Pregnant and Postpartum Women

If you are a healthy pregnant or postpartum woman, physical activity is good for your overall health. For example, moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, keeps your heart and lungs healthy during and after pregnancy. Physical activity also helps improve your mood throughout the postpartum period. After you have your baby, activity helps maintain a healthy weight, and when combined with eating fewer calories helps with weight loss.

How much activity should I do?

Many countries including the USA, Canada and New Zealand have developed physical activity guidelines for pregnant women. They all agree that:

Healthy women should get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking five days a week, during and after their pregnancy.
Healthy women who already do vigorous-intensity activity, such as running, or large amounts of activity, can continue doing so during and after their pregnancy provided they stay healthy and discuss with their Doctor / Midwife / Obstetrician how and when activity should be adjusted over time.

Types of Activity

Looking for an activity whilst you are pregnant or after you have had your baby? Go to Search by activity and take a look what the Gold Coast has on offer.

Some things to keep in mind when I am active during and after my pregnancy

Unless you have a medical reason to avoid physical activity during or after your pregnancy, you can begin or continue moderate-intensity aerobic activity. If you begin physical activity during your pregnancy, start slowly and increase your amount gradually over time.

Start with gentle activities like walking or swimming. Walking is a good activity for anyone - brisk walking gives your body a total body workout and is easy on the joints and muscles. Swimming is great as it works lots of muscles and the water gives great support, helping you to avoid injury and muscle strain. Water based activity can help you to stay cool and helps prevent your legs from swelling (avoid water warmer than your skin). Cycling can provide a good aerobic workout, but your growing belly can affect your balance, so avoid heavy traffic, hills or stick to stationary cycling later in pregnancy.

Activities you have done for a while before you were pregnant are often safe if you take them easy. Jogging can often be kept up throughout a pregnancy, just beware of joint stress in your third trimester. Tennis may be fine, but as your belly grows, your centre of gravity changes which can put you off balance. Rapid movements may further affect your balance and increase your risk of falling - avoid leaping and lunging in your third trimester. Light to moderate strength training (weights), can help to strengthen your muscles, improve your flexibility and alleviate back pain. Be mindful of contact sports such as soccer and basketball which can put you at risk of abdominal injury - this could harm you and your baby.

Warning signs to stop activity

If you are tired and feel like stopping, then it is time for you to stop. Stop your activity and contact your doctor, midwife or health care provider if you experience any of the following symptoms:

Dizziness
Vaginal bleeding
Contractions
Pain
Unusual shortness of breath

Some Do's and Don'ts

DO'S	DON'TS
Do talk to your doctor, midwife or health care provider before you start or continue being active. They can help you decide what activities will best suit you.	Don't increase or start new activities before your 14th week or after your 28th week of pregnancy.
Do wear comfortable clothing that will help to keep you cool - it is best to get out and about early in the morning or late in the evening when the sun is not so harsh.	Don't lie on your back after your 16th week of pregnancy. This outs pressure on the large artery and vein in the abdomen and may make you feel dizzy or faint.
Do drink plenty of water before, during and after activities - even if you are not thirsty.	Don't do activities in hot and humid places.
Do warm up and cool down with stretches and slow movements to ease your body into and out of activity.	Don't scuba dive. The large amounts of pressure from the water put your baby at risk from decompression sickness.
Do breathe normally during activity.	Don't hold your breathe during physical activity.
Do gradually increase your activity level during your second trimester (14 to 28 weeks).	Don't do excessive bouncing or jarring movements. Your joints loosen up to let your body grow and make it easier to give birth. Protect your self from injury by avoiding high impact activities and movements that overstretch your hip, knee, ankle or elbow joints.
Do include rest periods in your activity.	Don't overdo it! If you can not talk because you are out of breath, slow down. You should be able to carry on a normal conversation during your physical activity.
Do your pelvic floor exercises - this will prevent and relieve back pain, control your bladder and get you back into shape after your baby is born.
Do listen to your body! Stop if it hurts or you are feeling tired.

Take time to enjoy your pregnancy - your 40 weeks will be over soon! Take plenty of photos to remember this very special time!

Physical activity after childbirth (postpartum)

Physical activity is good for your overall health. It can help you heal quicker after having your baby, give you more energy and help prevent or manage post partum depression.

After normal childbirth

Easy activities like walking and pelvic floor exercises can be started as soon as you feel able. More intense activities such as running and hard workouts should not be done for the first 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, increase time spent doing physical activity in steps. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity on at least 5 days of the week.

After caesarean section (C-section)

A general guide for starting physical activity after a C-section is to wait about 6 weeks before starting your exercise. This allows time for your belly to heal. After 6 weeks (as long as your wound has healed), start with easy activities such as walking. Your GP should be able to advise you when you can start a more intense physical activity program.

Activity with your baby

Now that your baby has arrived you can search for some activities to do with your little one. Check out the Move Baby Move booklet and look at the kids page for some ideas to get active with your family.