Regular exercise sessions are recommended for all healthy, pregnant women because of exercise’s favorable cardiovascular, metabolic, and biomechanical effects.

Exercise should be done three or more times per week at a comfortable intensity that does not result in fatigue. In women who have exercised regularly prior to pregnancy, the overall exercise load may be higher than that recommended for women who are beginning to exercise regular.

For safety’s sake, the continuous portion of each session should be limited in intensity and duration while paying specific attention to environmental conditions and adequate fluid and caloric intake. This avoids undue physiologic stress. For the same reason, each session should begin with a warm up period and end with a cool down period.

The type of exercise should also minimize the risk of fetal and maternal trauma. Stationary cycling and swimming are two recommended forms of exercise because the risk of physical injury is minimal.

Most, if not all, complications of pregnancy, as well as any chronic maternal disease, are either relative or complete contraindications to exercise during pregnancy.

Weight bearing exercise, at the levels recommended by ACOG, are safe for sedentary women who wish to begin a regular exercise regimen as early as the 8th week. Women who exercise regularly prior to pregnancy can safely maintain a weight bearing exercise regimen up to a level of 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days a week throughout pregnancy.

Moderate exercise in early pregnancy stimulates placental growth.

The amount of exercise in late pregnancy has significant effect on the infant size at birth.

The type of carbohydrate in a mother’s diet has a significant affect on both maternal weight gain and infant size at birth. (Unprocessed sources of carbohydrates are best: nonroot vegetables, nuts, fruits, and whole grain bread. As opposed to “bad” carbohydrates: root vegetables, packaged cereals, breads, snack foods, beverages, and dessert foods.).