In the first entries on the physical exercise of this special about beauty in pregnancy we talked about how the exercise should not be restricted in pregnancy since it is beneficial for it and also that toning and elasticity exercises could be performed to improve childbirth .
In this new post we will make a special on the cardiovascular exercise during pregnancyAlthough, although we have made it clear that cardiovascular exercise is recommended during pregnancy, it is important that you always consult with your doctor if the exercise you want to perform is compatible with your condition.
Why perform cardiovascular exercise
Perform cardiovascular exercise At any stage or state of life it entails a strengthening of the heart, lungs and maintains muscle toning, and the latter on this occasion is very important when you are pregnant because it helps a lot when it comes to giving birth.
Many of the benefits of exercise in pregnancy have already been described in the first post of this series and specifically performing cardiovascular exercise will help you decrease back pain, constipation, digestive discomfort such as heartburn and indigestion and swelling and inflammation of certain areas of the body.
It is also healthy because increase the energy level, modifies posture, gives greater resistance to muscles and increases the ability to cope with labor. For its part, it is proven that performing physical activity during this period helps avoid gestational diabetes.
When you don't have to do cardiovascular exercise
The first thing to keep in mind is that you can not go from a state of lack of cardiovascular exercise to perform it daily, so if this is your case, the correct thing is that the first trimester you adapt and only do walks, moderate swimming or initiation yoga.
Also if you have any of the following symptoms It is good that you interrupt the performance of any cardiovascular exercise: vaginal bleeding, difficulty or effort to breathe before undertaking physical activity, dizziness, headache, chest discomfort, muscle weakness, pain or swelling in the calves, reduction in the movement of the fetus or loss of fluid through the vagina.
Type and duration of cardiovascular exercise
The most important thing when knowing how to choose the type of activity to perform as cardiovascular exercise is to use logic and this is simple, any impact sport is not recommended nor those in which to do it you need to jump or sudden movements (forget about spinning, aerobics, gap, body pump, mountain bike, mountain race ...)
Therefore the ideal is to perform exercises such as swimming, moderate running or walking, and with a duration not exceeding 30 minutes daily every day of the week. If before becoming pregnant you already performed these sports you should moderate the intensity a lot and perform it at a controlled and moderate pace without great efforts.
Cardiovascular exercise and the fetus
Several studies have been conducted to determine if performing cardiovascular exercises has detrimental effects on the fetus and has not obtained any evidence that it is harmful, as well as It also has no risk of causing a miscarriage or increase the risk of a complicated pregnancy.
On the contrary, all studies have shown that physical exercise it won't make the baby have less weight at birth, but quite the opposite, there are cases in which even performing it in an orderly and moderate way can help increase the weight of the baby at birth. further causes the placenta to increase in size which improves the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the baby.
