A helpful guide to swimming during pregnancy

Swimming is a low-impact, healthy way to exercise throughout your pregnancy’s three trimesters. Swimming during pregnant can help relieve round ligament pain and reduce back strain, in addition to training your arm and leg muscles. (Plus, as your baby grows, experiencing weightless in the water is both invigorating and calming.) If you haven’t exercised since before your pregnancy, ask permission from your doctor before going into the pool. Swimming for at least 20 minutes a day is recommended, and even if you’re spending a lot of time in the water, remember to stay hydrated.

The benefits of swimming while pregnant

Any aerobic exercise can help you – and your baby – by strengthening your heart and making it more efficient at pumping blood during pregnancy. This promotes circulation throughout your body and raises blood oxygen levels.

Swimming provides you with all of these benefits and more. Here are some of the advantages of swimming while pregnant, as one of the safest kinds of exercise for expectant moms (and don’t worry, pregnant women can swim in chlorinated pools).

• It works both of your main muscle groups at the same time (arms and legs).
• It has a low impact and is easy on the body. The water keeps you cool and minimises harm by supporting your joints and ligaments as you exercise, which is especially beneficial for moms-to-be who are experiencing round ligament pain. Despite the extra pounds of pregnancy, the buoyancy of the water allows you to enjoy a sense of weightlessness.
• It reduces the strain on your back caused by your growing tummy. Swimming gradually strengthens the muscles and counteract this tendency, which can cause your spine and shoulders to curve forward and tilt your pelvis out of alignment during pregnancy.
• It can assist you in maintaining a healthy weight.
• Swelling in your arms and legs can be reduced by submerging yourself in water.

General pregnancy swimming tips

On most, if not all, days of the week, try to swim for 20 to 30 minutes. If you were a regular swimmer prior to becoming pregnant, you should be able to continue without too many changes. Just make sure you’re aware of the symptoms that you should slow down or stop exercising.

Swimming is usually safe for you if you didn’t exercise at all before becoming pregnant, but check with your healthcare practitioner first. Start slowly, stretch well to warm up and cool down, and be careful not to overexert yourself if it’s acceptable with them.

It’s easy to forget to stay hydrated when you’re in the water. One 8-ounce glass of water before you begin your swim, one glass for every 20 minutes of exercise, and one glass when you exit the pool is a decent rule of thumb. You’ll probably need extra water in hot or humid weather.

Pregnancy swimwear

As your pregnancy progresses and your baby grows in size, you may find yourself in need of maternity clothing, including swimwear — your pre-pregnancy bathing suits may become too tight and unpleasant. Fortunately, there is a broad selection of wonderful, trendy, and cheap pregnancy swimwear available.

The most flattering pregnancy swimwear adapt to your changing shape. To accommodate your expanding bulge, one-pieces usually feature extra cloth in the midsection. Swim skirts and maternity rash guards will provide additional coverage. Choose a pregnancy tankini or bikini if you want less coverage and want to show off your baby bump.

Swimming tips for the first trimester

Swimming first thing in the morning, if you have the energy, can help prevent nausea and revitalise you for the rest of the day. To keep your workout interesting, use a kickboard, noodle, or other pool equipment.

If the scent of chlorine makes you feel sick or causes skin or eye irritation, look finding a saltwater pool in your region. Check with your healthcare practitioner before swimming in a local body of water such as an ocean, lake, or pond. In open bodies of water, there exist various germs and bacteria that can cause sickness.

Swimming tips for the second trimester

Because swimming is such a pleasant sport for expectant parents, you won’t need to cut back on it as your pregnancy continues and you gain weight. Before you begin, do some mild stretching, a few warm-up and cool-down laps, and don’t overexert yourself. Listening to your body will teach you how to exercise at the right intensity.

The buoyancy of the water also mitigates the impact of gravity on your body, which is a nice reprieve as your belly expands. In the water, you may feel more graceful and at ease than on land. If floating on the kickboard or slowly swimming laps becomes tedious, try an aqua aerobics session, which is a favourite choice among pregnant women.

Swimming tips for the third trimester

During the later weeks of pregnancy, comfort is crucial, so experiment with different strokes to determine which ones feel the most natural.

Instead of swimming, walk in the shallow end of the pool if you have sore or stiff muscles. To add more resistance, move your arms through the water as you walk. Use a paddle board to support your upper body if you get fatigued, and take pauses as needed.

When getting out of the pool, be extra cautious and wear non-slip footwear when walking on damp surfaces.

Try Watsu, a type of bodywork performed in a warm water, as an alternative to a standard massage. In Watsu, the massage therapist softly rubs and stretches your body while it is submerged in chest-deep water. Watsu is ideal for pregnant women whose bellies make lying comfortably on a massage table difficult.

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