{"id":9003,"date":"2023-11-22T21:11:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T14:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=9003"},"modified":"2023-11-22T21:11:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T14:11:05","slug":"tips-for-listening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=9003","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Listening to Your Body During Pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"drop-cap text-big text-gray\"> <span class=\"drop-cap__first text-dropcap \">T<\/span>he language of exercise changes when you become pregnant. The exhortations most of us have been hearing since grade school gym class\u2014to &#8220;push yourself,&#8221; &#8220;give it your all,&#8221; &#8220;empty the tank&#8221;\u2014get replaced with encouragements to breathe, pause, keep that heart rate under control, connect with baby. More than anything, you&#8217;re told to \u201clisten to your body.\u201d This direction is the north star you&#8217;ll get from doctors and fitness instructors alike. And it&#8217;s generally empowering: It gives pregnant people agency to move in a way that feels good to them, rather than adhere to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/wellness\/in-new-report-doctors-urge-more-exercise-for-pregnant-women\/2017\/03\/21\/22cca796-0d73-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/wellness\/in-new-report-doctors-urge-more-exercise-for-pregnant-women\/2017\/03\/21\/22cca796-0d73-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html\">rigid and often outdated standards<\/a>.<\/div>\n<p>But in my own pregnancy, I\u2019ve found that \u201clistening to my body\u201d when I&#8217;m working out doesn&#8217;t always leave me feeling my best. Sometimes when I let my body guide my exercise, I still end up feeling overtired or under-challenged, gassed in totally novel ways, and even in pain or lightly injured. Those times have have left me feeling alienated from myself, frustrated, hurt, and upset\u2014but they&#8217;ve also required that I show myself more compassion than I\u2019ve ever had to before.<\/p>\n<h2>Listening to your body during pregnancy: The recommended approach to exercise<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acog.org\/clinical\/clinical-guidance\/committee-opinion\/articles\/2020\/04\/physical-activity-and-exercise-during-pregnancy-and-the-postpartum-period\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.acog.org\/clinical\/clinical-guidance\/committee-opinion\/articles\/2020\/04\/physical-activity-and-exercise-during-pregnancy-and-the-postpartum-period\">American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics (ACOG) recommends<\/a> that pregnant women get 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, which is the same recommendation that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/physicalactivity\/basics\/adults\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/physicalactivity\/basics\/adults\/index.htm\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gives all Americans<\/a>. According to ACOG, exercise is associated with multiple positive pregnancy health outcomes, such as reduced risk of blood pressure issues, better mental health, higher rates of vaginal birth, and more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content \" style=\"\" data-module-init=\"related-content\" data-module-immediate=\"\" v-cloak=\"\">\n<div class=\"related-content__wrapper \" v-cloak=\"\" :class=\"{'is-loaded':isLoaded}\">\n<p> <span class=\"inline pr-6 text-seafoam-dark\">Related Stories<\/span> <\/p>\n<p> <related-content class=\"related-content__links\" parent-article-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/listening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy\/\" current-title=\"When You\u2019re Exercising While Pregnant, \u2018Listening to Your Body\u2019 Isn\u2019t Always Enough\" current-image=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/WG_Editorial_When-Youre-Pregnant-Listening-to-Your-Body-Isnt-Always-Enough_feature-425x285_418x278_true_70.webp\" v-on:parsely-posts-loaded=\"onPostsLoaded\" start-date=\"2023-05-22\" tag=\"div\" inline-template=\"\" url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/listening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy\/\" secret=\"w5ztterVB03LGZJLfXS0hf3EvQBuFFIWew9hmVQxthU\" apikey=\"wellandgood.com\" limit=\"3\"> <\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"related-content__card mb-[10px] sm:mb-[20px]\" :class=\"{'related-content__card--full':posts.length === 1}\" v-for=\"(post, key) in posts\"> <a v-on:click.prevent=\"trackLinkGA($event, key)\" :href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/listening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy\/post.url\" data-url-source=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content__link\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content__card--image bg-tan\" :style=\"{ backgroundImage: 'url(' + post.image_url + ')' }\"> <img :src=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/listening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy\/post.image_url\" :alt=\"post.title\"\/> <\/div>\n<p> <\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/related-content> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Personally, in addition to these benefits, I wanted to keep exercising during my pregnancy because walking and hiking, lifting weights, running, and doing yoga are frankly just a big part of my life. Movement helps me get to sleep and reduces my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-anxiety\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/sleep-anxiety\/\">sleep anxiety<\/a>, clears my head, makes me feel accomplished and positive and energized. With so much changing in my body and in my life, it&#8217;s felt important to keep that part of me.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors support this approach to fitness during pregnancy. \u201c[For] somebody who is engaged in a regular exercise program, we see that it&#8217;s safe for them to continue that exercise program,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/thesterlinglife.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/thesterlinglife.com\/about\/\">Christine Sterling, MD<\/a>, an OB\/GYN and member of<a href=\"https:\/\/clicks.trx-hub.com\/xid\/leafgroup_ca5e0_wellgood?q=https%3A%2F%2Fouraring.sjv.io%2Fc%2F2372336%2F1408413%2F16760%3FsubId1%3DSTMSHL-1133145%26u%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fouraring.com%252Fmedical-advisory-board&amp;p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wellandgood.com%2Flistening-to-your-body-during-pregnancy%2F&amp;event_type=click\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/ouraring.com\/medical-advisory-board\" data-type=\"affiliateLink\" data-aff-intermediate=\"https:\/\/ouraring.sjv.io\/c\/2372336\/1408413\/16760?subId1=STMSHL-1133145&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fouraring.com%2Fmedical-advisory-board\"> Oura\u2019s medical advisory board<\/a>. \u201cIf you feel comfortable and you feel that you&#8217;re not exerting yourself too much and you&#8217;re not experiencing pain, we&#8217;re not going to tell you, &#8216;Oh, you can&#8217;t do that kind of exercise.&#8217;\u201d As a result of this guidance, fitness offerings for pregnant people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/maternity-fitness-industry\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/maternity-fitness-industry\/\">have proliferated<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;In pregnancy, our relationship with our body has to change, and this is really difficult.&#8221; \u2014Christine Sterling, MD<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>My fluctuating energy levels have meant that I\u2019m definitely doing more walking than running these days; I still want to exercise, but not as much or as intensely as I did pre-pregnancy. It&#8217;s been an adjustment, but not a huge one, to modify my effort and my goals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of exercise is like, okay, I&#8217;m going to get to that other side of the runner&#8217;s high, I&#8217;m going to get through this difficulty,\u201d Dr. Sterling says. \u201cBut we really want people listening to their bodies in pregnancy and not pushing past pain. Your blood volume is increased, your heart rate\u2014the actual stroke volume\u2014is increased, your heart is actually doing more work, your cardiovascular system is already stressed and [in] your respiratory system, you don&#8217;t have the same respiratory reserve. It&#8217;s already kind of working at its maximum. So we don&#8217;t want somebody to exert themselves to the point where they&#8217;re impacting their body&#8217;s ability to function.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Easy enough advice to follow, right? If something hurts or is difficult, stop. If you\u2019re getting out of breath, pause. (Dr. Sterling recommends using the talk test: You should still be able to have a conversation during the exercise you\u2019re doing.)<\/p>\n<p>Where the train has come off the tracks for me is when I\u2019ve thought I was following advice about listening to your body during pregnancy, and my body still reacted in unpredictable ways.<\/p>\n<h2>When listening to my body wasn&#8217;t enough<\/h2>\n<p>Take a recent Saturday afternoon doubles <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-pickleball\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-pickleball\/\">pickleball<\/a> match I played during the end of my second trimester. It\u2019s not something I do regularly, but doubles pickleball (a beloved pastime of senior citizens) is not the most strenuous of sports. I also instituted pregnancy rules: I was allowed to hit off of a double bounce, no one was allowed to serve too hard to me (or the point was mine), if I hit <em>near<\/em> the line, my ball was in. It felt great to slice, compete, talk trash, and spend an afternoon outside being active. When I was starting to feel tired, I told the group it was my last game. Way to set limits and listen to my body, right?<\/p>\n<p>One hour later I was on the couch, depleted and horizontal. I was brain dead and exhausted from head to toe. Most troublingly, my hip joints felt like jelly. I could barely hoist myself off the couch let alone stand upright because I felt I couldn\u2019t put pressure on the joints, like they were about to collapse underneath me. Recovery took days.<\/p>\n<p>Pregnancy, of course, played a role. Dr. Sterling explains that lactic acid takes longer to clear during pregnancy, so your muscles might feel sore for a longer amount of time. Higher amounts of the hormones progesterone and relaxin make your joints and ligaments looser, so \u201cthey&#8217;re going to ache more because there&#8217;s more movement in them.\u201d Running around for an hour until I got tired felt fine\u2014fun!\u2014in the moment, but it turned out to be more than my muscles, joints, and cardiovascular system could handle after the fact.<\/p>\n<p>Pickleball wasn&#8217;t the only time I\u2019ve felt let down by my limits: In month six of my pregnancy, I set out for a walk-run, which I had done multiple times. At around the 30-minute mark, pain exploded on my right side, and I had to stay off my feet for a week. Apparently, my stomach had gotten big enough that one of the ligaments around my uterus was simply not up to the task of supporting the bouncing load for half an hour anymore. Once I was recovered a few weeks later, I tried again, intending to stop well before the point where my side had started hurting. The pain came after just 10 minutes that time, and I had to limp my way home.<\/p>\n<p>Then there&#8217;s the way I sometimes have to choose between having the energy to get exercise or get my work done, the pain in my feet that blooms when I\u2019m wearing what are normally my most comfortable pair of walking shoes, the energy crash that happens at the farthest point of my favorite walking route despite feeling totally up for a walk of that length at the outset. In these instances, \u201clistening to my body\u201d has simply not been enough guidance.<\/p>\n<p>My body and I have had over 30 years to develop our vernacular. I\u2019ve learned how to tune in to the signals and feedback that tell me what kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-intuitive-movement\/\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-vars-event=\"body text\" data-vars-click-url=\"https:\/\/www.wellandgood.com\/what-is-intuitive-movement\/\">movement I\u2019m in the mood for<\/a> and for how long, whether I want to push through fatigue or give myself a rest, when I\u2019ve had enough of an activity or when I\u2019ve got another mile, another game, another set in me. But now, my body doesn\u2019t always have the language to express what it needs. How is it supposed to say, \u201cHey, my joints are loose, my muscles take longer to recover,\u201d when my joints and muscles haven&#8217;t behaved that way for the last 30 years?<\/p>\n<p>Ideally, we\u2019d be able to work with our doctors to keep us informed and feeling tip-top day in and day out, but Dr. Sterling says the fact that most OBs have just 10 minutes to see patients each appointment means \u201cone size fits all\u201d advice about what to do or not do is the most common type dispensed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re in an imperfect situation of how to really guide people,\u201d Dr. Sterling says. \u201cWe have a paucity of data because back in the very paternalistic white male days of OB\/GYN, the advice was, &#8216;Oh no, pregnant women, don&#8217;t exert yourselves.&#8217; We were overly protective, I think. And so there were many, many years where no studies were done looking at this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Which leaves us with little more advice than listening to your body during pregnancy.<\/p>\n<h2>How to be a better &#8216;listener&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019ve been surprised at how emotional I become in the moments where listening to my body hasn&#8217;t been enough. It feels like my body has betrayed me by giving out, or that I&#8217;m losing touch with my sturdy and spirited identity, my capability and my strength. It also feels like a personal failing, like I have been negligent in taking good enough care of myself and my growing baby in pursuit of, what, a temporary endorphin rush? How could I be so irresponsible?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In pregnancy, our relationship with our body has to change, and this is really difficult,&#8221; Dr. Sterling says.<\/p>\n<p>Though this period is temporary, how do we bridge the gap? I don\u2019t have the ultimate answer, but I\u2019ve instituted a few things in recent weeks that are helping me to stay active without beating myself up.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Be prepared for changes<\/h3>\n<p>The first thing I&#8217;ve learned is to roll with the punches and internalize the idea that pregnancy is an individual experience where the rules of the game are under a constant renegotiation. When I walked home at the end of that second failed walk-run, I felt dejected. But I also felt more resigned than the first time I got hurt, because it was simply time to face the fact that my belly was now too big to run with. Sure, Charlotte York could keep running in the <em>Sex and the City<\/em> movie when she was pregnant. But it no longer worked for me and my ligaments. Change: noted.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Notice how your body reacts, and reassess<\/h3>\n<p>I&#8217;ve learned to take stock of my body&#8217;s reactions. For instance, I stopped playing pickleball soon after I got tired. That\u2019s the time frame I\u2019d always used pre-pregnancy to know when to end a workout: When you feel tired, go a little bit more, then you\u2019re done. Now, I know that formula is too much for me. I have to stop before the point where I get tired, and not wait until I\u2019m waning. Taking lessons when things don\u2019t go 100 percent to plan can help guide me for next time.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Get curious<\/h3>\n<p>Learning more about what&#8217;s happening &#8220;under the hood&#8221; has helped me have more compassion for my limits. I&#8217;m not just a delicate baby-making vessel who can&#8217;t do what I used to. I&#8217;m pumping more blood at a higher stroke rate in order to send nutrients to the placenta (which is a a whole new organ I grew, by the way), my joints are loosening to prepare me for the task of labor, my three centimeter\u2013long cervix is having to withstand pounds and pounds of pressure it&#8217;s never had to support before. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increasing my knowledge about why my body might react differently than it used to is helping me become a more understanding and proactive listener. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>4. Know you&#8217;ll be okay<\/h3>\n<p>Lastly, I&#8217;ve started to have faith in my resilience. When I strained my ligament, turned my hip joints to jelly, or found myself on the couch, I eventually got better. It\u2019s never the goal to end up wrecked and in pain. But if you&#8217;re already making an effort to listen to your body, it\u2019s not usually the end of the world, either. I\u2019m lucky to be strong and healthy, and in this time where the ground is shifting under my feet, I\u2019m not always going to feel great. But I\u2019ll be okay.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The language of exercise changes when you become pregnant. The exhortations most of us have been hearing since grade school gym class\u2014to &#8220;push yourself,&#8221; &#8220;give it your all,&#8221; &#8220;empty the tank&#8221;\u2014get replaced with encouragements to breathe, pause, keep that heart rate under control, connect with baby. More than anything, you&#8217;re told to \u201clisten to your &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}