Once upon a time, pregnancy was considered a delicate condition during which mothers needed to rest and remain indoors. While that is still true to some extent (proper sleep and self-care at home are crucial), these days women are encouraged not to see pregnancy as an illness of sorts but as a life stage during which they should continue to eat, take supplements, manage stress, and even exercise as they (ideally) did during the months before they conceived. Pregnancy exercise can be a minefield of a topic. If you were a serious athlete before, slowing down can take some adjustment. Other mums may feel the weekly target of at least 150 minutes recommended by RCOG and the College of Nursing, among others, is a big ask. If you have a history of miscarriage or other complications, physical exertion of any kind in pregnancy can feel nerve-wracking and have you asking, “Why is daily exercise in pregnancy so important?” Well, there are a number of reasons, including:

Healthy weight management
Hormone, sleep, and appetite regulation
Circulation boosting
Blood pressure management
Mental and emotional health
Respiratory health
Preparation for labour and birth
Alleviation of pregnancy aches and pains
A stronger postpartum period
A quicker post-birth recovery (potentially, it’s very important to be kind to yourself around this time as recovery time is highly individualised and the need for longer recuperation doesn’t mean you are unfit).

Antenatal classes can teach you simple and safe exercises to improve your late pregnancy health and prepare you for labour and birth. These should include pelvic floor exercises, which you should do daily in pregnancy and can usually begin again the day after birth (though seek advice from this from your midwife, particularly if you’ve had an episiotomy or a catheter removed). Lots of women enjoy antenatal yoga, which has proven benefits for pregnancy and is thought to help with labour and birth (though more study is needed in this area), and unii offers resources on antenatal yoga postures you can try after seeking medical approval. This article covers some gentle exercises you should be able to do safely every day in late pregnancy, though it is still very important to speak to your doctor or midwife about any contraindications.

Strengthening exercises

Squats

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forward, and arms out to counterbalance. It's important to maintain the strength in your trunk, your hips, and your back during pregnancy. With the growth of the baby, your back could start to move backwards and your shoulders could round.

The weight of the baby takes on mechanical changes, and so does the weight of enhanced breast changes. So with a squat, feet shoulder-width apart, toes forward, arms out to counterbalance, lower your tailbone down to the floor, making sure the knees do not go past the toes, but sticking out your butt, dropping your pelvis down, and coming back up.

The idea is to lower your hips down as low as comfortable and for what the body allows, dropping down so that the thighs are parallel to the floor, breathing exhaling as you come down, inhaling as you come up, keeping the chest open and the eyes forward. Complete 15 repetitions at your own pace.

Wall push-ups

Place your hands up against the wall shoulder-width apart, the bend of my wrist even with my shoulders. My back is straight, and my toes are about 12 inches from the wall.

Bend your elbows and start to lower your shoulders, your hips, and your ankles towards the wall. Make sure that you breathe, exhaling on the way out and inhaling on the way in. Lower your nose about an inch from the wall.

Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. If you find that your wall position is not comfortable enough, you can make it a little more difficult and challenging by stepping further away from the wall, lowering your hands down, and then bringing your chest to the wall. Complete 15 repetitions.

Duck walk

Start by kneeling down. You can place a pillow under the knee for support.

Place one foot on the ground so that your hip will open 90 degrees and sideways. Then do the other foot.

Start slowly taking small baby steps forward and diagonal to your body. Make sure that your legs are wide and your feet are firmly planted on the ground. You can hold your partner's hands or place your hands on a ball or the floor for support.

Once you have completed 10 steps, you can take a rest. Do this exercise as long as you can.

Pelvic tilt

Sit nice and tall in your chair with your feet square on the floor.

Pull your tummy in towards your spine, flattening your back against the back of the chair.

Hold for 4 seconds.

Release gently and repeat up to 10 times.

The Clam

Find a pillow to lie on and help maintain a neutral spine and the cervical and thoracic spine while you do this set. Start with your legs together (laying on your side), bending your knees to your hips. Keep your free hand stacked on top of the hips to maintain the neutral position.

Keeping your feet glued together, lift the top knee off the bottom and bring it back down. Exhale as you come up; inhale as you come down.

If the lower leg tenses up as you lift the top leg, you've lifted the leg too high. If your hips start to roll and your shoulders roll back, you've lifted the top leg too high.

Drawing your navel into your spine, squeeze your backside. Exhale as you lift up; inhale as you come down.

Complete 15 repetitions on this side and then switch for another 15 on the other side.

Cool-down

If you are doing exercise that has you lying down, get up slowly to allow your blood pressure to adapt and avoid dizziness or falls. The cool-down is as important as the warm-up, so continue to exercise at a lower intensity for five minutes and do some gentle stretches. You can also cool down by taking a brief walk.

What is my pelvic floor, and how do I know I’m doing pelvic floor exercises correctly?

Your pelvic floor muscles stretch from the pubic bone at the front of your pelvis to the base of your spine at the back. They help with posture and support your bowel, womb, and bladder.

The best cue for activating the pelvic floor muscles is to draw in your back passage as though you’re holding in wind. Check that you’re not holding your breath and that your tummy muscles aren’t doing anything. Hold for then seconds, rest for four seconds, and then repeat.

It is important to exercise your pelvic floor muscles during and after pregnancy to keep them strong. This is proven to reduce the length of labour and can lower the chance of leaking urine postpartum when you cough, sneeze, or jump on a trampoline.

You can exercise them at any time of day, wherever you are, without anybody knowing. You could try doing them every time you put the kettle on. If you’re worried that you aren’t exercising the right muscles, put your thumb into the vagina and try the exercises to check. You should feel a gentle squeeze as the pelvic floor muscle contracts. Pelvic exercises taught by a specialist physio can be far superior to figuring it out by yourself if you are having trouble, especially if you have pelvic irregularities or need an assessment for some other medical reason.

For more advice on taking care of yourself in pregnancy, labour, and birth, check out Unii’s Antenatal Classes, with prenatal video episodes taught by senior NHS midwives, an award-winning obstetrician and gynaecologist, and six other leading healthcare experts. Only at unii.com.

Essential Antenatal Class Exercises for Expectant Mothers