
  • Fingers are forward
  • Abdominal muscles are tense.
  • The back is straight and parallel to the floor.
  • Now bring the abdominal muscles as tight as possible toward the back. Then try to bend the upper body slightly and lift the back upward. Relax your neck and head, allowing the head to gently lean slightly forward. But make sure that the elbows are not straight and tight.
  • Hold this position for a few seconds, keeping the abdominal muscles tight. Then slowly lower your back and return to the box position as before. At the same time, make sure that the weight of the stomach does not bend the back too much. At the end of the exercise, the back should always be brought to a straight position.
  • In this way, slowly lift the back and straighten it 10 times. Try to keep the abdominal muscles tight each time.

Note: If you have back pain, try to raise your back carefully. Lift up as far as it is not difficult to lift.

Pelvic floor exercises

Between the legs is a muscular membrane. This is called the pelvic floor. It helps to hold the uterus, bladder, and testicles in their proper positions. Supports the growing uterus, especially during pregnancy.

These muscles also play an important role during childbirth. If the pelvic floor muscles become weak due to any reason, various complications can occur, including problems with passing a few drops of urine when sneezing, coughing, or straining to defecate. Many people develop this problem during pregnancy or after delivery. Regular pelvic floor exercises can prevent such problems.


Pelvic floor exercises are also known as ‘Kegel exercises’. This exercise can be done either standing, sitting, or lying down.

  • First, close the toilet by pressing on it as if trying to block the toilet. At the same time, try to squeeze the vagina and push it in. Also, press on the urinary tract as if trying to hold back urine.

In short, tighten the muscles in the same way we tighten the muscles between the legs to stop the urge to urinate.

  • Do the exercise quickly the first few times. Apply quick pressure as above and release.
  • Now try to do the exercise slowly. Hold the muscles tight for as long as possible. Count from 1 to 10 while holding the pressure like this.
  • Then slowly relax the muscles and release the pressure.
  • Pressing and releasing 8–10 times in this way is considered a set exercise.

You can do the exercise after every meal to facilitate the calculations. You can also practice keeping the muscles tight while sneezing or coughing loudly. But avoid doing this exercise while urinating or defecating. Consult a doctor if you have any difficulty doing the exercise or if you do not understand the instructions properly.

Pelvic tilt

  • First, stand gently against the wall. Make sure that the shoulders and the lower part of the body, or the hips, stick to the wall.
  • Keep the knees relaxed.
  • Now try to pull your stomach inward by yourself so that your back is against the wall behind you. Hold like this for 4 seconds and bring the stomach back to normal.
  • Do this up to 10 times in total.

Back and waist muscle exercises

This exercise helps strengthen the back, waist, and abdominal muscles. That’s why—

  1. First, sit on the ground or on a hard bed with your knees bent.
  2. Try to slowly rotate the upper body to the right. Then take the right hand back and touch the heel of the left foot with it. You can keep your left hand up for balance.
  3. After holding this position for a while, slowly return to the starting position. Then turn the body to the left in the same way and try to touch the heel of the right foot with the left hand.
  4. Do this exercise 4-6 times on both sides. Change direction each time you exercise.

Balance exercises

During pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, the abdomen increases in size anteriorly. Therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain the balance of the body. The following exercise can help in dealing with this problem:

  1. First, stand as straight as possible. Then, while standing, take both hands behind you and place them on the waist.
  2. Now try to slowly bend the body backwards with the weight on both hands. But there is no need to bend the neck completely.
  3. Hold this position for 20 seconds.
  4. Do this exercise 5–6 times in total. You can keep a chair next to you for support while doing the exercise.

Leg Exercise

  1. Sit on a chair with your back straight. There is no need to keep the back straight, but neither can it be slouched. Keep your feet on the ground while keeping your legs slightly apart.
  2. Now keep the breathing normal and try to bring the stomach inward. Try to keep the rest of the body relaxed, except the stomach. Be careful not to put pressure, especially on the bones of the two arms and the lower part of the waist.
  3. Try to lift the left leg slowly while keeping the stomach pressed. Legs should be straight while lifting, and knees should not be bent. At the same time, hold the right hand straight in front of you in the oath-taking posture. Hold this position for a few seconds.
  4. After a few seconds, lower the arms and legs and return to the starting position. Now repeat the exercise with the right leg and left hand.
  5. In this way, do the exercise 4-6 times on the right and left sides for a total of 8–12 times. Switch sides each time. That is, do the exercise first on the right side, then on the left side, and then again on the right side.

Hand Exercise

Exercise 1: This exercise mainly helps to strengthen both arms and chest muscles. To perform this exercise, you will need a long band made of rubber, commonly available in pharmacies as a’resistance band’.

How to do this exercise:

  1. First, sit on a chair with your back straight. Keep your feet naturally on the ground.
  2. Now take the rubber band. Move the band behind the head. Hold one end of the band firmly along the waist with the left hand. Hold the other end with the right hand.
  3. Now first, pull the band with your right hand and take it over your head. Then bend the elbows and shorten the band. Continue to stretch the band like a spring. Take care to keep the tight end at the waist while adjusting the band.
  4. Move the band like this 4-6 times with the right hand.
  5. Then switch hands and go back to the very first position. Now hold the edge of the waist with your right hand. And do the exercise with the left hand. In this way, do two hand exercises gradually.

Exercise 2: This exercise will help to reduce the tightness on both sides of your body and keep the body relaxed.

How to do the exercise:

  1. First, sit on a chair with your back in a normal position. Tighten the abdominal muscles. Keep your feet straight on the ground. Keep space between the two legs.
  2. Place your left hand on your right knee. Now raise the right hand above the head. Then try to bend the body to the left while keeping the hands in that position. Bend as far as you feel a slight tension or stretch in the muscles on the right side of the body.
  3. Hold this position for a few seconds. Breathe normally. There is no need to separate the shoulders more or less. While bending the body, maintain the same position as the shoulders naturally bend.
  4. After a few seconds, straighten up and return to the normal position. Then switch sides and do the exercise again. Now place the right hand on the left knee and try to bend the body to the right by lifting the left hand.
  5. Do this exercise 4-6 times on each side. Switch sides each time, i.e., once on the right side, then on the left side—do this for a total of 8–12 repetitions.

Frequently Asked Question

Adequate rest should be taken during pregnancy. But that’s why you shouldn’t sit and lie down all the time.

Prolonged lying down or limited movement can cause blood clots in blood vessels due to problems with blood circulation. Deep-vein thrombosis is a serious complication that can lead to death.

Apart from this, complications such as bone loss, loss of strength, and loss of mental capacity may also occur. So, during pregnancy, you should keep your body active by walking or doing any exercise of your choice instead of always lying down.

It should be noted that one study found a relationship with stillbirth with regular continuous sleep of more than 9 hours during the last trimester of pregnancy. However, more research is needed in this regard. So if you regularly sleep more than 9 hours continuously at night, then consult a doctor carefully.

Note: If the doctor asks you to stay on bed rest or complete rest for some reason, then try to follow that advice.

Studies have shown that regular exercise during pregnancy reduces the risk of a caesarean section and increases the chances of a normal delivery. It also helps to avoid ‘operative vaginal delivery’ by making normal delivery easy and hassle-free.

There is usually no restriction on physical activity or exercise during the first trimester of pregnancy. As with the rest of pregnancy, you can safely exercise during this time.

However, extra caution should be taken when exercising at any time during pregnancy. You should not do any exercise that puts too much stress on your body.

Safe exercise advice should be followed before and after exercise. Apart from that, if you have any special diseases or complications or if you are at risk of them, you should consult a doctor about what kind of exercise can be done.

There are usually no barriers to climbing stairs during pregnancy. Climbing the stairs can be a good exercise for your body.

But avoid swinging more than you can tolerate. Apart from that, the balance of the body changes a little during pregnancy. So swing carefully to avoid falling and getting hurt.

Also, if the doctor has allowed you to use stairs due to any disease or complication, then follow the doctor’s advice.

Written By Dr. Samia Afrin
Dr. Ima Islam does medical review

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