If you are newly pregnant and wondering whether your 5km jog or your circuit training routine can harm your delicate fetus, a study published in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology has some answers.
The study was done on a cohort of around 93,000 Danish women and found that the risk of miscarriage was much higher in women who engaged in more than 7 hours of strenuous exercise compared to those who did not exercise. This risk was only applicable in the first 18 weeks of pregnancy, after which the amount of exercise did not have an impact on the risk of miscarriage.
The most sensitive period during pregnancy was found to be 11 to 14 weeks of gestation. Therefore, better to take it easy in those weeks and engage in light exercises such as walking, yoga or stretching.
Another great news is that data suggested swimming was relatively safer than other forms of strenuous or high impact exercises and did not impact the risk of miscarriage at any stage. So, go ahead and flaunt that mom bod while getting some exercise and keeping your little seed safe and happy.
Also remember that any medical studies results are not conclusive unless supported by data over a period of time and conducted on much larger sample populations. There are many benefits of exercising and staying active during pregnancy so it is not recommended to completely stop exercising when pregnant. As long as you avoid high impact exercises during those high risk weeks, you should be fine doing your kegels until its time to push!
