NHS Suffolk and North East Essex - Your Pregnancy Booklet

29 Health and wellbeing in pregnancy Exercise is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and is known to be safe in pregnancy. Pregnancy is not the time to start a challenging new fitness regime, but it is good to maintain your prepregnancy level of activity with some adjustments if needed, or to try something gentle like swimming or pregnancy yoga. Some women feel exercise helps them adjust to the physical changes taking place in their body, promoting a sense of wellbeing and reducing feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. Exercise may help prevent some pregnancy complications and can help with swollen ankles/feet. Avoid exercise where you could lose your balance and hurt yourself. Ensure you drink plenty of water during exercise and remember that hormonal changes preparing you for birth can make you more flexible so it’s important to avoid deep twists of the spine. It is important to warm up and cool down when exercising to avoid strain or injury. If you are taking a class, remember to inform the trainer you are pregnant. If you experience anything unusual, you should not continue to exercise, and contact your midwife or doctor. For more information visit: • NHS Choices www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pregnancy-exercise/ Pelvic floor exercise Pelvic floor exercises help strengthen the muscles of the pelvis, which are under additional strain during pregnancy and childbirth. Adopting these exercises regularly will reduce the likelihood of you experiencing pregnancy related incontinence, and help your body to recover after birth. It can also reduce the risk of urinary and faecal incontinence in the future. For more information visit: • Tommy’s www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/im-pregnant/ exercisepregnancy/pelvic-floor-exercises • Download the ‘squeezy app’ to help you with pelvic floor exercises at: www.squeezyapp.co.uk Exercise in pregnancy