You should also take care to look after your back during pregnancy, as (particularly during the latter stages) it starts to take the strain of your growing baby. Good posture will improve the tone of your muscles and avoid hollowing of your spine, which leads to aching in your lower back. It 's a good idea to get the weight off your spine by lying down during rest periods, and also by periodically moving onto all fours and arching your back from time to time (like a cat). Learn how to get up correctly from a lying down position, without putting pressure on your stomach muscles. Roll over to one side, draw your knees upwards, and push yourself up gently with your arms whilst swinging your legs around to sit up. Use your legs, not your back, when lifting anything.
Many women enjoy antenatal yoga classes. These provide specific exercises during pregnancy to tone muscles, alleviate aches and pains commonly found during pregnancy, and above all to encourage a sense of relaxation and wellbeing.
They also include pelvic floor exercises, which are important both during pregnancy and in the weeks following the birth. Pelvic floor muscles support everything inside the pelvic cavity (such as the uterus, the bladder and rectum) and are like a hammock slung in your pelvis. Awareness of these muscles is important during labour as the baby is travelling down the birth canal. Pelvic floor exercises help you to control these muscles, basically as if holding a stream of urine and pulling the muscles upwards before releasing them. Your midwife and/or antenatal teacher will be able to give you a full set of these exercises, if you are not taking yoga classes.
Exercise in pregnancy can be of great benefit. It not only helps your fitness but also gives you an opportunity to concentrate on yourself and your growing baby. Start gently at first - your body will tell you if you have overdone it - and enjoy looking after yourself.
© Crown Copyright
(www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk 25/09/2007) |
