
Written by Editorial Team
We often see pregnant women going for walks right from the early weeks. The time spent on walking exercises increases as the weeks go by. Whether it is your first or fifth pregnancy, being active helps keep your spirits high. It helps ease nausea and back pain. Many doctors recommend walk your way to fitness during pregnancy because it is an entirely safe and accessible active mode.
In this article, we can learn more about whether it is safe to walk during pregnancy and when to start and take a pause to walk. Let’s get started.
In This Article
Yes. It is safe to walk during pregnancy. Walking is a great cardio workout that loosens up the muscles and lowers the risk of problems during pregnancy and delivery. The walking exercise keeps you away from gestational diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend at least 30 minutes of exercise per day for five days a week for pregnant women.
Walking also helps cope with several other pregnancy symptoms, including constipation, weight gain, Mood Swings, Back Pain, and many more. It is important to note that each pregnancy is different. It is always better to talk to your doctor about your symptoms and check if walking can be a good exercise for your body.
You can start walking as soon as you know you are pregnant. It is the simplest and easiest way to kick-start your workout mode. You need not wait to meet your doctor and get the green signal for walking. Always start with the pace that will suit your body better. You can always scale up or down the pace of walking based on your body’s capabilities.
Walking is encouraged during pregnancy because:
Before you start on the most suitable exercise that suits almost all pregnant women, you must ensure the following:
Warming Up
Take two minutes of your time to warm up.
Cooling Off
After you are done with your walk, take 5 minutes to do some stretching exercises – back, shoulders, hips, thighs, and calves. This should not hurt even when your pregnancy progresses
Before you kick-start your walking exercise, there are specific points that you need to consider.
It is the time when you decide to go on a walking regimen. It is always best to start with a slower pace, starting with five minutes a day. You can add an extra five minutes each week until you reach 30 minutes at a stretch.
In the first trimester, your nausea and morning sickness will keep you down all the time. Walking can help lift your mood and keep your spirits high. If you are already in a very active workout mode, you can continue following your workouts more vigorously now. Of course, get your doctor’s approval for a strict workout regime.
The second trimester is the honeymoon period of pregnancy, where morning sickness and nausea take a back seat. You might feel more energetic and want to walk more. But it is always better to increase the pace gradually. It is better to do things sparingly.
Your pregnancy belly might have grown well, and you may be able to feel the change in the center of gravity during your third trimester. It is better to go for flat and straight roads instead of an uneven path.
Every day is a new and different one during pregnancy. While you might feel all energetic and brisk on one day, you might feel sick and down the other day. So, when you feel sick and down, it is better to go for a short walk, follow some other exercise like yoga, or skip a day from exercise.
Doctors may ask you to slow down a bit on your exercise at any point during pregnancy if you are having any sort of other body conditions, including,
A. The CDC recommends at least 30 minutes of walking daily for all pregnant women five days a week.
A. If you do not walk during pregnancy, try to include any other form of physical activity. Lack of exercise during pregnancy can cause many problems, such as obesity in the mother, emergency C-sections, early labor, and much more.
A. Yes. Walking can speed up the process of labor and delivery.
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