Tajburrow

Your feet are bloated, there is a constant ache in your lower back and you keep feeling out of breath. The last thing on your mind is to subject yourself to even more physical exertion as you feel that you’re already getting enough exercise carrying this baby in your womb.

Well, banish that thought!

Keeping fit during pregnancy helps you to improve your stamina and strength for labour, and might even shorten the time you’re in labour. Also, regular exercise helps you get back into shape after delivery.

So, what are some suitable exercises that a pregnant working mother can incorporate into her daily life? Jacqueline Lee, fitness enthusiast, mother of two (and soon three), and director of Pilates Inc., part of The Moving Body Group, demonstrates five exercises that are suitable for mothers, no matter what trimester they’re in. 

Wide Squats
Wide squats are great for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bowel, bladder, womb and vagina. During pregnancy, these muscles can be overly strained due to the constant weight bearing on them, which might cause stress incontinence (leaking of urine when you sneeze or cough). This can be prevented by regular exercise of the muscles.

What to do

1. Put your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing 45 degrees outwards
2. Put your hands on your hips and squat downwards, making sure that your back remains straight and your knees don’t go past your toes
3. Once the top of your thighs are parallel to the floor, stop and hold for two seconds before coming back up again
4. Complete eight repetitions
5. For breathing, exhale when you’re going down and inhale when you’re heading up

What not to do
Remember that you’re not bowing down and working your core, as Jacqueline demonstrates (pictured on left), but rather working your leg and pelvic floor muscles. Doing this might actually hinder the blood and oxygen supply to the baby in your womb, so be careful!

Performing a squat with your knees past your toes exerts more force on your cruciate ligaments (pictured left). Although your body’s natural biomechanical movement does allow your knees to go past your toes (contrary to popular belief that your knees shouldn’t go past your toes when squatting), there will be more weight exerted on your joints now that you’re carrying a newborn, so it’s best not to if your body is not conditioned.

Bridge 

The bridge is a very popular exercise that helps to strengthen the gluteus, hamstrings and core, which are all the important muscles that you’ll use regularly when you’re pregnant.

A key thing to remember when doing the bridge is not to lie in a supine position, as it restricts the flow of oxygen to the baby in the womb because you’re compressing the big blood vessel at your back. Instead, use a wedge (pictured). If a wedge is not available, Jacqueline recommends using pillows!

What to do

1. Place your hands flat at the side, with your tailbone and buttocks on the wedge or pillow
2. Beginning from your tailbone, focus on slowly moving your body off the wedge or pillow until you reach your shoulders, which remain flat on the ground, as pictured in the image below
3. Hold for two seconds before slowly moving your back down, starting from the top
4. Breathe out when you’re moving your back upwards, and breathe in when you’re returning to your starting position