

She recommends starting with strength-building and getting cardio from the elliptical or stair climber first. “There are so many body changes your center of gravity is off, it doesn’t feel that good,” Dawson says. Want more tips to run strong through pregnancy? Read everything with Runner’s World+īut if you weren’t a runner before getting pregnant, it can be a challenging time to start. At the same time, increasing the amount of weekly exercise you get reduces the odds of developing pregnancy-related complications. Research backs this up: A 2020 study published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal found that engaging in physical activity during pregnancy reduces the odds of developing depression by 67 percent and reduces the severity of depressive symptoms.

“Women who exercise have easier, faster labors, they feel better postpartum, and their recovery is much quicker,” says Erin Dawson Chalat, M.D., an OB-GYN and runner in Maine. And despite some rumors, it won’t put you into labor, although it can help get you through it. Plus, as any of us knows, running can make you feel better and relieve anxiety-over carrying and caring for a new baby, perhaps. It may also improve your baby’s brain development. Doing so reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, preterm birth, pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), having a baby with high birth weight, and the need for a cesarean section. Should you lace up or rest up? How will pregnancy affect your running? Is running while pregnant safe? Here’s what you might expect when you’re running while pregnant.Įxercise throughout pregnancy-at least 20 to 30 minutes a day on most or all days-is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). You’re growing a tiny human inside of you, and you feel enormous, exhausted, nauseous, and like you need to pee every five minutes.
