Women worry that bad things will happen if they exercise while pregnant, but doctors say in almost all cases it’s not just safe, but can improve health. Being pregnant can sometimes feel like traversing a minefield of advice: You want to do the right thing for your baby and yourself, but conflicting input from physicians, relatives, friends and even total strangers makes it difficult to know exactly what is helpful and what is potentially harmful.
A group of researchers want women to know that when it comes to exercise, there is a strong consensus of benefit for both the mother and developing fetus.
“Within reason, with adequate cautions, it’s important for [everyone] to get over this fear,” says Alejandro Lucia, a professor of exercise physiology at the European University of Madrid, an author of the viewpoint published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. To read more from KATHERINE HOBSON, click here.