Exercise in early pregnancy

[teacher99]

Hi all. I am 5 1/2 wks pg and usually go to a 'dance-a-size' class weekly. Should I still go or is there any risk of miscarriage? Would appreciate any advice,
thanks

I specifically asked my GP about this when I first told her I was pg, and she said that as long as you aren't doing contact sports or board diving, they encourage you to carry on doing any sort of exercise that you're used to doing as long as you feel up to it, and that it will be good for you and the baby. The instructors at the classes I go to were also positive about it. And if you look at the NHS page on it at www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/pregnancy-exercise.aspx then it mentions dance as a good thing to carry on with. The only advice my instructors gave for the early stages of pregnancy was to keep well hydrated, listen to your body, and not to overdo any stretching you do during the class, because your ligaments may already be loosening. I've never heard of any evidence that exercise of the dance-class type can increase the risk of miscarriage.

When you feel ready to do so, it might be helpful to tell the instructor you're pregnant in case there are specific moves that they think you should avoid as the pregnancy gets more developed, and they can also suggest alternatives. But they said to me that in the first trimester you should be able to do most things as long as you feel okay.

Personally I've found that I feel much better on days when I've done some exercise, and it also helps with sleeping difficulties in early pregnancy.

Thank you. That's reassuring. I think I'll go but take it slightly easier.

I'm wondering the same thing - I'd been running about 5k recently but had a break for a few weeks due to injury and now wondering if it's ok to get back into it as I have lost fitness and while I keep hearing that it's fine to keep up with exercise that your body is used to, I don't know if that would apply here. The same applies with cycling - I'd just bought a bike, been out on it twice and injured my ankle and not sure whether or not to start again.

I'm thinking maybe doing some power walking if I feel ok, pilates and swimming might be an easier way to keep fitness but not over do it.

No weights or anything and don't push yourself too much but fine to continue as you were before. Not the time to start marathon training