Unsafe pregnancy exercisePregnancy changes your body in many ways. Some of these changes can affect the way you exercise. Throughout pregnancy, the hormone progesterone causes many of your ligaments and joints to soften and loosen in preparation for labour. Joint injuries and ligament damage may therefore result from exercise that involves jerking actions and sudden movement, for example tennis, squash and jogging. The risk of back injuries associated with weight training or rowing is also increased. During the later months, your belly gets bigger and your balance may not be so good, so falls become more likely when you do any exercise that requires balance.
Most experts think that the following activities should be avoided during pregnancy because of the high risk of falls or direct damage to you or your baby:
The use of saunas, steam baths and hot tubs may also cause over-heating. There is some evidence that over-heating during pregnancy may cause damage to the baby's developing nervous system. ("Overheating" does not mean simply getting a bit hot and bothered in the summer; or enjoying a warm bath in the winter; it means getting so hot that your core temperature rises and even the amniotic fluid in which your baby floats starts heating up. This is only likely to happen if you exercise for long periods in the hot sun without rest breaks and extra fluids – or if your body cannot lose heat by sweating effectively, as in a sauna or hot tub.) Read more about exercising during pregnancy:
Return to pregnancy homepage Reviewed by babyworld midwife Hannah Hulme Hunter |
