Water Aerobics during Pregnancy

One of the highly recommended exercises for a woman to keep physically fit during the months of pregnancy is doing water aerobics. Medical men opine that remaining in water helps to relieve the weight heaviness you feel on the legs as well as back.

This apart, water aerobics has, time and again, proved to be immensely helpful during gestation and labor. In fact a recent survey conducted by the journal Reproductive Health, has confirmed that a course of water aerobics has tremendously reduced the need for pain-killing medication women during labor.

Pregnant women who resent regular physical exercises can opt for a low impact water aerobics program in keeping with their comfort levels. The high-impact pounding are inadvisable as they can adversely affect pregnancy. Please know that even moderate water aerobics has the potential for burning excess fat and enhance powers of endurance.

• Difficult to believe but the fact is you will sweat even when in water. It is therefore essential you consume plenty of water before, during and after the aerobics – preferably at intervals of every ten minutes

• Wear a bathing suit with a supportive top or a jog bra underneath the swimsuit. It is also preferable to wear an abdominal support particularly during advanced stages of pregnancy when the breasts and belly will swell.

• Do your movements carefully and slowly and make sure you avoid exhaustion. As it is, water has a tendency to resist and therefore trying to move your loaded body through water can be sufficiently pressurizing.

• If you plan doing aerobics in open pools, do not fail to wear sunscreen and a cap or visor. This is necessary as the skin becomes more and more sun-sensitive as pregnancy advances.

• Water aerobics has to be done regularly - at least 20 minutes three times a week.

• One last word of advice - begin the aerobics course slowly and gradually increase as that would be both comfortable and safe.

It is not necessary that you should know swimming to do water aerobics – though knowledge of swimming is a decided plus. In fact, bulk of the exercises can be performed in waist or chest-high water. The ideal way to do aerobics is to keep water at arm pit level while standing. Walking, jogging or running in water will strengthen your core muscles, legs and hips and improve your respiratory system and produce the expected overall results.

Pregnant women must learn to do the dolphin kick as it is one of the most effective exercises to do in the water. You will also not need any special equipment and the available flippers, foam tubes, webbed gloves, and water weights are sufficient to do the workouts.

Every thing said, pregnant women must observe caution and cease all exercises the moment they experience fatigue or dizziness or body ache. You must seek immediate medical help if there is any vaginal bleeding, contractions, sudden absence of fetal movements, blurred vision, or any other abnormal development.

Medical research has conclusively established that walking on land for 30 minutes uses 135 calories, while walking in deep water for the same length of time uses 264 calories due to the resistance produced by the water. And, this one finding should be enough to convince pregnant women why they should opt for water aerobics