Activity During Pregnancy

If a close friend of mine just received a positive reading on a home pregnancy test I would try and give her as much information as I could to help her have a healthy pregnancy. Some activities that are performed during pregnancy can impact the development and health of her child. Depending on how far along she is in the pregnancy can determine the activities that she can involve herself in. It is in fact okay to be physically active during pregnancy. Some benefits that physical activity can have during and after pregnancy include maintaining a healthy weight, and keeping the heart and lungs healthy (Healthy Pregnant of Postpartum Women). Eating healthy is an activity that all expecting mothers should be involved in. What is consumed by the …show more content…
This takes action more towards the second trimester rather than earlier in the pregnancy. The simple explanation to this is that the weight of the fetus, uterus, and all of the fluid can potentially cut off the blood supply to the baby and the mother (Loeb). To go more in depth, the body’s biggest veins that transports blood back to the heart from every part of the body that is below the chest (Loeb). This vein runs beneath the uterus and as the baby grows bigger, laying flat on your back can cause this vein to collapsed from all the weight put to the vein. This causes the blood not to return to the heart and the blood pumped to the baby decreases drastically. There are also other activities and exercises that should be avoided by expecting mothers. Any activities that may cause you to fall. Falling can put the mother and baby at risk. Some activities that should be avoided include horseback riding, skiing, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, etc.(Pregnancy & …show more content…
When these activities are performed by the mothers who are carrying a baby, the baby is at very high risk for medical problems. Drinking alcohol can result in fetal alcohol syndrome, the babies that suffer from this often have decreased brain function since the neurons were damaged by the alcohol (Hughes). Smoking cigarettes damages the placenta and the placenta is the way the fetus receives nutrients and oxygen. Smoking while pregnant can lead to premature births, number of birth defects, and can even lead to the death of the infant (Life-span & Human Development). All drugs can effect the fetus and often cause birth defects. Anything that can harm the mother will also harm the