What Happens to Your Body When You Become Pregnant?

So we know many weird and wonderful things happen to the female form once you become pregnant. Some of these things you can see and become pretty obvious as time goes by, babies and tummies growing. Other things are less obvious yet can affect us just as much, if not more than, those that other people can see. And many things happen on the inside of our bodies, even we have no idea what is going on yet we come to realise and appreciate what an amazing thing our bodies are capable of – growing this tiny human being from an even tinier start – remarkable!

When it comes to your health during pregnancy it is important that you learn a little bit about the changes that are happening to you and inside you so that you can take the best possible care of both yourself and your growing baby especially when it comes to nutrition and exercise.

• When a woman becomes pregnant the hormone relaxin is increased to more than ten times its normal concentration. Relaxin, as it sounds, is important in allowing the body, particularly the pelvis to relax and stretch in preparation for giving birth. It can however cause other joints to become more mobile leading to discomfort and pain – an important thing to keep in mind when planning your pregnancy exercise plan.
• In particular the pelvis: Pelvic Instability occurs when the joints around the pelvis loosen too much this can lead to discomfort and misalignment which may then make it difficult to walk and carry out general day to day activities.
• Weight gain – like it or not all women will gain some weight during pregnancy. This varies for person to person but this extra weight will also put pressure on joints and muscles and should be taken into consideration when choosing what type of exercise is right for you.
• The Pelvic Floor is stretched and weakened: During pregnancy 50% of women will suffer from some kind of bladder leakage or lack of bowel control – this is something that can stick around or worsen after giving birth. So it is important to be performing the correct pelvic floor strengthening exercises should you detect any weakness.
• During the later stages of pregnancy the Rectus Abdominals can separate leading to a condition called Diastasis Recti – it is important that you gain knowledge on what are the best forms of abdominal exercise to be doing at this time.

These are a few of the most important aspects to take into account when considering an exercise routine whilst you are pregnant. Stay tuned for the specifics on the to-do’s and the not-to-do’s of exercise during pregnancy.