We all know that there are numerous benefits to exercising. Every person should be exercising for at least thirty minutes a day.

What about the pregnant woman?  Should she exercise? The general answer to that question is yes. There are too many benefits to exercising during your pregnancy not to do it.

Naturally there are guidelines and recommendations to follow.

It is strongly advised that you routinely discuss your exercise regimen with your doctor through out the pregnancy.

If you are a woman who has been exercising daily prior to becoming pregnant, then you should be able to continue that routine, with modifications  of course, throughout the entire pregnancy.

Perhaps you would like to start exercising now that you are pregnant. Start slow and try not to over exert yourself. It is more important now than ever before in your life that you listen to your body. Your body will naturally tell you when you are dong too much.

When you are looking at what type of exercise to do while pregnant, you need to consider three things.

• What your doctor says
• What you like
• Where you are in your pregnancy

For example, many women experience episodes of dizziness during the first trimester, so walking, especially alone, could be a hazard. Like wise in the last trimester, our center of gravity tends to be thrown off, again making walking somewhat burdensome.

The second and third trimesters mean that you need to avoid exercises that involve you lying on your back because this decreases blood to the womb.

You may want to consider activities such as swimming, water aerobics, yoga or pilates.

The goal of exercising now is to try to get a combination of cardio, strength and flexibility exercises, but avoiding any bouncing.

Your body is changing with your pregnancy, and these are changes you need to be aware of during your exercise because it affects you and your baby.

There are concerns to address with the effects of exercise on our changing bodies during pregnancy.

The greatest concern being that our joint laxity increases which can lead to sprains and strains.

Another concern being our core body temperature which is already increased during pregnancy, raising it to high during exercise may lead to birth defects in the fetus. This is why, when pregnant, you are urged to avoid hot tubs.

There does not seem to be a concern that is validated with scientific evidence over whether and increase in heart rate of the mom has any adverse effects on the fetus.

Remember that both pregnancy and exercise consume fluid and calories. Make sure that you are eating properly to suffice the demands of each. You want a healthy baby, so make sure you are getting enough nutrients to supply to that baby.

There are women who should not exercise during pregnancy due to certain diagnosis.

These include:

•  Hypertension – pregnancy induced or pre-existing.
• Preterm rupture of membranes.
•  Incompetent cervix.
• Persistent second or third trimester bleeding.
• Intrauterine growth retardation.
•  Thyroid function abnormality.
• Cardiac, pulmonary or vascular disease.

Exercise during pregnancy is a wonderful benefit to mom and baby. It is incredibly important that you discuss your exercise plan with your doctor and that you listen to your body so that you and baby stay healthy and that you keep in tip top shape.

A carefully controlled exercise program during pregnancy is just as essential for the well being of mother and baby as a good diet.

Unfortunately, some mothers-to-be do not seriously apply themselves to a disciplined and regular, and of necessity, a gentle, undemanding keep fit routine. It can be a lot of fun and very rewarding.

Here at Hot Exercise one of our ambitions is to encourage ‘keeping fit’ as an enjoyable and fun recreation for every body so here are our ideas for mums and their unborn babies to make the most of this most eventful nine months of their lives.

Throughout pregnancy the priority for virtually every mum will be to avoid any activity that could be harmful to their foetus, yes- that can include exercise so lets be very careful.

Take any kind of activity that expends energy, however limited, such as gentle walking, dancing with the Dad or just partying and staying up late very seriously.

Do please remember to drink plenty of water before during and after your time out particularly in warmer climes.

Both baby and you need fluids

Try never to become short of breath by overdoing the physical stuff, keep your breathing controlled and easy, your breathing puts oxygen into your bloodstream and that is very important to your baby so do not take the risk that it may suffer any shortage.

Most western societies provide pre-natal classes for mums-to be where a tremendous amount of support and advice is given so try to attend regularly, especially with the dad-to-be, who would probably wish to be anywhere else than involved in childbirth.  Now that is a challenge!

So how do we put fun into keeping fit during pregnancy?

First of all get the dad involved in working out with you, but make sure he knows that you must not overdo any exercise, not get out of breath and that he has plenty of clean fresh water handy to pour down your throat at every opportunity!

During pregnancy, we like exercises where you can sit down and perform movements that require flexing, tensing and extending without the risk of straining any muscles that are important during childbirth.

Legs, including thighs, buttock and arm exercises performed from this position in moderation are likely to be beneficial.

We also believe that any exercises that involve lying on the back and using the abdominal muscles should not be undertaken without medical supervision and any type of squatting exercise must be avoided.

The other types of beneficial activity involve the light of your life. Get him to dance with you when he gets home from work, not jive, maybe he can go with you for an every day gentle early morning jog, hold hands and go for regular walks, just get him and keep him helping you stay as fit as possible to make the great event as awe inspiring as nature intended, and childbirth a doddle!