Type 2 Diabetes - Is Exercise Appropriate For Pregnant Diabetic Women?
Exercise is just as important as diet and in some cases as important as drugs in managing Type 2 diabetes.
Getting enough exercise makes it so your body responds more effectively to insulin.
During exercise, your body can use glucose for energy - even without taking insulin or oral diabetes medications.
And exercise burns calories and helps you lose weight.
With these benefits of exercise, you may be wondering if it's safe to continue exercising during pregnancy as a diabetic.
The answer is yes - not only is it safe for you to exercise, it will greatly benefit you and your baby to exercise while you're pregnant.
Here are answers to some questions you may have about exercising during pregnancy...
1.
What type of exercise is safe to do? Most types of physical activity are safe for pregnant women.
Your doctor may advise you to avoid activities with a risk of falling, such as downhill skiing, and activities that involve lots of jostling, like horseback riding.
There also may be types of exercise not safe for you because of diabetes complications.
For example, if you have foot problems you may need to avoid high impact activities like running and aerobics.
This still leaves lots of types of exercise you can do while pregnant.
Most people can...
The key is finding a type of exercise to fit your personality and lifestyle.
When you find an exercise you enjoy, you'll be much more likely to stick with it.
2.
How much exercise should a pregnant woman get? The recommendation for exercise - both during pregnancy and when you're not pregnant - is 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
If you were doing this amount of exercise before pregnancy, you should be able to stick with the same quantity, although you may end up doing more moderate types of exercise as your pregnancy progresses.
3.
What if the pregnant woman is new to exercise? If you weren't active before, it's not too late.
You can still start a physical activity program while you're pregnant - a program that will benefit both you and your baby.
Talk to your doctor first, and start out gradually.
Even starting with a 10 minute walk is a good first step.
You can keep adding time to your walk until you're at 30 minutes or more.
Keep track of how active you are and tell your doctor so he or she can make adjustments to your diabetes care plan if needed.
Each and every woman's situation is different, and she may require unique dietary and activity recommendations.
A pregnant woman with Type 2 diabetes needs the care of a team dedicated to the management of a high-risk pregnancy - with a team approach the pregnancy usually ends happily with the birth of a healthy baby.
Getting enough exercise makes it so your body responds more effectively to insulin.
During exercise, your body can use glucose for energy - even without taking insulin or oral diabetes medications.
And exercise burns calories and helps you lose weight.
With these benefits of exercise, you may be wondering if it's safe to continue exercising during pregnancy as a diabetic.
The answer is yes - not only is it safe for you to exercise, it will greatly benefit you and your baby to exercise while you're pregnant.
Here are answers to some questions you may have about exercising during pregnancy...
1.
What type of exercise is safe to do? Most types of physical activity are safe for pregnant women.
Your doctor may advise you to avoid activities with a risk of falling, such as downhill skiing, and activities that involve lots of jostling, like horseback riding.
There also may be types of exercise not safe for you because of diabetes complications.
For example, if you have foot problems you may need to avoid high impact activities like running and aerobics.
This still leaves lots of types of exercise you can do while pregnant.
Most people can...
- walk,
- swim or do water aerobics,
- lift weights,
- work out on a stationary exercise bike,
The key is finding a type of exercise to fit your personality and lifestyle.
When you find an exercise you enjoy, you'll be much more likely to stick with it.
2.
How much exercise should a pregnant woman get? The recommendation for exercise - both during pregnancy and when you're not pregnant - is 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
If you were doing this amount of exercise before pregnancy, you should be able to stick with the same quantity, although you may end up doing more moderate types of exercise as your pregnancy progresses.
3.
What if the pregnant woman is new to exercise? If you weren't active before, it's not too late.
You can still start a physical activity program while you're pregnant - a program that will benefit both you and your baby.
Talk to your doctor first, and start out gradually.
Even starting with a 10 minute walk is a good first step.
You can keep adding time to your walk until you're at 30 minutes or more.
Keep track of how active you are and tell your doctor so he or she can make adjustments to your diabetes care plan if needed.
Each and every woman's situation is different, and she may require unique dietary and activity recommendations.
A pregnant woman with Type 2 diabetes needs the care of a team dedicated to the management of a high-risk pregnancy - with a team approach the pregnancy usually ends happily with the birth of a healthy baby.
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