When you’re pregnant and carrying up to 20 pounds of extra weight, exercise will be the last thing on your mind.

But when you’re in a pool or any water body for that matter, your weight drops to a tenth of what you generally weigh. This means that you’ll be bobbing around weightlessly, feeling rather lithe and taking the weight off your feet, which will be a real treat, that’s for sure.

In fact, swimming might be the perfect activity for women who are expecting. It will relieve you from several common aches and pains of pregnancy.

In this piece, we’ve discussed several benefits along with safety tips that’ll convince you why swimming is perfect during pregnancy.

Benefits

Swimming is a rather mild way to exercise for half an hour as a part of your prenatal workout regime without straining your joints too much.  

It not only benefits you in several fitness-related ways but it also gives your tired joints and muscles much-needed relief. It also helps with the following:

• Alleviating swelling in foot and ankle
• Relieve you off sciatic pain
• Decrease morning sickness
• Keeps you cool, calm and collected
• Improve your labor experience

Staying Safe While Swimming

Mentioned below are few tips that will help you skirt around any potential dangers during pregnancy:

Research your water

Find out if the body of water you will be entering is safe to swim in as this will help you keep any water-borne illnesses at bay.

Mostly, public beaches are perfectly fine but where smaller water bodies are concerned, it will do you good to be rather cautious.

When working out, do yourself a favor and stick with workouts that have pools which are chlorinated properly.

Watch your step and be careful always

Keep in mind that baby belly tends to throw off your center of gravity. So be extra careful when you walk on surfaces that are even slightly slippery. Yes, pool decks and locker rooms also count.

Refrain from holding your breath

Your baby has to be properly oxygenated at all times, so ensure that you keep breathing continuously and steadily whenever you go for a swim.

Hydrate yourself well

When you go swimming, you sweat but what with being drenched, you won’t really notice it like you generally would if you went on a run. Because you sweat when you swim, you risk overheating yourself.

So make sure that you drink at least 500 ml of water about an hour before you start working out. Also, place a water bottle right at the edge of the pool and take sips in between your swim sessions.

Feed yourself

Irrespective of your workout routines, you’ll require about 300 extra calories every day to power your pregnancy in the second trimester and about 500 when you step into the third trimester.

Your calorie intake will vary according to the distance and duration of your swims along with your weight and other factors. So it will be best if you have a personal trainer in London to oversee your workout sessions and also keep a watch on what you eat.

They can also help you to lay down specific guidelines so you know the dos and don’ts perfectly well.

You have to eat your pre-workout snack at least 30 minutes before you dive in then have a protein-rich snack once you’re done.

Workouts For Expecting Mothers While Swimming

Irrespective of whether you’ve swum before as an exercise, diving into a pool can be a daunting aspect without having something planned beforehand.

If you’re finding it difficult to wade through, just float around and do stretch once you get out of the pool.

Signs That Tell You It’s Time To Stop Swimming

Irrespective of your level and extent of prenatal fitness, swimming is tasking and draining. This means it’s alright to experience pains as you paddle through the water with your baby belly.

At the end of the day, you’re the best judge of your state and you’ll know where to draw the line. So if you experience any sharp sudden pains, have difficulty in breathing, vaginal bleeding or if you feel dizzy or contractions, you must stop what working out immediately.

If you feel that anything is not normal, get in touch with your doctor so that you can be attended to without any delay.