Exercising while pregnant

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Last year I got married and quickly fell pregnant and I am now 22 weeks with our first baby. In the two years before my wedding I lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise and found a real enjoyment in exercise. I have been lucky with my pregnancy so far and have been well enough to continue my exercise regime pretty much so far as normal (with some slight adjustments along the way) I have no real bump yet and haven’t put on much weight yet (about 6lbs so far)… I am in no means skinny and am usually a curvy size 12/14.

A new colleague (a female about 15 years older than me) started in my team who I previously worked at in another job role and was horrified because I haven’t put on much weight, that I’m not showing, and that because I’m still exercising 4/5 times a week. She says I’m inconsiderate for continuing this way as I’m putting myself and my body under stress and I’m obviously more concerned about keeping up my exercise than the health of my unborn baby. She stated that I need to slow down and stop my exercise and just go light walks or a gentle swim. And she also insinuated that I was deliberately not eating and still dieting. She expressed her concern to everyone in my team that I was putting myself and my unborn child at risk. And no matter how much I tried to explain and defend myself she wouldn’t listen and was very vocal about this which was extremely embarrassing (and upsetting) for me in my place of work which has people now questioning me, what I eat and any time I head to (or mention) the gym.

I am not naive enough to expect to keep exercising at this level for ever but I don’t see why I should stop before my body tells me it’s ready to stop. AIBU to think this way?

Have any of you lovely mums out there continued with an active lifestyle / exercise regime? Just looking to hear from others who have been in my positon as the work situation has been making me question everything.

For context not to drip feed I take part in a boot camp style fitness class twice a week which is a mix of cardio and weights, I do a weights programme in the gym which was designed by a PT when I was 15weeks pregnant, and I also do classes such as body attack and spin.

You’re doing really well. I wish I’d moved more-I took full advantage of the situation and lazed about. If I had my time again I’d definitely do yoga or swimming. I feel sure my inactivity contributed to my back-to-back baby>>>forceps delivery.

19+ yrs ago I cycled to a 34 week scan in hospital (17 miles each way).
The consultants congratulated me for being fit. Nobody criticised.

I continued doing yoga but I notified the teacher as certain poses aren’t safe to do after eg first trimester. I walked a lot and swam too.

My SIL did Pilates and swam and walked a lot when pregnant. Her SIL did yoga and cycled until she felt unable or unsafe to do so.

Oh when I had scans or checkups I ensured I asked if what exercise I was doing was ok and safe as it was first pregnancy. I went by their advice.

With my first I continued with a high level of activity for as long as I could and reduced intensity as my body told me to.
With this pregnancy I have been less active as it’s been a rough 7 months so far 😬

I think honestly the only thing I would worry about would be excessive lifting and stretching of the abdomen, only because I had some bleeding the day after I overdid it with that (I knew at the time that I was pushing it, so just be aware of your body and stop as soon as you feel anything that's not quite right). Baby was fine, he's 2yo now, but it really put the wind up me at the time.

If you can carry on it’ll do you the world of good. In both of my pregnancies I haven’t managed to do much other than yoga and I’ve really felt it afterwards. I went to bootcamp 2 months post partum and thought i was going to die. You’ll retain your fitness.

I worked out, including running, gym, and personal training sessions, for the entirety of both my pregnancies. My PT in the first pregnancy told me I barely slowed down at 40 weeks. I modified for safety as required but I was working out sweatily 3 times a week until the end. It was great. I felt fit and well through both pregnancies and had two very straightforward vaginal births with very quick recoveries. Normal birth weights. I'll never know if my births and recoveries were so good because I worked out, but I think it certainly played a role, and it made me feel a lot better during pregnancy. I also quite enjoyed freaking gymgoers out with my full term bump.

Your colleague has, to put it charitably, very old fashioned ideas about exercise and pregnancy. You are far better keeping up exercise that feels good than spending nine months on your arse. People are also endlessly weird about how your bump "should" look. I literally got told I was very big and very small in the same day.

Crack on. You are right. She is wrong (and overstepping).

As others have said the benefits far outweigh any risks. My gp told me to keep up any exercise I wanted and to listen to my body.

Nothing about 'don't get out of breath' or not exceeding certain heart rates, literally do what you did before. I am a keen runner and kept it up till the end... had an easy Labour that i was glad i was fit for, have lost the baby weight easily, and feel fit enough to run around after a1 year old.

I love these people giving you advice, without a shed of scientific research

Colleague is out of order and wrong!

I'm 18 weeks and have kept up my regular routine (except for a week or two when I was really unwell with a virus).
I do a mixture of cardio and weights twice a week with a PT, and have kept up yoga with modifications, 1-2 classes per week plus practice at home most days.
Haven't put on any weight at all but baby is growing just fine!

I'm 'high-risk' due to a pre-existing medical condition and finding this pregnancy so much easier than my last because I'm much more active than I was in the last one!

As long as your instructors know you are pregnant so they can give you modifications where necessary, you can continue as you are for as long as you want.

It sounds like just something people say but really do listen to your body, it will tell you when you need to adjust or slow down.

I worked out 4 times per week (weights plus les mills type classes attack/combat etc) until 36 weeks when I felt light headed in a class after about 10 minutes and knew I needed to stop. Was very frustrating as we were in the middle of a heatwave and my gym’s air con was terrible and I think it was that rather than my pregnancy per se that forced me to stop, but I knew straight away that it was best to slow down from that point.

DS was born a week later.

What a load of crap. The advice is to carry on what you have been doing. I was a little overweight and was encouraged to exercise

My spin instructor told me she went into labour right after teaching a class, so she was doing multiple classes a day right until her due date. And I had a woman in my weight training/body pump class who was taking part in classes until 2 weeks before her due date. She gave birth to a healthy girl.

Lots of people do it. Just be sensible. I would probably avoid anything with lots of vigorous jumping too, in case you slip.

Just to balance things out a bit, I exercised all the way through pregnancy, running, cardio, cycling, weights etc and was v fit. Had long and extremely difficult labours, two emcs and another emergency surgery. Undoubtedly, I recovered well and was back running 9wks post cs but it had no impact on labour or delivery. That is down to luck. My friend who never exercises had babies who fell out after easy labours and my extremely fit ultra marathon running buddy had long labours and emcs too.

I intended to carry on, similar routine to yours but found spin made me feel light headed after a while and when I got further along I developed pelvic problems that made even walking very painful. My midwife said I was fine to keep doing what I'd done
as long as I was comfortable, but not to take on any new high impact stuff. You only actually need an extra 200 calories a day, rather than eating for two so as long as you're getting around 2200 calories it's fine, prior to pregnancy I really restricted calories so had to get my head around that.

Admittedly this was over 20 years ago but I did a two evenings at the gym up to 39 weeks, just reducing some of the weights as I got bigger.
DS was born in 4hours 25 minutes flat weighing in at 7lb 12oz and I recovered quickly from the birth.

I'm a physiotherapist and gym-bunny. I was still doing all my normal stuff at 39 weeks, but then had to give up due to high blood pressure - but absolutely no problem at all up to then. I was able to do aerobics, jogging, and was still manual handling at work - I'd been doing the same for years, so it was no great strain on my body.

In actual fact they suspected my problem with giving birth (needed high forceps) was caused by an overly-strong pelvic floor, which apparently is common in horse-riders and physios! Or it could be a myth....

Just be sure you listen to your body - especially be on the lookout for any indication of back pain or pelvic pain, including at the front of the pelvis. Your ligaments become more mobile and with getting heavier as you approach the birth, you don't want to strain anything. But I'm sure you'll be taking care anyway.

I'm 21 weeks and have kept exercising and my consultant is delighted. Every time I see her, she makes a point to emphasise that I should stay as active as possible.

Intense cardio gives me horrible heartburn, so I've stopped the spin classes, but I'm still doing yoga, weights with a trainer, doing lighter work outs on the bike/cross trainer and walking miles every day.

My in-laws are horrified that I haven't gained much weight and have a tiny bump, but as long as my doctor is happy with how the baby's doing, that's all that matters to me.

Exercise is really good when exercising, they recommend not doing any additional exercise than what you were used to pre-pregnancy. You may have to slow down a little as your pregnancy progresses. I was running and cycling all the way to my due date basically. Well, I say running but it was more of a shuffle/waddle.

The exercise is not putting a strain on you or your baby as you did it pre pregnancy so you body had already adapted to the ‘strain’

I exercised until I was 35 weeks preganant and only stopped as I managed to hurt my foot (incidentally whilst walking!)

Next time she talk to you I would explain that you do not want to discuss your pregnancy with her and you are following your midwife/consultants recommendations and you only only take pregnancy advice from them!

The popping/not popping is down to luck. I exercises loads pre-pregnancy and during and I got really massive!

I tap danced through both my pregnancies and as well as joining an aquanatal class (which was obviously fairly light exercise). It’s good to keep your fitness levels up during pregnancy and it’s healthy for the baby as long as you are not suddenly doing more than you were used to before you were pregnant.

Thanks everyone! its totally reassuring to hear so many of you kept up exercise and fitness throughout pregnancy and its motivating to hear how long you carried on for!

@jokie im still in my normal work out gear at the moment, i have had a quick look around for maternity gym wear but havent seen anything that wont bankrupt me. suggestions welcome!

my plan is to carry on as long as possible making changes as and when i need to. i cant remember who said it but i agree that its a total mental happiness that comes from exercising. i find that if i go a week or so without exercise i am tired, moany, lethargic and DH says im a nightmare to be around haha

Im working alone with the woman tomorrow so im going to find a way to bring it up and have a chat with her. not really sure what to say thou.

I personally feel quite strongly about pregnant women (who have no pregnancy complications) remaining fit and healthy during pregnancy. But you will get the ones who think you have to slow down as soon as you get pregnant. Plenty of women don't show, I didn't until about 25/30 weeks.

You won't change her mind, but I'd be politely asking her not to comment on your pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with my first pregnancy workout gear basically didn't exist! I used to have to wear my old sports bras with extenders and at the end I was wearing my husband's sports shirts. I think it's a really positive sign than in the last 5 years maternity gymwear has become something that's everywhere.

I had some good, cheap stuff from Mamas & Papas and Gap. I also got some Fittamama gear as a present which was great but expensive.