Mama, did you know that physical activity during your pregnancy is not only healthy for you and your precious baby, but it may also help to improve your baby's I.Q.?
There are many physiological benefits to exercising during your pregnancy. Spiritually, your incredible body is a temple which you can honor God by caring for it through exercise. God designed your beautiful body to not only carry life, but to aid in the development of specific structures such as the brain. Continue reading to discover some of the ways exercise not only benefits your health during pregnancy, but also your growing baby!
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." ~1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Let's Get That Temple Movin' Mama!
Whew! That first trimester is often a doozy! Well, now that you may be on your way to feeling better, it's time to consider ways to physically care for your temple as your darling baby grows safely within your womb. Before beginning or continuing with any exercise regimen or intense physical activity, you should discuss it with your medical provider. Both The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that pregnant women ideally get 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise per week, which equates to roughly 21-22 minutes per day. I encourage mamas to aim for at least 30-minutes of moderately-intense exercise per day.
Aerobic exercise helps to improve your heart health by strengthening the heart's muscles and blood vessels. This type of exercise improves the cardiovascular system's ability to utilize and transport oxygen, meaning that oxygenated blood travels to your muscles and organs more quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, the more forceful your heart is beating, the higher the amount of blood transported throughout your body (Short and Long Term Effects of Exercise on the Cardiovascular System, 2015). As you continue to exercise, your heart and lungs become more efficient at utilizing oxygen and transporting it throughout the body; improved circulation results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate (How Exercise Helps the Heart, n.d.). When you have a reduced resting heart rate, your heart is not working as hard. Thus, this can also lead to lowered blood pressure.
So, why is this important? As a pregnant mama, your heart must be strong because it works twice as hard to circulate blood throughout your body and to your developing baby (Khianey, 2020). When your heart is healthy, it can withstand this extra workload. As early as the first trimester, your heart begins pumping out more blood, causing your blood volume to increase by 40% -50% to help nourish your developing baby (Khianey, 2020). Furthermore, your heart rate may begin to increase by 10 to 15 beats per minute, and your blood pressure typically decreases due to hormones and changes in blood flow (Khianey, 2020). Thus, your heart must be healthy enough to withstand the added work it has to do to keep both you and your baby alive and sustained.
During labor, your heart will be working increasingly hard to support the transport of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to your muscles and organs, especially those needed to help you push your baby out. Your lungs will also be taking in more oxygen. Thus, regular aerobic exercise can strengthen your heart and lungs, increase your stamina, and help you to feel stronger as you labor.
Need A Mood Boost, Mama?
Another benefit of exercise during pregnancy is that it can boost your mood. Who doesn't want that? When you exercise, your levels of serotonin increase. Serotonin, scientifically known as 5-hydroxytryptamine, is a monoamine (contains one amino group) neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that is produced within the central nervous system (CNS), possibly the brain stem and is located within the brain (Guy-Evans, 2021). It is responsible for stabilizing moods, feelings of happiness, and well-being (What is Serotonin, n.d.). It is also found within the gastrointestinal tract (GI), aiding in bladder control and bowel movements. Furthermore, it helps maintain sexual function, bone health, eating, and healing wounds by clotting blood (Guy-Evans, 2021). Serotonin also aids in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle, and getting enough exercise can help improve your overall quality of sleep. Within the brain, serotonin (combined with other hormones) helps to reduce anxiety and decreases depression. In addition to serotonin, your body releases hormones called endorphins to help boost your mood and reduce your perception of pain when you exercise.
Less Pain? Yes, Please!
Exercising can also help mitigate pelvic and back pain, a common discomfort that women experience during pregnancy because the body is releasing endorphins while strengthening those muscles. Therefore, when you exercise, you receive hormones that help you be in a more upbeat mood and have a more positive outlook. As a bonus, those endorphins will influence how you perceive and experience pain during labor. Exercising will also help to reduce your postpartum recovery time (remember how serotonin helps wounds heal?).
How Does Exercise Impact Your Baby's Brain?
Exercise may boost brain-derived neurotrophic-factor, a chemical released during exercise, and is associated with better brain function in adults. Bathina and Das (2015) explained that "brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in neuronal survival and growth, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory. It is widely expressed in the CNS, gut, and other tissues. Medline Plus (2021) explained, " The BDNF gene provides instructions for making a protein found in the brain and spinal cord called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This protein promotes the survival of nerve cells (neurons) by playing a role in the growth, maturation (differentiation), and maintenance of these cells. In the brain, the BDNF protein is active at the connections between nerve cells (synapses), where cell-to-cell communication occurs. The synapses can change and adapt over time in response to experience, a characteristic called synaptic plasticity. The BDNF protein helps regulate synaptic plasticity, which is important for learning and memory."
More recently studied is the association between a mama's physical activity during her pregnancy and her child's intelligence quotient (I.Q.). In a study conducted by Domingues et al. (2014), the researchers found that babies born to physically active mothers during their pregnancy had slightly higher I.Q. scores, by 5 points, at 12 months, but no association at 48 months. Other studies have shown that prenatal exercise can improve your baby's I.Q. Children of mothers who were physically active during pregnancy have also demonstrated better communication skills (Jukic, et al., 2013). Overall, studies indicate that an absence of physical activity during pregnancy does not adversely impact a baby's neurodevelopment; however, exercising while pregnant has increased positive effects on a baby's brain development. It is hypothesized that when a mama exercises and produces BDNF, it may also be transferred to her baby via the umbilical cord, improving her developing baby's neurodevelopment. Wow! How amazingly designed by God is the human body?
We got real science-y there, didn't we? Well, I believe that when we better understand what is happening physiologically within our bodies, we are more inclined to make healthier choices. So, here's to keeping that temple healthy, mama!
What Exercises Should You Be Doing?
Now, are you ready to get your temple moving? Below are a list of possible aerobic exercise that you can try!
Swimming (good for aching muscles)
Walking
Running (if you are an experienced runner)
Elliptical or treadmill machines
Hiking
Biking (early pregnancy) or Stationary Cycling (late pregnancy)
Pilates
Zumba
A moderate aerobics class taught by a certified instructor
References:
Bathina, S. & Das, U.N. (2015). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its clinical implications. Archives of Medical Science. 11(6). doi: 10.5114/aoms.2015.56342 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4697050/
de Bellefonds, C. & Amaru, R. (2021, November 2). Benefits of exercise during pregnancy. What to Expect. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/exercise-benefits
Domingues, M.R., Matijasevich, A., Barros, A.J.D., Santos, I., Horta, B.L., & Hallal, P.C. (2014). Physical activity during pregnancy and offspring neurodevelopment and
IQ in the first 4 years of life. PLoS One, 9(10), doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110050 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211660/
Guy-Evans, O. (2021, June 14). What is Serotonin. In Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-serotonin.htm
How exercise helps the heart. (n.d.). Exercise and The Heart. Johns Hopkins Medicine. prevention/exercise-and-the-heart
Khianey, S. (2020, February 28). How to maximize heart health during pregnancy. Inova Newsroom. commentary/2020/02/how-to-maximize-heart-health
during pregnancy/#:~:text=An%20expectant%20mother's%20heart%20has,t%20even%20know%20they%20have.
MedlinePlus. (n.d.). BDNF gene: brain-derived neurotrophic factor. https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/gene/bdnf/
Jukic, A.M.Z., Lawlor, D.A., Juhl, M., Owe, K.M., Lewis, B., Jihong, L., Wilcox, A.J., & Longnecker, M.P. (2013). Physical activity during pregnancy and language
development in the offspring. Pediatric Perinatal Epidemiology, 27(3), doi:10.1111/ppe.12046. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3646544/
Short and long term effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system. (2015, February 4). Beth Israel Lahey Health New England Baptist Hospital.
What is serotonin. (n.d.). Hormone Health Network. hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/serotonin
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