By building balance and strength in a few key areas of the body, you can alleviate or even prevent common pregnancy aches. Amy Kiefer, a certified personal trainer, and Holly Keskey-Koester, a fitness instructor, demonstrate a few movements.
Footage: Expecting and Empowered. Video: CJ Riculan/NPR
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Hemorrhoids, leg cramps, sciatica — oh my! Alongside the joy of pregnancy often comes a parade of physical discomfort that can spur the phrase: "Am I supposed to feel like this?"
As your body grows and shifts, your body's internal pressure systems can get thrown off, causing pain or instability, say pregnancy and postpartum physical therapists.
By building balance and strength in a few key areas of the body, you can alleviate and even prevent common pregnancy aches, says physical therapist Krystle Howald, who runs Expecting and Empowered, a platform that focuses on pregnancy and postpartum workouts.
"I wish people knew a lot of things are preventable during pregnancy," says Howald.
Howald shares five movements that can ease pain for women in every trimester. Aim to do two sets of these exercises three times a week as part of your strength regimen, and practice them throughout your pregnancy.
Count these exercises toward your 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for pregnant women. And don't forget to take a little time to stretch every day.
If you are feeling dizzy, short of breath or having chest pain, stop what you're doing, advises Dr. Ana Cepin, director of community women's health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Our guides on form are Amy Kiefer, a certified personal trainer and the co-founder of Expecting and Empowered, and Holly Keskey-Koester, a fitness instructor.
You know that very distinctive waddle walk of the deeply pregnant? It's a common way your body compensates for the added weight on your pelvis and the loosening of your ligaments as they prepare for birth, says Howald.
"It means our feet are slowly drifting outward and our hips are rotating outward too," she says. That unnatural gait could lead to pelvic pain or worsen back or sciatica pain.
Avoid the pregnancy waddle with side-to-side exercises that help you maintain lateral hip control, like banded walks. You can also strengthen the muscles that stabilize the hips with side-lying leg lifts, lateral lunges and glute bridges.
Fitness instructor Holly Keskey-Koester demonstrates banded walks.
Footage: Expecting and Empowered. Video: CJ Riculan/NPR
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How to do it: Step into your resistance band. Place it above each ankle. Position your legs far enough apart to create tension in the band. With knees slightly bent, step out to one side with your first leg and stretch the band. As your other leg follows, keep tension in the band. Do this across the length of a yoga mat and back for 20 repetitions.
Amy Kiefer, a certified personal trainer, demonstrates glute bridges.
Footage: Expecting and Empowered. Video: CJ Riculan/NPR
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