Working Out During Pregnancy- New Research
As a prenatal chiropractor, if I could scream from the rooftops, I would. FINALLY, there is more interest in researching exercise during pregnancy! The image of pregnancy being a fragile period where “once” strong women are no longer allowed to lift weights, or continue to be active outside of yoga & walking is finally being transformed. Now, don’t get me wrong, yoga and walking are great, but if you’re just itching to pick up something heavier than the previously recommended 35lbs… like oh, I don’t know, a load of groceries from the car or your 4 year old; I have some great news for ya! Since you can't really ethically load pregnant humans with weight to determine at what point things become problematic, a few wonderful humans found a workaround. Take a look at the paper for more insight, but it truly is fantastic to have this specific population and area of interest being addressed!
Here are just a few great knowledge nuggets from a recent study, Impact of heavy resistance training on pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes:
"Individuals who engaged in heavy prenatal resistance training had typical perinatal and pelvic floor health outcomes that were not altered whether they engaged in, or avoided Olympic lifting, Valsalva or supine weightlifting."
Important note: the authors do discuss a difference between a Valsalva vs bearing down on the pelvic health podcast
"We also identified that individuals engaged in heavy weightlifting during pregnancy were less likely to report a cesarean section compared with global rates (13% compared with a global prevalence of 21.1%)"
Important note: this is for those who were lifting heavy PRIOR to pregnancy as well
"Contrary to commonly cited theoretical risks of heavy weightlifting, we demonstrate similar, or lower rates of pregnancy complications (e.g., preeclampsia, gestational hypertension) in those who continue to engage in heavy weightlifting during pregnancy compared with population estimates"
"Contrary to commonly cited theoretical risks of heavy weightlifting, we demonstrate similar, or lower rates of pregnancy complications (e.g., preeclampsia, gestational hypertension) in those who continue to engage in heavy weightlifting during pregnancy compared with population estimates"
Here’s one from ACOG itself (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period:
“Women who habitually engaged in vigorous-intensity aerobic activity or who were physically active before pregnancy can continue these activities during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Observational studies of women who exercise during pregnancy have shown benefits such as decreased gestational diabetes mellitus, cesarean birth and operative vaginal delivery, and postpartum recovery time. Physical activity also can be an essential factor in the prevention of depressive disorders of women in the postpartum period.”
Denver is an incredibly active community and many of my pregnant moms aren’t super excited about the idea of not incorporating activities such as weightlifting during throughout their pregnancy. I am a pregnancy chiropractor with additional training in Pregnancy and Postpartum Exercise and I help women individualize their workout modifications so they can continue to workout and train in a way that keeps them and baby safe!
Hi there!
My name is Dr. Dani and I’m an In-Home Chiropractor to busy individuals and families within the Denver Metro area. I love working with the pregnancy, postpartum and pediatric populations and strive for quality care through extended appointment times, follow-up recommendations and education so that you can feel both empowered and cared for!
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