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Expecting to Dance

Dancing Your Way to Fitness

By Heather V. Long

Dancing, dancing, dancing the days away! Gone are the days of expecting pregnant women to put their feet up and while away the hours of their pregnancy taking it easy. When I was pregnant, I would dance around the house to the sound of a little music especially when I was cleaning or just needed a mood lift to pick me up. There is something about flowing to the music that could easily de-stress me.

With a little bit of caution, you can achieve or maintain a level of fitness that would shock your grandmother. Dancing falls into the same category of good exercises as walking, swimming, biking, aerobics and yoga.

"The hospital offered a pregnancy exercise class twice a week and it was about $2 a class," says Jessica Durbin of Streator, Ill. "It was like aerobic dance – easy movements and good music. I also danced at home. I chose the class at the hospital because it was inexpensive and enjoyable to be with other pregnant women. I dance at home because I love music and it lifted my mood."

Exercise can help relieve stress and build stamina needed for labor and delivery. It's also worth mentioning that exercise can be very helpful in coping with the postpartum period. Exercise can help new mothers keep "baby blues" at bay, regain their energy and lose weight they gained during their pregnancy. There is also evidence that exercise can help prevent gestational diabetes.

Dance isn't recommended past the middle of a woman's second trimester as the waist begins to expand and the center of balance shifts. "The most important thing to remember about exercise is that if you've already been doing it prior to being pregnant, then it's fine in moderation," says Carrie Kirkpatrick, nurse practioner at Perfectly Female Women's Healthcare. "You want to keep the exercise low-impact because as the pregnancy progresses the risk of falling and injuring yourself is greater."

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Social Dancing: A Low-impact Exercise Secret for Moms-to-be
• Swaying to the Music: Dancing for Fitness and Fun
• Move That Belly!: Bellydancing During Pregnancy
• Talk about it!