Healthy Living

Physical Activity

Physical Activity during the 2nd Trimester

Staying physically active during pregnancy will cut down on swelling, leg cramps, fatigue, shortness of breath, backache, and constipation. You may find that physical activity helps to improve your mood and reduce stress. It will also help you have a healthy weight throughout your pregnancy.

During the 2nd trimester your body will be start to change more. Think about how you can modify or replace weight‑bearing activities such as running, high‑impact aerobics, hiking, and tennis as your pregnancy progresses. Here are some other examples of how you may need to modify your activities:

What’s Happening?	Modification
Tender breasts and/or early milk leaking from your breasts	Wear a comfortable, supportive bra, and put breast pads into your bra if needed for leaking.
Low back pain	Maintain a good posture while sitting, standing and exercising – pull in your stomach muscles, tighten your buttocks, and tuck in your seat to flatten your lower back.
Mild swelling of ankles, feet, hands, and face (edema) – may be accompanied by tingling in one or both hands	Continue to be physically active when you can. Swelling of your feet and ankles is normal in pregnancy. Most of the swelling should be gone when you get up in the morning. If it does not decrease with physical activity and rest, talk with your health care provider.
Throbbing of legs and appearance of varicose veins	When you are sitting, do ankle and foot exercises.
Changes to your centre of gravity, and/or loosening of the ligaments around your joints	Be careful when exercising – as your pregnancy progresses, your centre of gravity will continue to change and your ligaments will continue to loosen. You are more likely to be off‑balance and you are more vulnerable to injury.
The weight of your baby presses on your major arteries	Don’t lie flat on your back after the 4th month of pregnancy. The weight of your baby presses on your major arteries and veins and can reduce the blood flow to you and your baby. Change or stop exercises that you must do on your back.

Reasons to stop physical activity and consult your health care provider:

excessive shortness of breath
chest pain
painful uterine contractions (more than 6–8 per hour)
vaginal bleeding
any “gush” of fluid from vagina (suggesting premature rupture of the membranes)
dizziness or faintness

If you have any of the above symptoms, stop exercising right away and call HealthLink BC at 8‑1‑1.

Source: Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination for Pregnancy (PARmed‑X for pregnancy) © 2002, used with permission from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Inc. www.csep.ca/forms.asp

Build physical activity into your daily routine. The type of activity you choose is up to you, as long as you feel comfortable doing it and your doctor says it’s okay. What are good physical activities to do while pregnant?