There has been a debate raging for many years regarding the safety of working out while a woman is pregnant. For a long time, it was believed that physical activity might harm the baby. Therefore, millions of women who were in the habit of working out would refrain from this activity until their baby was born. Washington State University has just finished their research on this topic. Their findings have been generating a lot of headlines around the world. What they found is that regular workouts while pregnant will not hurt the baby in any way. However, they made additional findings that are equally as interesting. They found out that the children of women who work out while they are pregnant have a much lower chance of being obese when they grow up.
One of the core findings of the study shows that the metabolic health of children can be directly related to the amount of exercise that their mother gets while they are in utero. This could very well be one of the breakthroughs needed to help get the obesity epidemic in the United States under control. However, there will most likely still be women who are nervous about working out while pregnant because of the potential risk.
Washington State University started this research project a decade ago. However, the results they got at that time were not conclusive. Therefore, they decided to do the research again using different researchers and test subjects. This would allow them to determine the problems that occurred during the initial testing. It turns out that the second set of tests worked perfectly. The study showed conclusive evidence that helped to support the theory that working out can indeed be beneficial to the children of pregnant women. It will also not hurt the child in any way.
It is very common for women to be careful when their pregnancy gets to a certain stage. However, it turns out that sometimes these women can be too careful. There are a number of exercises that are definitely fine to do when a woman is in the final trimester of pregnancy. The good news is that there is a wealth of info online about how to perform these exercises safely and effectively. There are videos that show each step so it can be practiced. Pregnant women should take the time to explore all of the resources that are available to them online.
It is advised that any pregnant woman who is interested in working out should first contact a personal trainer. Rather than rely solely on the advice that is given in an online video, talk to a fitness professional and get his or her advice on which exercises are the best and safest for a woman who is at your specific stage of pregnancy. Have the personal trainer go through the exercises with you to ensure you are performing them the right way. Muscle strains are common for people who do not take the time to learn how to exercise the right way. You should also warm up first. This means that you need to stretch your muscles to prevent cramping from occurring.
You need to remember that not all exercises are good for every stage of pregnancy. Therefore, exercises that are fine for a woman who is four months pregnant might not be fine for a woman who is set to give birth in only one month. Once again, take the time to meet with a fitness professional. Do not simply rely on the info that is provided to you by online videos and chat forums. You can never really be too sure of who the people are who are giving you that advice. They might be qualified. Then again, they might not.
There are several other colleges that are conducting similar types of studies concerning the safety of working out while pregnant. However, they have not been completed yet. It will be very interesting to find out what sort of info is yielded by those studies. The researchers who are conducting these additional studies do not feel that the data that was gathered in the Washington State University study could be improved upon. There has been no time frame regarding when the other studies will be completed or when the findings will be released to the public. Women who are pregnant have nothing to fear about working out while pregnant. Their child will be safe and healthier in the long run as a result.
