Studies show that women who exercise during pregnancy have a much easier time returning to their pre-pregnancy weight and size than women who don't exercise while pregnant. In addition, having a fit pregnancy also gets you up and around faster after you deliver and helps you not crumple while carrying your ever-growing baby in your arms.
Recovering quickly
Babies don't give you much time to recover from your pregnancy. They have needs, and they want those needs met now! In order to do a bang-up job as a new mother, you need to be up and out of bed as quickly as possible, and exercising through your pregnancy is just the way to do that. Not only do women who exercise throughout pregnancy have shorter labors and deliveries, but they also get back to their lives faster than women who haven't exercised.
Getting back to your pre-pregnancy weight
Exercising during pregnancy helps you keep the amount of weight you gain at a healthy level. Research also shows that women who become or stay fit during pregnancy have less weight to lose after they deliver, and those women find that the weight they do gain comes off more easily and quickly than it does for their nonexercising counterparts. And given that an inability to lose weight is one of the top two complaints of new mothers (the other is lack of sleep), this is welcome news.
Carrying your baby
Have you ever lifted a 10-pound sack of potatoes off the display at the supermarket and barely been able to carry it over to your cart? Your baby's going to weigh almost as much as that sack of potatoes at birth and will quickly exceed that weight as he grows. Exercising now gives you time to strengthen your arms, back, hips, and legs so you can lug Junior around with ease.
