Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy and Exercise

Exercising while pregnant can feel intimidating and overwhelming. It's important to remember that all pregnancies are different and each mom's body will respond in its own unique way. To help you navigate the world of exercise, here are 8 things no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise.

1. Taking Deep Breath Feels Impossible

One of the first things you'll notice that taking a deep breath feels impossible. As your baby grows, your ribcage expands, which can make it harder to take a deep breath. This is especially true if the baby is pushing up against your diaphragm. To make it easier, try to focus on your posture and taking slow steady breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Focusing on a breath in through the nose always helps the lungs to take more oxygen in. 

I always found practicing this abdominal breathing helped me so much during exercise AND during childbirth. It can be easy to forget to breathe when contractions get close together, this causes your blood pressure to increase and starts to effect the baby's vitals too. Making this slow abdominal breaths in feel normal under stress, like exercise, is great practice for childbirth.

How to do abdominal breathing when pregnant:

Place one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Slowly inhale and pay attention to your hand on your stomach rising higher than the other one. Hold for a few seconds and then slowly exhale. Repeat as needed.

2. The Need To Pee Feeling

Another thing no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise is that you'll always feel like you need to pee, even if you've just gone. This is due to the extra pressure the baby puts on the bladder.

If you're feeling like you need to go to the bathroom, it's best to just go ahead and do it-unless it has literally been 5 minutes. Then going too frequent can lead to overactive bladder. I know, we can't win, right? However, if you do go it can reduce the risk of leakage and make sure you're comfortable when exercising. 

It is also important to stay hydrated during pregnancy. As your baby grows, your body needs more fluids to stay healthy. Drinking plenty of water before, during and after exercise to make sure your body gets the fluids it needs. Exercising in the heat when dehydrated can cause Braxton Hicks contractions to come on easily.

One tip I did not know at first and learned the hard way is caffiene an give the bladder signals you need to pee more often. I did test this on myself and by limiting my caffiene to only one at lunchtime, I did not have to take as many bathroom breaks at work. Try it and see if you get any results from it.

For leaky bladders, the pelvic floor muscles can be strengthened with exercises. It isn't just kegels though. Pelvic floor muscle strengthening can be done during pregnancy to help with holding all of the baby weight we carry during pregnancy. Having a stronger pelvic floor helps with the sensation of going pee less frequent. I found what series of exercises work and recorded them for moms needing help with having a stronger pelvic floor. My favorite series of exercises is in the program Postpartum Reset

3. New Sports Bra Shopping

As your chest grows during pregnancy, it's important to invest in a good sports bra. Sports bras provide extra support to help reduce the risk of sagging and for weight. I found sports bras with adjustable straps and an underbust band was the best. Especially later when nursing and needing to adjust settings for comfort. For moms who plan to nurse, a sports bra with a zipper makes stopping to nurse convenient. 

Consider buying a new sports bra every few months during pregnancy as your chest size grows and changes so much. This will help to make sure you are comfortable and supported while exercising.

4. Running Pace Slows

Another thing no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise is that your running pace will slow down. As your baby grows, your body will naturally slow down as it works to support the weight of your growing baby. This is completely normal and nothing to be worried about.

It's also important to remember to take it easy and not push yourself too hard. If you're used to running at a certain pace, it is ok to slow down and take it easy. Many running moms find leaving their watch off for tracking pace helps to keep them out of a bad headspace. Instead the focus is one more day of getting the change to get out there and run.

Pregnancy is not the time to try and beat your personal bests. Instead, focus on your breathing and keeping your body comfortable and supported. You can also try other forms of exercise such as swimming or walking if running becomes uncomfortable.

5. Muscle Tightness During Pregnancy

Another thing no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise is that you may experience muscle tightness. As your body adjusts to carrying the extra weight of your baby, you may experience tightness in your neck, back and hips. To relieve this tightness, practice stretching and foam rolling regularly. This will help to keep your muscles relaxed and will help to reduce the risk of injury. It's also important to listen to your body and stop if something feels off. If you're having trouble with a certain movement, it's ok to modify it or to take a break and rest. This will help to reduce risk of aches and make sure you're comfortable as possible.

For those dealing with backaches and difficulty getting comfortable in bed at night to sleep during pregnancy, try my 3 Day Prenatal Sleep Challenge. 

6. Back and Pelvic Aches

This can look like aching muscles that get worse as the day goes on. For some moms it means limping through the rest of the day. For some moms getting out of the car when they have to separate their legs apart and climb out causes pelvic pain.

These are things no one tells you about. I remember for my first pregnancy, I would start getting aches and tightness around lunch time. By the time my work day was over it was so hard to get out to my car. I had a set of 20 stairs to climb down to get to the parking lot. I dreaded those stairs. The pulling sensation at my pelvis, the sharp stabbing sensation was dreadful. I would sometimes try and stretch for a few minutes before I headed out the door. I did this on the days I wanted to go grocery shopping after work. I usually could only stop and get a small handful of things as the amount of walking really got to me. I hated others seeing me limp around because the rotation at my pelvis during walking hurt. I wanted everyone to believe the "I am fine" response when they asked how things were going. But the reality was the second I got home I would climb in a warm bath. I stayed until the water started to get cold. Some days, I even had to call my husband from the other room to help me get out because I felt stuck. I felt embarrassed. 

That was my first pregnancy only. I figured out with my second and third pregnancies that if I keep my body aligned it reduced my aches. Stretching and strengthening exercises can help with a growing body to adjust. 

I hope to begin offering a back class to teach these alignment strategies with other moms. You can always check the homepage to see if that is ready yet. Putting it all together is still a dream.

7. Effects of Nausea on Exercise During Pregnancy

Another thing no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise is that nausea can have an effect on your ability to exercise. Nausea can make it difficult to focus on your workout and can make exercise feel overwhelming.

To help reduce nausea, practice deep breathing and focus on relaxing your body. It's also important to stay hydrated and to eat small meals throughout the day. If the nausea is too intense, it's ok to take a break and rest. Take a few days off and focus on doing something that makes you feel more comfortable. I always enjoyed a walk, gentle stretching and swimming. This can help keep you and baby healthy. Listen to your body when you decide what to do. Each pregnancy is different and nausea effects everyone differently. Don't feel bad if yours lingers and limits how much you do.

8. How Exercise Can Help Labor and Delivery

Finally, another thing no one tells you about pregnancy and exercise is how it can help during labor and delivery. Exercise during pregnancy can help strengthen the muscles used during labor, which can make labor and delivery easier and less painful. It can also help to shorten the length of labor, however, I have not seen any research statistics on this. However, after being a part of 3 different running groups in Virginia, Hawaii and Ohio, I repeatedly saw the moms who ran or walked as long as they could have all seemed to have short labors without complications. For myself personally, all of mine lasted about 5-6 hours of active hard labor (stage 2). Pushing times varied based on my hospital interventions but I will save that for a whole different blog post.

Need Sleep Mama?

Check out the Sleep Soundly: 3 Day Prenatal Challenge