One of the most common questions that i get asked is 'so melanie exercise during pregnancy
is it really safe?' Or similar versions of that such as what types of exercise during pregnancy
are safe to do. I love that my clients and followers are considering how their
exercise routines may need to be modified for pregnancy but as a dietitian i'm not really
qualified to answer these questions so today on Nourish i've brought along a special guest
the wonderful Lora Attia. This episode is definitely a must watch so stay tuned
Hello if this is our first time connecting welcome. My name is Melanie McGrice and i'm a pre
and post-natal dietitian I specialise in early life nutrition and focus on giving babies the
best start possible using the power of good food. I'd love to connect with you on my social media
so check out the description box below this video to find your favorite method of connecting then
reach out and say hi. Now in today's video Lora Attia, prenatal dietitian and personal trainer
is going to be educating us all on the do's and don'ts of exercise during pregnancy.
Welcome Lora. So before we get into today's topic, Lora just tell us a bit about what you do?
Thanks Melanie. I am a fertility pregnancy dietitian like you mentioned and I also provide
personal advice on their exercise as I'm a pilates instructor too to help women feel supported,
educated and nourished throughout the journey of motherhood. So the burning question is exercise
safe during pregnancy? Great question. Exercise during pregnancy for low risk pregnancy is safe
and that includes aerobic and strength training exercise. We want to aim for about 150 minutes a
week and that works out to be about 30 minutes a day and just so that you know the type and
intensity to be working towards we'll go into that in a little bit more detail. So fill me in.
What would you recommend? So firstly we want to be aware of safety so any exercise that will
put you or the baby at harm is something that we want to avoid. So examples of that is cycling
or horse riding where there's a risk of falling. So that would be something that we could move
to a stationary bike if you did enjoy that previously. I do like to cycle. oh you do
Contact sports would be something as well to stop and high altitude sports like skiing.
Fantastic! I like to ski too but not so much contact sports
Okay so what are the benefits of exercising during pregnancy? So there's a strong positive
link of our physical health to our mental health. So improve self-esteem, mood and sleep
and also just our general well-being and health, it's a great thing to include and
also there's been some research that indicates women who did exercise during pregnancy also
had a reduced risk of pregnancy complications with weight gain excessive weight gain in pregnancy.
And that was an interesting study because it also showed that they had a improved recovery and lower
caesareans were performed in that cohort. Really important thing so it shows you
that if you can do exercise, exercise is really beneficial then during pregnancy. Absolutely yeah.
So when should you stop exercising? When should you know that okay well yes there's
benefits but it's not right for me. So if you've been advised by your healthcare team to stop
exercising then you should. And also if you experience any pain like abdominal pain, back pain,
any sudden gush or bleeding, they're indicators to stop exercising and seek medical
help. Also just something to keep in mind when you're exercising make sure that
you're hydrated and keep a water bottle at hand and that helps us to stop overheating. So take
appropriate rest breaks throughout your exercise and if it's something new
then just start small and build up gradually. So that gives you time to get that feedback from
your body what feels right and when to know if you're pushing a little bit past your comfort zone.
Okay that's really good advice because you know I think you're right, like a lot of it is
intuition isn't it when it comes to exercise. Yeah it's intuition, but it's also important to get
tailored advice as well because in pregnancy, every pregnancy is different
and so check with your healthcare team first you know if you want to exercise, just get
that clearance from your healthcare team. And start again like I said small
And know that aerobic exercises like walking and swimming and cycling are safe and as well
as pilates is fantastic to commence during pregnancy and that's a really good way to set
yourself up not only in the pregnancy but for labor and postpartum. So they're
great exercises where you can include pelvic floor exercises too it's a great introduction
to what you're going to be working on in the future. So you read my mind,
when it comes to postpartum so say for example you were advised not to exercise throughout
pregnancy. Is it safe to exercise then after delivery? Yeah so just in those initial
first six weeks it's really important to honor where you are in postpartum and just
it all depends on the type of delivery and you know if it went well and so forth and so forth
but for a woman feels comfortable and she did have a good delivery, I would recommend starting
small again so short bursts of exercise like five minutes is okay just walking around five minutes
it's not a lot and slowly building that up to that six week mark is what you want to do. And equally
rest is just as important. That you're having short bursts of horizontal rest getting off your feet.
And that can help your physical recovery. Fantastic! And Lora I know that you're a
mama of four. Amazing super mum! What was your favorite form of exercise throughout pregnancy?
I have to say pilates. I really enjoy being able to move my body
and I could challenge myself if I felt that I was okay to do that, when I felt well. And there was
times when I didn't feel as well and I could turn that down a notch and continue to exercise through
pregnancy. I think this is a really good time to actually point out that an exercise physiologist
is a great person to see for exercise prescription if you are someone who did enjoy exercising quite
a lot previously or you are an athlete, that you can actually continue that and work at a high
level as you work but just with some precautions and some tailored advice there
to make sure that you're doing that safely. Yeah and also a women's health physio is
a fantastic postpartum because they can help you get a plan as to how to get back to exercise
safely and work with your personal trainer to make sure you hit those fitness goals,
but again safely. So it's really about having that multidisciplinary team to help you optimise, I
know and I'm sure you experience this as well being a dietitian that food is something that
everybody consumes, but at the same time when you see a dietitian and you get that expert knowledge,
I know our clients find so many improvements in terms of just sometimes it's minor tweaks but
it can make a huge difference in terms of outcomes. So yeah it's the same thing in terms of physical
activity. And that sort of highlights people who are sort of high-risk pregnancies
and someone who may have like pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes
they would benefit from getting that tailored advice from their healthcare team because if
they've been advised not to exercise or they thought they can't exercise it may just mean that
you might need some more support, like a dietitian if you've had diabetes to make sure you're eating
enough for the physical activity that you're doing. So it may not be a complete 'no' just may
mean that you need more support and monitoring. Fantastic advice thank-you so much.
So in summary exercise is safe and beneficial but we just want to be making sure that we are
seeing an expert if we're concerned. Thank you so much for joining me Lora. Now if
you'd like more information I'll post Lora's details in the description box below the video.
And while you're there don't forget to click the subscribe button so that you don't miss out on my
weekly nutrition videos so that you can stay up to date and optimise your bubba's health.
I'll look forward to seeing you in my next video.