Is It Safe to Exercise During Pregnancy?

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In this article:

• Exercise During Pregnancy: Good or Bad?
• Defining Moderate Intensity Exercise
• What is rate of perceived exertion?
• How hard should I be working out?
• Pregnancy-Friendly Workout Tip

Explore guidelines for exercising during pregnancy and what a healthy movement routine may look like, whether you're continuing to workout or establishing a new movement practice. 

Exercise During Pregnancy: Good or Bad?

Monica Moore:

Hi everyone. Monica Moore here, nurse practitioner and health coach at Illume Fertility, and today we're going to be discussing exercise in pregnancy. As a health coach, this is a topic that I get very excited about and I hope that it's good news for you too.

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG), which is the governing body of OBGYNs, suggests that pregnant people do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week. This is great news!

Defining Moderate Intensity Exercise

While a regular movement routine during pregnancy is absolutely recommended, there are certain forms of exercise you may be advised to avoid. It's also important to know your limits and understand how hard you should be working out.

We can determine "moderate intensity" exercise two ways:

• Monitor your heart rate on a smart watch 
• Monitor your rate of perceived exertion

What is rate of perceived exertion?

Let's say you just got up from a chair and you're walking around. On a scale of one to 10, at 10, you would feel incredibly breathless and not able to keep up that activity for much longer.

We want you to fall somewhere around a five, meaning you shouldn't be able to have an easy, relaxed conversation, but you don't want to be so breathless that you're unable to get more than one word out at a time. 

How hard should I be working out?

The answer to this depends on whether or not you are already regularly exercising.

We don't recommend beginning a moderate to vigorous intensity exercise program while pregnant. However, if you are already doing that, you can keep it up once pregnant, since your body is already used to that level of activity.

If you're new to exercise or it's been a while since you've had a solid routine, you can still exercise when pregnant! Once we know that your hormone levels are intact and you're feeling good, you can certainly get moving.

How to choose a prenatal vitamin:

A fertility nutritionist offers research-backed tips on what to look for in a prenatal vitamin to help you be sure you're getting all the nutrients you need.

Pregnancy-Friendly Workout Tip

Not sure where to start? What I tell people to do is to walk holding two water bottles - one bottle in each hand. It's important to stay hydrated to keep your body temperature down, pregnant or not!

The two water bottles will offer some additional resistance AND provide you with hydration, so as you drink them, you'll have less resistance or weight to carry. This is great, because as you get tired during your walk, there's also less to lift or hold.

If you want to start any kind of movement or exercise program, please feel free to reach out to your nurse or patient navigator, who can connect you with personalized advice and exercise recommendations. 

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