Most mornings during my pregnancy, I kept to my old routine of getting up at the crack of dawn to hit the gym for a workout.

This was easy at first. I wasn’t sick during my first trimester – although I had to skip my morning decaf coffee because the very smell of it repulsed me – and my energy only lagged at night. The toughest part was scaling back the intensity of my workouts so I wouldn’t put my growing baby in jeopardy.

Then my stomach began to grow. I slept terribly most nights, woken up every hour by my aching hips which demanded I shift positions. I woke up exhausted – a prelude to life with a newborn – yet I still hauled my expanding girth to the gym, knowing I soon wouldn’t have this luxury. I also felt better after a workout. My back wouldn’t ache as much and I had more energy to take on the day.

Soon, getting to the gym became a workout itself. In my last trimester, my heart would be pounding and I would be out of breath after simply climbing the stairs to the gym’s second-floor reception. I took refuge in the back of spin classes, lightly pedalling away while others around me scaled mountains and raced down flat roads. Simply tying up my running shoes was a five-minute Pilates workout.

A week before my son was born last July, I traded in my spin bike for the couch and put my gym membership on hold. Even then, I would still pry my enormous body off the cushions to take the dog for long walks.

Despite the challenges, health experts recommend physical activity for healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies. There are a long list of benefits to staying active while pregnant, according to the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), which created the PARmed-X, a physical activity screening form for expecting women.

Exercise can improve posture and help relieve back pain during pregnancy by strengthening the back muscles to help support a growing belly. It can also boost energy levels, balance the added calories from late-night ice cream raids and improve women’s confidence and self-esteem. Despite the joys a pregnancy brings, many women struggle with the out-of-control changes to their body. It can be tough to feel your best when your shirt buttons are straining against your growing breasts and your booty is expanding to keep pace with your belly. Exercise is one way to take back some control of your body and do something good for your self-image.

Exercise can also help during the labour. I don’t know how I would have had the stamina for 32 hours of labour without staying physically active during my pregnancy.

There are safety considerations pregnant women need to take when exercising, according to the CSEP. First of all, exercise is not running marathons. Expectant mothers need to scale back the intensity of their workouts. Experts suggest 15 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, accompanied by a long warm-up and cool down. Pregnant women should also keep their heart rate below 140 beats per minute to avoid overexertion, particularly during the first trimester. One way to measure this without a heart rate monitor is the talk test – if you can’t carry a conversation, you’re working too hard.

Pregnancy is not the time to try something new. During my first trimester when I was keeping my pregnancy a secret, a trainer at my gym suggested I try Jiu Jitsu, a challenging Brazilian martial art which emphasizes grappling and ground fighting. Not the ideal workout for a pregnant woman. I avoided the trainer and made excuses for skipping the class until my pregnancy became apparent. I took my midwife’s advice to stick with familiar, tried-and-true exercises.

Here are some other safety considerations from the CSEP:

-       Don’t exercise in warm or humid environments

-       Don’t exercise on your back past the fourth month of pregnancy

-       Avoid activities which involve physical contact or danger of falling

-       Maintain adequate nutrition and hydration – drink liquids before, during and after exercise

-       Periodic rest periods may help to minimize potential low oxygen or temperature stress to the fetus

-       Avoid high-impact exercises and moves involving quick changes in direction

-       Always consult your doctor with any concerns and before increasing activity levels

-- Sarah Green