Can You Keep Up Your Intense Workout Routine During Pregnancy?

Welcome to another insightful episode of the Asking for a Pregnant Friend podcast! Host Bailey Gaddis dives into the frequently asked question about maintaining intense exercise routines during pregnancy. Can it harm the baby? Will it cause a miscarriage? Bailey shares expert advice from doctors and midwives to clarify these concerns.

Discover if it’s safe to continue your pre-pregnancy workout plan and learn about the exercise modalities recommended for expecting mothers. Whether you’re an athlete or someone looking to start a fitness regime during pregnancy, this episode offers valuable guidance on how to stay active safely.

Bailey also provides a sneak peek into her upcoming book on crafting your unique parenting style, blending intuition with evidence-based information. Tune in for practical tips, heartfelt stories, and a supportive community on your journey through pregnancy and motherhood.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Are you someone who is fascinated by all the pregnancy, childbirth,
and motherhood stuff few people talk about because they're too embarrassed?
If so, welcome to the motherload of all things taboo, or at least really wild and interesting.
The Asking for a Pregnant Friend podcast is based off the book of the same name

(00:21):
and dives in to all of the pregnancy, birth, and mothering topics that make
many people blush or scratch their heads.
I do all the boring research so you don't have to and bring you interviews with
the leading experts in the topics I cover.
I also share all the things about myself, Bailey Gaddis. I'm all about TMI.

(00:45):
You'll also hear stories from brave women who gave permission to have their
stories shared. So come along, my friend, on a journey into the beautiful underbelly
of making, growing, and raising babies.
Music.

(01:10):
All, I want to start by explaining why it has been so long since I have posted any content.
And the reason is I have a book deadline that is very, very near.
I will have a book coming out next year, essentially on how to craft your own

(01:32):
parenting style, utilizing, you know, your intuition, evidence-based information.
So the idea is it's not like a prescriptive book telling you this is the right
way to parent, but a book that guides you in figuring out what works best for your unique family.
So that has been distracting me quite a bit, but I'm back here today answering

(01:54):
questions that I have been receiving from different viewers or listeners.
So one of the big ones is about exercise.
I work with a lot of women who are athletes, and these women do pretty intense exercise.
And so when they get pregnant, they get afraid.

(02:17):
You know, will this intense exercise hurt my baby?
Will it cause a miscarriage? And of course, the number one person to ask about
this is your care provider,
because I am not a doctor, but I do want to share what I have learned from doctors,

(02:38):
midwives that I have extensively talked to about this subject.
So typically, it is safe for a woman to continue whatever exercise plan she
was on before she got pregnant.
And obviously, the further along you get in pregnancy, it might just physically

(02:58):
be difficult to do that because your belly is getting so large.
But doctors say that, you know, if you're healthy, that intense exercise,
it is very unlikely to cause a miscarriage. So, yeah.
That doesn't need to be a big concern for women who are healthy,

(03:18):
having a healthy pregnancy.
They can typically continue with their standard workout regime.
Where it is not as safe is if, you know, you didn't do much exercise before,
you didn't exercise at all, you get pregnant, and suddenly you start doing pretty heavy-duty workouts.
Workouts that's not advised unless

(03:38):
you are working with your care provider
to to create an exercise plan that
very gradually builds you up into more
you know moderate exercise so again if you already have an exercise plan that
you're happy with you've been doing for a long time and then you get pregnant

(03:59):
go ahead and continue with that after asking your care provider if you haven't
really been exercising,
but you get pregnant and you think, all right, like I want to get healthier.
I've heard exercise can really help with some of the aches, the pains,
the swelling, the mood swings of pregnancy, which is absolutely true.
Then again, you want to talk with your care provider and make a plan for exercise

(04:22):
that they feel is safe for you.
And typically, three exercise Exercise modalities that are pretty safe are walking,
prenatal yoga, and swimming.
So those are three go-tos.
If you want to do something more intense like CrossFit or so on,
then ask your care provider first.

(04:45):
Bikram yoga or hot yoga might also be something your doctor advises against
just because they don't want you overheating and potentially fainting,
which I've seen a couple times in a hot yoga class.
All right, so the gist, continue your exercise plan unless your doctor tells you otherwise.
If you want to start exercising, build up a gradual plan.

(05:09):
If you have any questions about pregnancy, childbirth, early motherhood,
go ahead and let me know in the comments.
If you can like, subscribe, comment, that would be so incredibly helpful.
That will allow me to keep providing this content for you guys. All right. Love you.
Is pregnancy or early motherhood making you feel other than?

(05:31):
Is it triggering all sorts of weird, emotional, and physical stuff you are sure
no one else is going through?
If so, get your copy of Asking for a Pregnant Friend, 101 Answers to Questions
Women Are Too Embarrassed to Ask about pregnancy, childbirth, and early motherhood.
This book is like the modern day Dear Abby for pregnant women and new moms who

(05:54):
want to get straight yet loving answers to the pregnancy, birth,
and mothering questions they're too afraid to ask.
Those questions that make you blush.
You can get your copy of Asking for a Pregnant Friend on Amazon or from Barnes
& Noble, Target, and everywhere else books are sold.
Music.