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Exercise During Pregnancy

Surprise! It's Good for
Mom and Baby

By Kelly Burgess

Cindy Nelson of Birmingham, Ala., was dedicated to her workout routine before she got pregnant with her son Conner, now 2. But it was when she got pregnant that she became a fanatic.

"I had been with my sister when she went through labor and I found it utterly terrifying," says Nelson. "It was so much more difficult than she had been led to believe it would be. I knew I couldn't completely avoid it, but I wanted to try to be as much in control as possible. I really felt like being physically strong would be a big component of that control."

When Nelson did finally go through labor, hers went much more smoothly than her sister's had. Whether or not that had to do with her commitment to keeping her strength up, she doesn't know. What she does know is that afterward both she and the baby seemed to bounce back much more quickly than most women she knows who gave birth around the same time.

"I have two friends who had their babies within a month of mine," says Nelson. "At the six week mark, I was the only one who could actually fit into some of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and my baby was the only one that was sleeping for good stretches of time. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I'm planning to get pregnant again within the next six months and I'm already stepping up my strength training because I think it made a difference."

Research backs up Nelson's intuition. In his book Exercising Through Your Pregnancy (Addicus Books, 2002), Dr. James Clapp says studies show babies of women who exercise during pregnancy tolerate the stress of contractions better than the babies of women who stopped exercising during their pregnancies. These babies also seemed more mature at birth, with superior abilities to self-soothe and be more alert.

"While we don't know definitely the reason for these findings, there is ample evidence to conclude that maternal exercise impacts the fetus in positive ways," says Dr. Clapp.

Personal trainer Michael George, author of Body Express Makeover: Trim and Sculpt Your Body in Less Than Six Weeks

Want to see more?

• Multiply the Benefits: Exercise During a Multiples Pregnancy
• Battle of the Baby Bulge: Returning to Your Pre-pregnancy Weight
• Get Your Body Back: A Guide to Exercising After Baby
• Talk about it!

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