Exercise during pregnancy

Body: 

I recently joined I am 30 years old with two kids. I have stage one cyctole and rectole. The cyctole I feel was progressing to stage two. I began the exercises and changing the posture two days ago and had an immediate improvement. I still have alot of eork but feel slot better. Thank you Christine for your inspirational motivation to inform and assist everyone. You have given hope that the future is bright. I wanted to ask I am planning to get pregnant in the next couple of months would the pop get worst even if l stay with the ww posture? The exercises I usually do are treadmill but want to purchase a recumbent bicycle l won't be exactly sitting at a ninty degree angle but close to it. Would this effect my posture and impede my progress. Want to do low impact exercise during pregnancy that won't affect my pop so keep active don't want to gain to much weight. Can I do the ww workout in early pregnancy.

Hi Optimistic

Yes, you may be right about the 90 degree angle, but gravity will not be working at the angle that the human body is designed for. Your exertion will be working different muscles from an upright bike, and may generates symptoms of POP. When you are pregnant your body is trying to move your uterus up and forwards. I suspect that a recumbent bike will straighten your lumbar curve and encourage your uterus to stay back and down. Some women find that at about 3 months pregnant their uterus becomes incarcerated (horrible word) which means that it gets stuck down under the sacrum and cannot rise up and out. This can be very painful. I wouldn't want to see you inviting this to happen. I am not trying to scare you out of the recumbent bike, but it looks counter to what your body is trying to do during pregnancy.

i am curious to know why have you chosen the recumbent bike as a preferred fitness device?

Louise

Thankyou for the reply. The reason I thought to purchase a recumbent bike is because it is low impact and a seat so can sit in the ww posture so I can exercise all day long, and lose weight easier, my freind lost alot of weight by using an exercise bike.. I do not want the symptoms to get worst or to have an increased pop. So will take your advise on board and not get a recumbent bike it is not worth it. What exercises do people in this situation do?

Well Optimistic, I think it is worth trying someone else's or hiring one, just to try it out first, but I think you can see that it might not be the best equipment.

Don't get too hung up on losing weight. I guess you mean post-birth? You were made to gain some extra weight during pregnancy so you have a store of fat to use up during nursing. It is now recognised that being thin as a rake during pregnancy and nursing might not be in either your interests or the baby's interests.

Nursing is primarily a means of feeding your baby well. To do that you need the resources to do it. A woman in full lactation is in negative metabolism territory, ie she is putting out more calories in her milk than she is taking in. If you lose a lot of weight during nursing you are mobilising fat, and that means making it into milk and milk fat. This means that all the fat soluble chemical residues etc in your fatty tissue will be going out in your milk, into your baby. I am almost 100% sure this is correct. Sounds scary? Sure is! Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

Over now to all the women who are at baby making stage.

Louise

In Saving the Whole Woman, Christine gives recumbent exercise equipment as an example of what NOT to do when you have prolapse. It's all about the obtuse body angle putting the wrong kind of pressure on the organs.

Glad your prolapse is not stopping you from having another baby and also very glad you are getting results so quickly!
When you become pregnant again you will probably notice your prolapse more at first, then it will be better for a while and finally you will notice it again towards the end of the pregnancy. Just a guess of course- but heads up anyway.
As far as exercise goes, what did you do during your past pregnancies? I think the ww workout would be a great plan for exercise all during pregnancy.
The best way to avoid gaining excess weight is to avoid excess sugar intake. People usually do not gain excess weight eating fruits and vegetables, a bit of meat, or reasonable amounts of sprouted whole grains. It's sort of impossible to eat too much sprouted mung beans or sprouted almonds or too much apples or too much kefir etc etc.
Exercise for your cardiovascular health, for your balance and tone- eat for your baby and you will do fine!
and yes the stored fat/toxins relationship is exactly correct. Now just how much shows up in human milk is debatable and probably pretty individual- and of course depends on the chemical as well. Breastmilk is very protective and even when it does contain contaminants, it seeks to destroy them. Or so I've read ;)
Waiting for your baby to wean to shed excess fat (if you so desire to shed it, I'm totally not saying a person needs to do so) may not be what a person wants to do, in which case, go slow to minimize exposure.

Thank you for your advice. With my second pregnancy l think l had a first stage prolapse that none of the gyno told me about a month ago my Pt told me I had a prolapse. A couple of weeks ago while doing kegal exercises I developed a second stage prolapse. I was am 30 years old l planning to get pregnant in April may delay until July. What do people in similar situation advice? Since starting the ww exercises a week ago the heavy feeling is less but the prolapse is still in the same position l hope it moves. Previously after having a baby I would walk I lost sixteen kilos after my second baby by walking everyday. I don't know should I delay my pregnancy or get pregnant in April don't want it to become worst. I want to be really healthy and active through the next pregnancy.