Physical activity is considered safe and beneficial for pregnant women without contraindications to exercise. Pregnancy can be seen as a great time for lifestyle modifications. Moderate intensity exercises are proven to be beneficial for both mother and fetus in most pregnancies with the necessary modifications.

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Exercise improves the health and wellbeing of both the mother and infant during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. Pregnancy and the postpartum period are viewed as “teachable moments” where women are motivated to change their habits to improve the health of their babies and themselves. This unique period of time provides an opportunity for health care professionals, specifically physiotherapists, to educate women on the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle interventions, which includes exercise. 

 

In women, physical activity during pregnancy and the postpartum period confers benefits for the following maternal and fetal health outcomes:

Reduced risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, excessive gestational weight gain, delivery complications and postpartum depression and no increase in risk of stillbirth, newborn complications or adverse effects on birth weight.

 

The following recommendations are from the WHO 2020 guideline - all pregnant and postpartum women (without contraindications) should:

• Undertake regular physical activity throughout pregnancy and post partum;

• Do at least 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week for substantial health benefits;

• Incorporate a variety of aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Adding gentle stretching may also be beneficial.

 

In addition:

• Women who, before pregnancy, habitually engaged in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or who were physically active can continue these activities during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

• If pregnant and postpartum women are not currently meeting these recommendations, doing some physical activity will bring benefits to health. They should start with small amounts of physical activity and gradually increase frequency, intensity and duration over time. Pelvic floor muscle training may be performed on a daily basis to reduce the risk of urinary incontinence

• Pregnant and postpartum women should limit the amount of time spent being sedentary. Replacing sedentary time with physical activity of any intensity (including light intensity) provides health benefits.

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