Scientists have often claimed that undergoing moderate training during pregnancy reduces various risks, like lower back pain, depression, cesarean delivery, urinary incontinence and many others.
1. Don’t feel heavy — be like a butterfly.
This exercise is one of the easiest key exercises to do for a healthy delivery. It helps in easing tired legs, opening up the pelvic muscles, improves flexibility, decreases the risk of water retention and helps with enduring pain and initiates faster delivery during labor.
Sit in the lotus pose or cross-legged on the floor. Bend your knees outward. Straighten your spine. Place your hands on your knees. Breathe out and move the folded knees up and down trying to touch the ground with your knees. Breathe in and bring your knees up to the chest level. Repeat the same process for 15 to 20 times.
2. Keep your baby in the right place by doing a cat-camel stretch.
This one is definitely one of the best exercises for moving the baby to a favorable position for giving birth or for everyday comfort. It also helps release back tension, increases spine flexibility and strength.
Place your hands and knees, put them directly under your shoulders and hips. As you inhale, raise your head gently and look up between your eyebrows. As you exhale, make your back round and try bringing your chin toward your chest. Press your hands into the floor and push the center of your back up to the ceiling. This position can be done daily.
3. Hold your guts together by doing Kegel exercises.
This exercise helps in strengthening the muscles supporting the bladder, uterus, and bowels. This can help in developing your ability to relax and control the muscles in preparation for labor and birth.
The difficult part is to find the muscles you should train. To do that, you should try to stop urination midstream. While doing this, you are contracting the muscles of the pelvic floor. Often, it’s done while doing a deep squat, but you can also do it sitting on a chair or standing in a supermarket line.
4. Keep your strength by doing standing crunches.
Doing this exercise will help in making your abdominal muscles stronger and might help you a little to push this baby out. It can be practiced during all stages of pregnancy.
Stand on your feet about hip-width apart and your hands behind your head. Inhale and open your elbows out to the side lifting your chest. Then exhale and gently curl in toward your belly button. Your back should be rounded, but avoid straining your neck. Inhale again to return to the starting position. Do it 12-15 times in a row.
5. Not hard, but effective side-lying leg lifts
You should do this exercise for strengthening both your hips and core and to lose the stuffiness of your muscles. Also, it helps in curing a heel disorder during pregnancy.
Lie on the carpet and turn left placing the right hand below your head and press one to the floor with the other hand close to your breast. Take a deep breath and slowly raise your left leg. Keep it up for 10 breath counts and then repeat the same thing up to 5 rounds. You can do it for one side or alternate legs.
6. Hip exercises for a healthy stomach
This exercise contributes to making your muscles surrounding the hips flexible, reduces back and hip pain and protects you from digestive problems during pregnancy. Also, it can give you an amazing benefit during delivery.
Sit straight while expanding your legs in a “V” shape, twining your fingers and pressing the palms to the floor. Then you should raise the palms above the head and slowly bend your hips to the right. Remain that way for 10 counts with normal breathing and then change sides. Practice this for 5 rounds for both sides.
7. Improve your blood circulation by swimming.
Swimming is one of the safest type of physical activity during pregnancy. It improves your blood circulation, increases your immunity and helps you to control your weight. You can start learning to swim even if you’re not a regular swimmer and your belly is already pretty big. Swimming in the second part of pregnancy is good for your baby too. It’s best to swim in natural salted water, but rivers, lakes, and pools will do too. Avoid swimming in cold water.
8. Don’t stop moving and walk!
Walking is one of the best ways to exercise during pregnancy. It can helps in controlling weight gain. Also, it helps you deal with the aches and pains of pregnancy, prevent pregnancy-related complications like gestational diabetes and reduce swelling. Among the physical benefits, walking can help you clear your mind and relieve stress. The only reasons you should actually stop walking are if you have high blood pressure, early contractions or abnormal bleeding.
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