ACOG Guidelines Update: Exercise on Pregnancy & Postpartum Period

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It's sensible to aim for good health while pregnant to rule out any untoward incident that could harm both the mother and the baby. However, despite common sense and advice from doctors, there are still many women of child-bearing age who are challenged by obesity and overweight problems. For the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), the mother's weight could influence an unhealthy pregnancy, including postpartum experiences.

To help pregnant women and those considering to get pregnant, the ACOG has updated its guidelines to emphasize physical fitness before, during and after pregnancy. The organization recently issued two bulletins tackling "Obesity in Pregnancy" and "Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period."

The bulletins provided ways to help health professionals and mothers manage weight problems, as well as suggested regular exercises to either prevent or correct weight gain. For those without complicated pregnancies, the top exercises to regularly do include aerobic workouts and strength conditioning. However, before a pregnant woman enlists in any fitness programs, her obstetrician-gynecologist or care provider must first do a thorough evaluation of her pregnancy to rule out the risks, and then make recommendations based on this.

Exempted from doing aerobic exercises are women with significant heart and lung diseases, possible risks of premature labor, placenta previa, preeclampsia, severe anemia or bleeding during the last two trimesters, per the ACOG report.

Along with exercise, diet interventions should also be required for healthy weight management. Weight gain during pregnancy should only range between 15 to 25 pounds for overweight women and 11 to 20 pounds for obese women, per ACOG.

"These recommendations seem so obvious, but it makes something that we take for granted -- such as healthy eating, good nutrition, and exercise -- into something that we have to pay attention to," said Dr. Patrick Catalano via Med Page Today. "This is a problem that needs to be on the ob-gyn's radar because it begins before pregnancy, can cause issues during pregnancy, and persists even after delivery."

Once the mom gives birth, weight loss should be more manageable postpartum if weight gain was managed properly during pregnancy. However, the takeaway from this is for mothers to keep themselves physically fit even before conceiving. "Weight loss before pregnancy has been shown to be the most effective intervention to improve medical comorbidities. Obese women who have even small weight reductions before pregnancy may have improved pregnancy outcomes," the experts stated in the guidelines.