Getting body ready for labour. Exercise?

[lalala5]

I'm 32 weeks pregnant, a normal BMI before pregnancy and have since put on 2 stone. I've never really exercised, but do get my 5 a day in daily and my water intake but I do eat a lot of junk food to... before and during pregnancy.

Now I'm quite heavily pregnant I'm finding myself getting REALLY out of breath with the occasional heart palpitations whenever I do anything taxing (even walking up the stairs😫). Now I'm really stressing that if I can't even handle walking for an hour how is my body going to manage labour?! I'm so exhausted all of the time that even the thought of doing any kind of exercise makes me want to cry! Is there anything I can do to strengthen my body slightly over the next few weeks to prepare myself just a bit more for labour? I'm scared my body won't be able to handle it 😪

(Ps. I know I sound a little crazy... my anxiety is getting the better of me this evening ☹️)

You will be able to handle it, people much less fit and healthy do.

Getting out of breath is not because you are unfit, your lungs are squished and you are working harder all the time. You have something like 25% more blood than normal so your heart is working harder. By the end of pregnancy your metabolic rate has increased. It's comparable to doing an endurance event for weeks. qz.com/1635811/pregnancy-pushes-the-body-nearly-as-much-as-endurance-sports/

Just rest, look after yourself and if you want to do some gentle yoga videos, swimming or walking.

It could be worth checking with midwife that you are not anaemic as heart palpitations can be a sign of that.

Definitely get checked out, feeling your heart like this needs looking at. Try pregnancy yoga, aquanatal or just a few gentle walks if you want to try light exercise. You can definitely do it, maybe listen to some positive birth affirmations online to give yourself a confidence boost.

Sounds like you're anaemic! I had this a few weeks ago. I've been taking iron tablets and have so much more energy and mental clarity.
Ask your midwife to check your iron levels.

I'm 32 weeks too! Are you able to swim?? Swimming is fantastic exercise at this stage imo. I'm trying to swim twice a week before work & planning to go at least every other day once I'm on maternity leave. You feel so weightless & strong in the water, it's amazing! & you can go nice and slow and you're still using your whole body & gently strengthening all your muscles. I've found my breathing feels normal when I'm swimming, even if I push myself to go fast & get a little bit out of breath from exertion, I don't feel uncomfortably breathless like I'm getting from walking up stairs.

I was quite fit and healthy before and during pregnancy - I stopped exercising around 30 weeks though as my body just couldn't handle it. I was exhausted and like you, going up the stairs was enough to have me out of breath and feeling like I'd done a workout. An hour's walking and I'd have been in bed for the rest of the day!

Just keep doing gentle exercise like housework, maybe get an exercise ball to sit/bounce on and I'm sure you'll be fine. I was sooo unfit by the end of pregnancy and my labour was pretty easy, a lot of it is just luck I'm sure.