Swimming is one of the best ways for pregnant women to exercise. As long as you know how to swim, the water poses no risk to you and your baby. Swimming is one of the few exercises that do not stress your ligaments and joints for a super safe and comfortable workout for all stages of your pregnancy.

If you currently don\’t exercise much, then start slowly with swimming. You can begin with some gentle stretching exercises and ease into a few slow pace laps until you build up your endurance. Listen to your body during your workout and take plenty of breaks, especially if you feel winded or slightly dizzy. It\’s also important that you stay well-hydrated, particularly on hot summer days as it\’s easy to forget to drink water when you are surrounded by pool water.

When you are swimming one of the great things is that all your joints are supported by the water. It will also help prevent your body from overheating as you exercise, especially if your last trimester falls in the middle heat of the summer months. However, swimming is also a great year-round exercise if you have access to an indoor pool or heated outdoor pool during the cooler weather. Research has shown that chlorine and typical pool chemicals are safe for pregnant women, but it is recommended that you skip the hot tub and sauna as that sort of water temperature can overheat your growing fetus.

If you were a regular swimmer before you got pregnant, then you can continue your regular routine without too much modification, as long as you are listening to your body. Swimming is a low-impact cardiovascular workout that works out the large muscle groups in your arms and legs simultaneously. It is a great relief to pregnant women because it exercises your joints without impact stress (like jogging) and actually allows you to feel weightless. It is also hard to injure yourself, even with your wobbly loser ligaments as you can\’t fall down in the water.

Swimming improves your circulation, increases your muscle tone and builds your energy, strength and endurance. All these benefits better enable you to handle the physical stress of your pregnancy, prepare for your labor, and cope with the stresses of motherhood with a newborn.

If you are suffering from morning sickness, then swimming may ease your nausea. If you feel it is making you worse, you should stop until morning sickness is better. Sometimes just a few weeks break makes all the difference until the worst of morning sickness is over, then you can ease back into your exercise routines.

Breast stroke during the last trimester is a good option if freestyle is too awkward with your bulging belly. Breast stroke works well with your natural improved buoyancy from your baby belly and gives you a good chest and back workout, which are the two areas often must out of alignment during this stage in your pregnancy.

As your belly grows and your chest also expands, you should look into purchasing a non-restrictive maternity swimsuit. If you are a serious swimmer you are probably better off with a one piece suit with supportive straps. Prego Maternity\’s Empire Waist Maternity Swimsuit is an excellent choice with supportive adjustable tank straps and plenty of stretch in the belly while designed to allow you to swim with ease. This suit offers superior bust support and a bra like back hook and extra wide straps. If you are more of recreational weekend pool person, but still interested doing a few laps, check out Prego Maternity\’s Texture Heart one piece swimsuit which should stretch with you for your entire pregnancy and is a good buy at only $48.00.

As with any exercise during pregnancy, it\’s important to listen closely to your body cues to know when it\’s time to slow down, take a break or stop. Don\’t go too hard on yourself as your pregnant body has a lot more demands on it then your pre-pregnant body, so you may have to continue to adjust your workout as you continue on.

Author Bio: Amy Jarman is owner of maternity clothes and nursing clothes store Tummystyle.com. TummyStyle.com has a wide selection of maternity swimwear, maternity swimsuits and maternity bathing suits for your pregnancy by designers such as Prego Maternity, Maternal America & Belabumbum.

Category: Womens Interest
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