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Multiply the Benefits

Exercise During a
Multiples Pregnancy

By Melissa Granberry

When you are pregnant with multiples, you can multiply many things: the amount of morning sickness you may have, the girth of your waistline and your abundance of joy. But what about multiplying the amount of exercise you need? Should you double your time at the gym or relax for nine months before the whirlwind of activity arrives?

Determining whether exercise is beneficial during your pregnancy may be confusing, according to Dr. Randy Morris, a board certified reproductive endocrinologist and associate clinical professor for the division of reproductive endocrinology at the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago.

What is causing all of this uncertainty? "The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) suggests that women pregnant with multiples refrain from aerobic exercise due to the high risk for potential problems," says Dr. Morris. "This information may be confusing because the recommendation for a singleton pregnancy is actually 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise a day."

Preterm labor is the potential problem that concerns physicians and their patients the most. So how do you determine if your pregnancy is too high risk for physical activity?

The first step is to talk to your doctor. "A woman who desires to stay active should communicate with her physician about her activity level throughout her pregnancy," says Nancy Bowers, R.N., president of Marvelous Multiples and author of The Multiple Pregnancy Sourcebook: Pregnancy and the First Days With Twins, Triplets and More (McGraw-Hill, 2001).

If you are given the "green light" by your obstetrician, there are a variety of activities that you can do to keep yourself fit and feeling good during the nine months of anticipation. "We recommend that a woman continue to be physically active during her pregnancy as long as she was active before the pregnancy," says Dr. Rebecca Moskwinski, executive vice president of the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs (NOMOTC). "This is not the time to start a new exercise routine."

Want to see more?

• Twins Today
• In the Swim of Things: Aqua Aerobics and Water Therapy During Pregnancy
• Keep Those Babies in There: Avoiding Premature Delivery With Twins
• Striving for a Healthy Pregnancy: Prenatal Care for Moms of Multiples
• Talk about it!

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