Benefits of swimming during pregnancy for health and wellness
Swimming for pregnant women: 10 benefits for mother and baby
Swimming for pregnant women is a very complete physical activity and provides multiple benefits for both the mother and our baby .
You are surely aware of the importance of taking care of our health to have a full life free from pain and discomfort. For this reason, in addition to the benefits of water, here I explain exercises for pregnant women: what to do and not to do in each trimester of your pregnancy.
Pregnancy is a time in our lives when we must take special care of both our physical and emotional health, and swimming for pregnant women is an ideal activity to put this into practice.
Whether you love to exercise or you're not really into sports, try moving in the water! It's great for us, it brings us many benefits and, in addition, it's very rewarding to move in this environment.
Keep reading and I'll tell you how swimming can help pregnant women and I'll suggest specific exercises that will be great for you!
10 benefits of swimming for pregnant women
1. Relieves pressure on the pelvic area
The hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and cause the distension of ligaments and joints of the pelvis congest our pelvic area. If we add to this the weight of our belly that falls on our pelvic floor and the disconnection with our abdominal girdle, we may experience pressures in the pelvis that are not at all pleasant.
Swimming for pregnant women allows us to give mobility to the hip and to work the glutes and abdominal girdle , which helps us to relieve and prevent discomfort, releasing and strengthening the ligaments and joints that have already accumulated an overload during the months of pregnancy.
2. Reduces lower back pain
As pregnancy progresses, our belly becomes more noticeable, it grows, and our center of gravity changes. These physiological changes are accompanied by external rotations of the hip and, to compensate for them, we tend to adopt postures that compromise our lumbar area.
Excessive tension in the lumbar region can be relieved by strengthening the abdominal girdle through swimming exercises for pregnant women.
3. Improves muscle tone
Swimming for pregnant women offers us the resistance of water that allows us to strengthen all the muscles by working only with our own weight and minimizing the risk of injury.
In addition, this medium offers us resistance in different directions , so the muscle work is much more complete and helps us improve the muscle tone of both arms, back and legs!
4. Increases cardiovascular capacity
Swimming for pregnant women is an excellent aerobic exercise . It trains your body's ability to respond to an activity that requires effort, without becoming excessively tired.
By swimming for pregnant women and doing exercises in the water, we will prepare our heart to pump enough oxygen that our body needs to be able to perform the exercise. If we train this ability, we will get tired less during daily tasks.
5. You will get less tired by increasing respiratory resistance
To swim while pregnant, you need to know how to breathe efficiently so as not to get overly tired. When we breathe, we supply oxygen to our body and although it is an action that we repeat many times throughout the day, and throughout our lives, we rarely pay attention to how we are doing it.
By putting our respiratory system in order, we will feel less tired . In addition, accompanying labor with our breathing will make it easier for us to push more effectively and we will be able to better accompany the contractions.
6. Better blood circulation
Varicose veins , swollen ankles and leg cramps often occur during pregnancy . Lying flat helps blood circulation and can prevent these discomforts.
I encourage you to do the swimming routines for pregnant women that I suggest below in this article to improve blood circulation, keep reading!
7. Increases our state of relaxation and improves sleep quality
At the end of our swimming routine for pregnant women we feel relaxed and synchronized with our breathing, releasing serotonin naturally.
Serotonin, called the happiness hormone , helps us sleep better by making us feel at peace.
In addition, it regulates food intake, because by calming anxiety, we do not feel the need to eat unless we are really hungry.
8. Generates the release of endorphins, providing better well-being for mother and baby
Another hormone released by physical activity is endorphins ! We feel so good when we finish doing physical exercise, don't we?
We get a rush that makes us feel full and gives us energy for the rest of the day. Besides, doing exercises in the water is a lot of fun and life, full of routines, is sometimes boring enough, right?
9. Control weight gain and feel more agile and energetic
Increased appetite and fatigue , especially in the first and third trimester, are quite common.
The hormones we secrete during pregnancy, and the imbalance that occurs between them, cause us to feel more anxious and hungrier than usual. In addition, there is a widespread idea that we must eat for two, or that we must satisfy our cravings because if we don't, our little one will have birthmarks.
In the end, if we don't put our diet and exercise in order, we get into an endless cycle of eating foods, or rather products, that satisfy our hedonic hunger rather than nourishing us (industrial products, sugar, bread, pastries...). If we get into this vicious circle of compulsive eating, our digestive system will always be working, causing inflammation in our immune system and making us feel like not moving or doing physical activity.
Get out of this loop by doing swimming for pregnant women and you will see that everything falls into place.
10. Increase your confidence for childbirth
In the final stretch of your pregnancy, you are likely to be overcome with fear and insecurity if you do not feel prepared to face one of the most magical moments of your life. Will I know how to do it well? Will I be able to cope with the pain? Will it be too long? Will I be able to bear it? Uncertainty can cause us stress , anxiety and fear , and if we feel this way, we do not allow ourselves to generate the oxytocin we need to start labor.
Learning to control your breathing and having prepared your body physically gives you a feeling of control and security, removing uncertainty and making you feel prepared for how this magical day may unfold.
“Swimming for pregnant women prepares you physically and mentally to have body awareness and increase self-confidence”
Here I give you The Empowered Motherhood Guide : Download our guide with advice on postpartum, breastfeeding and caring for your baby.
But not everything is worth it in swimming for pregnant women
Water is a fantastic way to do physical activity during pregnancy, but not everything is acceptable! Pay attention, I will explain in which situations it is better to avoid this type of sport and what you should take into account if you decide to do swimming for pregnant women.
First of all, listen to your doctor's recommendations. If you suffer from a high-risk pregnancy , threat of premature birth or any other pathology that prevents you from doing physical exercise, I invite you to take care of yourself in a gentler way that does not affect your well-being or that of your baby.
Some swimming styles are not recommended if you are pregnant. The crawl, breaststroke and backstroke can bring you many benefits, some are more demanding than others, so I recommend that you listen to your body and practice the one that makes you feel best.
However, the butterfly is a very demanding swimming style in which you must make a significant effort with the upper body and can compromise your abdominal and lumbar girdle, because it requires great coordination with breathing and body movement.
We will leave the use of trampolines or vigorous jumping for once we are fully fit and recovered from the postpartum period. Acrobatics are also not recommended at this time, as we could hurt ourselves. Remember that our body is changing and our joints are more lax due to the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
We must use common sense and, before jumping into the pool, take a shower and enter slowly to avoid sudden changes in temperature .
Exercise gradually as your body needs it. Water is wonderful for physical activity, but that doesn't mean you have to do all the exercises at once and at maximum intensity. Remember that during pregnancy you have to work your body and respect the feeling of tiredness of 7-8 out of 10.
When swimming for pregnant women, we must avoid respiratory apneas . Thus, at the rhythm of your breathing, you can submerge your head while exhaling the air and return to the surface to inhale.
Why do swimming for pregnant women?
Taking into account all the things we can do and what we should avoid, I will explain everything you need to know if you decide to do swimming for pregnant women.
As we have already seen, swimming for pregnant women brings us many benefits.
Water is a very interesting medium for physical activity during pregnancy . Floating and the change in gravity in the water improves our mobility. When we get into the water, we weigh less, we feel lighter and back pain is relieved.
Especially towards the end of pregnancy, it is a very welcome option because we usually feel very heavy and do not feel like moving too much. If you are in this moment, I also share with you more about exercises for pregnant women in the third trimester.
And if the last trimester of your pregnancy coincides with summer, swimming for pregnant women is undoubtedly a great option to get moving while cooling off .
In the water, efforts are easier and you will be exercising your whole body without it being a great sacrifice.
When to start swimming for pregnant women?
There is no specific time during pregnancy when swimming is more or less advisable for pregnant women.
I suggest that when you feel well you can incorporate this beneficial activity into your daily life.
Without forcing it, but keeping in mind that exercise during pregnancy is very rewarding and beneficial for both you and your baby, listen to your body and what it needs.
Symptoms during the first trimester of pregnancy sometimes do not encourage us to continue with our normal pace of life. Here is an article where we talk about the most frequent symptoms and how to combat them.
I have decided… Now what do I do?
Sometimes just going swimming can be monotonous and if it's not your favourite sport, you might get bored of always doing the same thing. That's why I'm going to explain some pool routines for pregnant women that I hope you'll like and that will help you feel better!
Leg routine in the pool for pregnant women
Strength training in water is a great way to strengthen your body and prepare it for the day of delivery!
I'll explain three exercises to exercise your legs with a pool noodle.
1. Keeping good posture, push the donut down with one foot. Inhale as you bend your leg and exhale as you extend it. Repeat with the other leg.
2. External hip rotation . Hip mobility during pregnancy is very important to avoid discomfort in the pubis and to help our pelvis open for the birth of our baby.
3. Pointe exercise to activate the posterior chain and improve circulation. We have already explained the discomfort that can occur due to poor blood circulation. Try this exercise and tell me how you feel!
In this video I show you how to do them correctly
Routine for pregnant women on the pool stairs
If you have a pool with a ladder, you can do these three exercises that I suggest:
1. Go up and down stairs while maintaining good posture. This way you will work on your posture and increase your heart rate by working on your cardiovascular capacity.
2. Triceps . Don't forget to work your arms during pregnancy. It's very important that you coordinate this with your breathing. Inhale as you bend your elbows and exhale as you extend them! Your back should always be straight and your abdominal girdle well present.
3. Deep squat , which will help you prepare for childbirth. This exercise is great for preparing your glutes, mobilizing your hips and working on endurance for the day of your delivery.
In this link you can take a good look at how we do the exercises that I just explained to you.
Arms routine in the pool advanced level
And if you have good control of your abdominal girdle , you can add these arm exercises that I show you in this video to your regular swimming routine for pregnant women .
Pay attention to the position of your body, your breathing and enjoy the great abdominal girdle work that we achieve.
I invite you to incorporate strength training in the water. After finishing the routine you like the most, you can add a few laps swimming in the style you like the most: crawl, breaststroke or backstroke. You have different routines to combine!
If, in addition to swimming for pregnant women, you feel like doing some exercise outside the water, here are 6 exercises with a pilates ball for pregnant women.
I hope you liked everything I explained and that you are encouraged to incorporate strength exercises both in and out of the water. We can help you have a good pregnancy and connect with your body by doing strength exercises, cardiovascular work and mobility to be prepared for childbirth.
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