Regular, moderate exercise is encouraged and provides a host of benefits that can include: a reduced risk of a caesarean delivery, an improved capacity to tolerate the discomfort before and during labour, a lessened need for epidural pain relief, a lowered risk of an abnormal labour and a shortened time frame to regaining abdominal muscle tone and normal weight following pregnancy.

Whilst the benefits of exercising during a pregnancy are great, some guidelines do apply. The most important is to always consult your doctor before engaging in exercise during pregnancy as you may have existing medical conditions or a family history that contradicts exercise during pregnancy. Once you get the all clear from your G.P. other guidelines include:

• If you were exercising at a high intensity before you became pregnant, you need to reduce the intensity of your exercise. Aim to keep your heart rate under 140 beats per minute at all times, remember this is the one time where you and your babies health take precedence! There will be plenty of time for those high impact, high intensity classes and workouts in the future, just not during or immediately after your pregnancy! Don't worry the Body Combat and Kickboxing style classes will still be there when you when you get back into full exercise!

• You can keep track of your heart rate by taking your pulse at your wrist (radial) or neck (carotid). Time 15 seconds and count your heart beats, your pulse should not exceed 35 beats in this time.

• Staying cool is important. Avoid getting over-heated during exercise as your baby has no way of dissipating the excess heat. A good tactic is to position yourself close to a fan in the gym and wear loose-fitting, breathable clothing. Some cardio machines even have built in fans to help keep you cool.

• Stay hydrated, especially in summer where muggy, humid conditions can greatly stress you and your baby. Aim to consume several glasses of fluid before, during and after exercise to help you and your baby better handle the heat. This is important whether you choose to walk, ride, swim, resistance train or do classes.

• Avoid exercises that involve rapid changes in direction, jerky movements or extreme stretching. During pregnancy bodies are flooded with a relaxin hormone that softens tendons and ligaments prior to labour. Such exercises can expose your joints to a great deal of stress and the risk of injury is greatly increased. Controlled movements in a safe range of motion are encouraged.

• After four months, try to limit the time you spend on your back doing abdominal exercises to 2-3 minutes at a time as you can put a great deal of pressure on a large artery running near your womb. Too long on your back can result in a restricted blood flow that is not healthy for you or your baby.

• Lastly, after 28 weeks avoid prolonged exercise, you'll probably find this a bit of a no brainer as you'll most likely be feeling tired and uncomfortable for a good proportion of the days and nights anyway!

Remember regular, moderate exercise during your pregnancy can provide great benefits to both you and your baby; the key is in moderation and listening to your body. Focus on the health benefits of exercise for both you and your baby, the aesthetic benefits will still be there to achieve after you have a little boy or girl running around!

If you're in any doubt or have any concerns about performing your current exercise regime during pregnancy, talk to a personal trainer and get them to modify your programme. You can also look into classes for antenatal and post-natal mums with aqua-fitness being highly recommended!

Good luck!

 Darryl Barrett, Personal Trainer

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