Water Exercises for Pregnant Women
Exercises in the pool are very useful for women‘s health, not only on a daily basis, but during pregnancy as well. Water aerobics helps pregnant women to relax, reduce the load on the spine, control weight, and improve the functioning of all organs and systems, which is useful not only for the woman herself, but for the future baby as well. What exercises are better to be done in the pool to get the most of enjoyment and benefit?
Stretch Water Exercise
In the pool, you can do a lot of exercises, but there are a few basic ones to help pregnant women feel good. You can start with the exercises, which contribute to a better stretch, and so they need to be done at the side of the pool.
- Try to perform longitudinal splits, exactly as much as you can.
- Try to perform cross splits, as well as you can.
- Jump in the water several times, trying to place your legs as wide as possible.
- Putting alternately your right and left leg to the side, try to squat to perform semi-splits.
Pregnancy Twisting Exercise
Twisting exercises are best to carry out, holding the side of the pool with your hands, squatting and standing on toes, turning the body in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
Then you can rest on your back in the water holding on to the side of the pool, with your feet performing the rotational movements as if riding a bicycle or simply hitting the water surface with your feet.
Lying with your stomach down and holding the side of the pool with your hands, try to push your feet from the water with outstretched arms. Drawing semicircles with your feet, slowly pull your knees to your stomach.
Relaxing Exercises for Pregnant Women
These exercises will help you relax and have a rest.
- You can lie on your back, with your head on an inflatable pillow and your arms outstretched to the sides. Lie down and relax on the water.
- You can also lie on your stomach and, holding your breath, duck with your head under the water and move your arms, legs and the entire body.
Breath Holding Exercise for Expecting Mothers
The exercises for breath holding are very useful because they help to train future mothers to hold breath for a longer time, which will help to push during delivery. It will also help your child better stand oxygen starvation while passing through the birth canal.
In order to perform the following exercise, you can jump up and clasp your hands around your folded together feet. While doing so, the knees should be drawn to the sides as much as possible lowering the head under the water at the same time. In this case you will come to the surface, like a float. In this position, you need to hold your breath for some time.
The next exercise simulates the position of the child in utero: legs are pulled up to the body, feet are crossed, and hands are crossed on the chest. Inhaling the air, it is necessary to sink under water in this position.
Pregnant women should do exercises in the pool under the guidance of an experienced coach, who will help them choose, if necessary, individual exercises that will suit them best and will help prepare for childbirth.
