Pregnant Pull-ups? A Paradigm Shift in Exercising Through Pregnancy
I was at the grocery store, 8 months pregnant with my third baby. My two-year-old and 15-month old were yelling from the cart, grabbing anything off the shelf they could get their hands on, when I ran into an acquaintance.
“You still doing your pull-ups?” he said. (Click HERE to see pregnant pull-ups.)
“I am!” I said with a smile.
“Gotta take care of number one…” he said sneering and shaking his head.
Stunned, I paused, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, I quickly realized that he was shaming me and suggesting I was taking care of my fitness at the expense of my unborn baby.
Instead of giving one guy a physiology lesson in the produce aisle, I decided to end our conversation abruptly and reach out to a larger audience by sharing the current research through this article and other outlets.
Current Societal Beliefs of Exercise During Pregnancy
My story exposes the long-standing belief in our culture that pregnant women should not be lifting weights or doing vigorous exercise, but instead should only be resting and pampered. Sadly, these misconceptions of the safety of exercise during pregnancy prevents women from reaping the benefits for themselves and their babies. Therefore, my goal with this article is to shed light on the current evidence of the effects of exercise during pregnancy for the mother and baby and clarify the guidelines for exercise during pregnancy.
History of Exercise Guidelines for Pregnant Women
Evidence grew in the 1960’s and 1970’s that things women do and don’t do affect the pregnancy outcome. For example, smoking, alcohol, drugs, and nutritional deficiencies have clear effects on fetal development. Concerns with exercise and pregnancy involved questions like:
Would increases in intensity of activity decrease blood flow and oxygen supply to the fetus?
Would brief exercise-induced increases in internal temperature create fetal malformations?
While the effects of exercise on pregnancy were unknown, many health care providers in the 1970’s and 1980’s took a conservative approach to the unknown risks of strenuous exercise and recommended avoidance.
Today, we know that excessive sitting and lack of physical activity during pregnancy can be harmful to both the mother and baby.
Current Research
In the last thirty years, researchers have followed women through their pregnancies who have elected to maintain a strenuous exercise regimen (> 3 times/week, 20 plus minutes/session, at moderate-vigorous intensity, weight-bearing exercise). Results showed no evidence of risk and instead showed that the exercising mothers and their babies were in better condition during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum.
What Are the Benefits to Pregnant Women?
Women who exercised all the way through their pregnancy [up to their delivery] compared to women who either stopped during their pregnancy or did not exercise at all had:
• Decreased risk of blood clots
• Decreased risk of gestational diabetes
• Shorter, less complicated labors
• Gained less fat & decreased risk for long-term obesity
• Felt better
• Improved energy levels
• Improved posture
• Reduced back aches
• Reduced bloating & swelling
• Recovered more rapidly post-labor
What Are the Benefits to the Babies?
Babies of mothers who exercised strenuously during pregnancy had both short- and long-term benefits such as:
• Better growth and development patterns in utero
• Better resilience when faced with the stresses of late pregnancy, labor, and delivery
• Score higher on intelligence tests at one and five years of age
How Does Exercise Increase Resilience in Babies?
All biological systems positively adapt to stressors and stimuli like exercise through infancy, childhood, and adulthood. Thus, when a mother exercises during pregnancy, she is creating a mild stressor for the fetus that might alter development in a positive way. Some of these specific maternal physiologic adaptations to exercise during pregnancy include increased maternal blood volume, improved growth and function of the placenta, and increased ability of the mother to dissipate heat.
Despite previous concerns that vigorous maternal exercise would harm the unborn baby, research shows exercise does not compromise blood flow, oxygenation, or temperature of the baby.
Past Recommendations
Many years ago, the recommendation was that pregnant women should not raise their heart rate above 140 bpm during exercise. This recommendation is outdated. Currently, heart rate limits are typically not imposed.
Current Recommendations
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, all pregnant women without contraindications should accumulate 150 minutes of weekly moderate-vigorous intensity aerobic and strength training exercises. Pregnant women should avoid doing activities that involve lying on their back or that put them at risk of falling or abdominal injury, such as horseback riding, soccer, or basketball.
If pregnant women prefer walking and more moderate-intensity exercise, then they should pursue such a regimen. Running, pull-ups, and strength training in general are safe and beneficial, but not required for a healthy pregnancy. Furthermore, walking and more moderate-intensity activity are certainly a better alternative to excessive sitting.
Call to Action
Maintaining my exercise regimen through my pregnancies was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. But I will tell you that it was worth my blood, sweat, and tears. Furthermore, being well versed in the research, I was confident that continuing to exercise was good for my babies. Like most moms, I was bound and determined to push aside my fatigue, discomfort, acid-reflux, nausea, vomiting, and frequent bathroom trips for the benefit of my children. The shaming that I experienced from my neighbors, friends, and relatives was an unnecessary battle in my fight to exercise.
Let’s recognize that we have indisputable evidence that exercise is safe and beneficial for mothers and babies. As a society, let’s change our dated paradigm wherein pregnant women are frail and weak. Instead, let’s see the inherent strength in women as they do what is best for the health of themselves and their babies. Let’s support our friends, sisters, daughters, and neighbors in their exercise journeys during their pregnancies.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to my newsletter: HERE
If you enjoyed this article, say hello on: Facebook or Twitter.
For more reading: Related Articles
For more reading on the current topic, I highly recommend “Exercising Through Your Pregnancy,” by Dr. James Clapp.
References:
Alysia Montano Runs the 800 m in the 2014 US Track and Field Championship, 8 months pregnant. Video: http://www.espn.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/11142115/pregnant-runner-alysia-montano-runs-800-meters-us-track-field-championships
Clapp, James. (2015). Exercising Through Your Pregnancy. Addicus Books, INC.
Center for Disease Control. Retrived from: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pregnancy/index.htm
Forczek, W., Cury, M., & Forczek, B. (2017). Physical Activity Assessment During Gestation and Its Outcomes: A Review. Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, 72, 425-445.
Recommendations for exercise during pregnancy from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Retrieved from: https://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Physical-Activity-and-Exercise-During-Pregnancy-and-the-Postpartum-Period
3,079 Comments
Leave your reply.