Pregnancy: What sports for pregnant women? - Hospital information: Glossary and current events in the medical community

The period of gestation is a particularly delicate time for women. Many precautions are often taken to allow them to carry the pregnancy to term without great difficulty.

Beyond good nutrition, pregnant women need to practice some sporting activities to keep in good shape and facilitate their pregnancy. These few practices have a considerable effect on both mother and child. Well practiced, sport regulates the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system and weight. It protects the mother from gestational diabetes, hypertension and many other diseases. The newborn is rewarded with a good weight, a good heart rate, thermoregulation and teratogenic effects.

When it is too intense, sports activity exposes you to several risks such as miscarriage, bone and joint risks, etc. This is why we have made for you a selection of 12 sports practices adapted to the gestational period. Read instead!

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Walking

Walking remains the best choice for pregnant women. Whether at a moderate, normal or sustained pace, pregnant women have every interest in walking. In general, it preserves the body and helps relieve joints such as the knee. It can be practiced regularly. The trick is not to overexert yourself.

The advantage with walking is that it is easy to do and does not require great effort. It does not require special equipment or special measures. Pregnant women can easily fit it into their schedule, inserting it into their daily routine. It is also the best choice for women who are not very athletic.

Specialists in the field recommend 30 to 60 minutes of moderate walking, at least 3 to 4 times a week. However, the ideal would be for the pregnant woman to make the effort to walk every day. It is more advisable to walk on an unpaved road, to preserve the muscles of the lower body. Favor healthy environments (unpolluted) such as squares or forests. But failing that, you can just walk the streets around your house.

On a physiological level, walking considerably improves a woman's physical abilities. It provides good oxygenation for both mother and child. In the fetus, the mother's walk improves cardiovascular capacities and a very good irrigation at the level of the vessels. In the mother, walking facilitates the formation of good abdominal muscles, and therefore reduces mechanical pain such as back pain.

On a psychological level, walking allows pregnant women to clear their minds because of its low intensity. It is also a sport that can be practiced in groups. As a result, it develops motivation and attendance. It is a great ally for sedentary women.

Swimming

Water sports are also an excellent choice for pregnant women. They allow the body to work as a whole (heart, muscles, lungs, etc.). It is a limited and protected space that will allow the pregnant woman to feel lighter (due to the Archimedes thrust). Not only does it relieve her of the weight of the baby, but it is a sport that can be practiced in a group. Swimming promotes motivation.

One of the benefits of this activity that pregnant women appreciate is the relief of back pain. Indeed, the weight of the rather rounded belly is supported by the back. This tends to create pain, and is a nightmare for some pregnant women. Water provides a feeling of weightlessness that calms the tensions of the spine. This action of the water also allows them to better support the excess weight.

For a pregnant woman, it is preferable to choose the backstroke. This position protects the perineum and allows you to train the body in general. It is often advised to avoid breaststroke movements. These can cause back pain, due to the excessive bending the action requires. You should also avoid sudden or abrupt actions such as jumping into water.

To allow you to take full advantage of the effects of swimming during pregnancy, you should focus on a certain number of exercises. These include, among others:

For more efficiency, you would do better to hire the services of a professional who will be able to better guide you through these different activities. Specialists advise doing between 2 and 5 sessions of 45 minutes per week. The activities must be chosen and adapted, according to the physical condition, the desire and the state of fatigue of the pregnant woman. The only contraindications during swimming are blockages in apnea.

Prenatal aquagym

Prenatal aquagym is one of the various activities specially designed for women. It consists of movements adapted to the different stages of pregnancy. As a result, it can be practiced from the beginning of gestation and continue until childbirth. It is fun and easy to practice in a group. It perfectly meets the physical, physiological and psychological needs of pregnant women.

Several studies have proven that aquatic activities, such as prenatal aquagym, have benefits on several levels. Among others, they:

The main objective of this practice is to cause and facilitate the relaxation of the ligaments of the pelvis. This promotes openness for childbirth. In addition to mobilization work, aquagym also recommends breathing work, without forgetting the aspect of aquatic relaxation. Generally, each session lasts about 45 minutes. The activities are practiced in the small pool and in water of around 30°C.

It all starts with a general warm-up, followed by muscle work. This involves mobilizing the glutes, thighs, upper limbs, etc. You have to go very gently, to avoid any risk of injury or blockage. You should end the session with 10 or 15 minutes of stretching, followed by relaxation in the water.

The other advantage of prenatal aquagym is that it does not require you to know how to swim, since everything happens in the small pool. If possible, pregnant women can be assisted by their spouses during the sessions. However, this sport is contraindicated for women who suffer from skin diseases, or when they have unhealed wounds.

Aquabiking

If you love cycling, you can imagine that practicing this sport can be dangerous during pregnancy, because of the risk of falling. As an alternative, we offer aquabiking. It is a sport that a pregnant woman can practice, alone in the cabin or collectively. The purpose of this practice is to reduce cellulite that often appears during pregnancy. When practicing, the resistance of the water has an effect similar to that of a massage. This massage eliminates the feeling of heaviness in the legs.

Like other water sports, aquabiking helps support the belly and does not hurt the joints. It also spares edema in the lower limbs that we know of pregnant women during the last trimester. This virtue is mainly due to the hydrostatic force that is exerted on the body during activity.

More rhythmic and more intense than aquagym, aquabiking also allows you to work on your endurance and cardio. Generally, the sessions last 45 minutes and take place in three stages, namely:

When practicing this sport, pregnant women are advised to shorten the cardio-training stage to lengthen the stretching stage. These can also be accompanied by some relaxation exercises in the water. The women are submerged up to the waist. During the practice, some light movements of the upper body accompany the pedalling. Pedaling being the main movement of aquabiking, it starts slowly and the speed increases over the minutes. It is also possible to configure the bike, to adapt its resistance to the physical conditions of each woman.

Yoga

Obviously, yoga is one of the gentle sports activities that are recommended for pregnant women. The branch of yoga dedicated to these women is that practiced in the West: Hatha-yoga. It is the rhythmic adoption of certain postures. These postures that allow the practitioner to control his body. It is a practice that significantly improves physical (flexibility and power) and psychological (concentration and serenity) functions.

Indeed, the pregnant woman is called upon to adopt a bacterium of postures, sometimes simple and sometimes complex. The difference with gymnastics is that the postures must be maintained for a few minutes (about three minutes).

This sport allows pregnant women to improve their flexibility, while maintaining their strength. It helps him maintain and improve the contractility of his muscles, by exerting less pressure on the joints, unlike other more restrictive exercises.

The particularity of this sport is that it requires the teaching of a professional specialized in the management of pregnancy and pregnant women. There are specialized classes for this category of people. Among the postures taught there, the most common are:

We also distinguish the tree, the position of the corpse, the chair, the lightning, etc. Yoga has proven to be very helpful for pregnant women.

Pilates

The main purpose of Pilates is to work the muscles of the abdomen, and the fulcrum of the muscles that hold the trunk (" the core "). However, these areas are very stressed in pregnant women. Pilates is therefore very important for a pregnant woman.

Indeed, it is a number of positions and movements, which allow the practitioner to develop his strength, while maintaining the balance between the practice of sport and breathing. It is therefore a sport that allows you to relax. Basically, Pilates is based on six principles, each as important as the other. It is :

All of these exercises help the pregnant woman to relax and improve her breathing during childbirth.

The practice of Pilates has virtues, both during pregnancy and during the postpartum period. Indeed, Pilates targets the muscles and joints that weaken during pregnancy and childbirth, to reduce the pressure they are under. These movements comfort and lengthen the muscles in depth, with the necessary softness to avoid shocks. By practicing them, the pregnant woman increases the flexibility of her spine.

In addition, Pilates alleviates chronic pain such as neck, cervical and lower back pain.

For practice, pregnant women can start Pilates from the first weeks of pregnancy. Throughout the first trimester, she can take a classic Pilates class. From the second trimester, it is necessary to take care of certain details. It is a question of adapting the movements to the different morphological transformations of the woman at this stage of pregnancy. From now on, the practitioner must avoid exercises on the stomach and exercises where she must lie down. She must limit the curvature and relax her back, to avoid pain.

The sessions should last 20 or 30 minutes. They should always start with a warm-up phase. Movements should alternate gently after a pause.

Dancing

Dancing is a moderate sport whose many benefits are unknown to the general public. It can be an excellent ally for keeping a good physical condition, especially for women. It has the effect of toning their muscles, while making them more flexible. Dancing lengthens the muscles and adapts them to the different modifications of the pregnant woman's body. Also note that it straightens the back, which is much more stressed during gestation.

To do this, the pregnant woman can practice classical dance or the floor bar. It must favor rhythms that do not force flexibility and that do not require sudden movements. She can also turn to ballroom dancing, or African dances depending on her physical condition. On the other hand, the woman in gestation must avoid sudden dances like Modern Jazz.

Dancing can be practiced until the end of pregnancy. However, the person concerned must listen to her body and stop when it hurts too much or when it tires too much…

Stretching

To combine relaxation and sport, stretching is an excellent choice. These are a few stretching movements, which bring a lot to the pregnant woman. Above all, stretching gives him flexibility and brings mobility to his whole body.

It is much more ideal to practice it on the mat. Just avoid sudden and violent movements. The practice of this sport must combine movements that influence breathing, posture and mobility. Above all, avoid forcing the amplitudes.

To get the most benefit, it is best to do one 20-minute session every day, or three one-hour sessions a week. Stretching can be practiced until the 7th month of pregnancy.

The sports practices that follow are intended for female athletes. They allow them to maintain a good level of physical activity.

Jogging

Jogging is known to work all parts of the body. It is an endurance sport intended to improve all the physical functions of the body. Because of its intensity, this sport is not suitable for non-athlete pregnant women.

On the other hand, for women who already had sport as a profession, or who have a very athletic body, jogging can help a lot. It is recommended only until the 4^th or 5^th month of pregnancy. This sport allows the maintenance of the body in general. It preserves it from fat and protects it from other harmful effects of pregnancy on the woman's body. The trick is to do it on soft, flat ground.

Tennis

Tennis is one of the medium-intensity sports. A woman who enjoys good health can therefore practice it at the beginning of pregnancy. This practice does not involve any risk, neither for the woman nor for the fetus. The most important thing is to moderate the intensity and duration of the sessions. Nevertheless, it is advisable to have the approval of your doctor on this subject.

Playing tennis during pregnancy has many advantages for the pregnant woman, from the first months. The most obvious are the reduction of back pain and weight maintenance. This sport also helps strengthen the heart and blood vessels.

Towards the end of pregnancy and especially from the third trimester, it is advisable to stop playing tennis. Indeed, the change in the center of gravity due to the additional mass of the belly and the effects of hormones on the joints, considerably increase the risk of falling.

Golf

Golf is known as a light sport, but it can be tough on the joints. It requires very advanced abdominal and dorsal twists. This suggests that it should be avoided during pregnancy.

However, golf has no incident on pregnancy until the 5th or even the 6th month, for the vigorous ones. On the contrary, it has beneficial contributions for those who practice it.

Golf limits weight gain in pregnant women. In turn, it protects her from all the risks of gestational diabetes. It is a complete sport to work all the muscles. It therefore significantly reduces muscle wasting. Golf also has an impact on the mind of pregnant women. Playing golf in a healthy, outdoor environment considerably reduces stress in pregnant women. It allows him to let off steam without risk.

The exercise bike

With this sport, the objective for pregnant women is to perform low-intensity cardiovascular work. It has the particularity of being beneficial for the heart, blood circulation, breathing and many other vital functions.

You certainly know that cycling outdoors or in town involves the risk of falling. It can therefore be dangerous for the pregnant woman and her baby. This is why we advise you to practice it indoors. During the practice, you must work on your endurance, while adopting a gentle pace. Make sure you never get out of breath. To maintain good physical condition, pregnant women need 30 minutes of cycling per day.

A word of advice, you should no longer cycle after the seventh month of pregnancy.