I actually felt healthier and it helped get me through my pregnancies. I was less constipated, less inflamed, and felt that baby was happy when I was standing up. 

Physical exercise is generally ideal for staying fit and maintaining good health, but there are so many other advantages that pregnant women will see.  Please keep in mind to always ask your doctor and it won't be the same results for everyone.

Here are 29 benefits of exercising while pregnant:

1. Labor and delivery could be easier. Women that participated in prenatal water aerobics were less likely to request pain medication during labor. Strong abs could also give you more stamina during the pushing stage.
2. Exercise could relieve some gestational related issues. Routine aerobics could help women avoid muscle cramps, constipation, swelling, and varicose veins. 
3. Enables bowel movement. Increased activity will promote digestive processes and help stop constipation. 
4. Less likely to gain weight. Women that exercise during pregnancy may gain fewer pounds than if they were not exercising. 
5. Your immune system could improve. Exercising lowers your risk of catching a cold or getting sick. 
6. May improve the way you look. Exercising can increase the blood flow to your skin, giving you more of a glow!
7. Helps you sleep well. After each regular workout, your nerves will feel more relaxed and you will be able to snooze easier. 
8. Experience less back pain. Many pregnant women experience back pain, but water workouts and yoga could offer relief. 
9. Maintain good posture. Aerobics for 15-30 minutes a day will help your shape and posture, and it will help you beat obesity and overweight problems. 
10. Exercise promotes a lower heart rate. Both the mom and the baby will see lower heart rates from routine workouts. This will also help the mother see a lower risk of heart disease.
11. You will see more energy. Daily exercise will increase energy and revive your body. 
12. Enhance your mood. Prenatal yoga is one of the best things you can do to prepare for a baby, and it could improve your mood and relax your mind.
13. Manage stress easier. Pregnant women often find themselves stressed and worried, but the exercise could relieve some stress and anxiety. Who wouldn't want to be more excited and happy during pregnancy?
14. More flexible than ever. Prenatal yoga could lead to flexibility that you have never experienced before. 
15. Prevents depression and anxiety. Daily exercises could reduce the amount of depression and anxiety that you feel during pregnancy.
16. More likely to avoid a C-section or forceps delivery. Women that regularly exercise are less likely to have a C-section or forceps delivery. 
17. Stay in better shape longer. Women that exercised during pregnancy are more likely to be more fit and healthier later in their life as well.
18. You feel more in control. The consistent exercises will help you feel like you are doing something productive and will help you feel more in control. 
19. Might prevent cardiovascular diseases in babies. Exercising can strengthen the heart of the baby and help prevent against diseases. 
20. Quicker recovery after childbirth. Your body will be more prepared for a normal lifestyle after pregnancy when regular exercises have been performed. 
21. Lower risk of having a premature birth. Exercising can help prevent premature births.
22. The attention you receive will be positive. Everyone loves to see a pregnant woman that is happy and active, and that can also give you a little boost of confidence!
23. You could meet other moms doing the same thing. Exercise class for expecting mothers could be a great place to meet a new friend. There are stroller mom groups and lots of mommy and me classes to stretch out and have fun.
24. Less leg swelling. Exercise can limit the amount of swelling that you see during pregnancy. 
25. Less likely to experience morning sickness. Many pregnant women feel less nausea after working out. 
26. More confidence and a sense of accomplishment. A good exercise will make anyone feel more accomplished and confident!
27. Be more chill and relaxed. Yoga can help future moms relax and stay calmer during uncomfortable times of pregnancy. 
28. Feel good about your body image. Exercise helps everyone feel better, but it also may help you feel like a hot mama! 
29. Experience new exercises. You could try new exercises during pregnancy that you may not have thought to try before being pregnant. 

Exercising during pregnancy has many possible benefits for the mother and baby, and these are just a few of them. If you would like more information on exercising while pregnant or any other information for new mothers, always talk to your doctor.  

Now that you're carrying a new life, ensuring that you get the exercise you need is more important than ever. Why? Here are 31 good reasons to consider ...

1. Daily exercise boosts your energy levels, which can be lower than usual during pregnancy.  While tiredness is real, the mental thought that you are energized, healthy, and revitalized from a workout session can be enough to keep your endorphins up all day.  The physical benefits will also add up and soon enough you will be a much more active and happy mum. 

2. Exercising for 20-30 minutes per day can help you sleep better while you're pregnant, and we all need as much "good" sleep as possible. 

3. Exercising daily, or even a few times a week can help reduce your risk for certain pregnancy-related complications.  Such as gestational diabetes and other health complications that can arise just from being pregnant.  Pregnancy changes your body...even a very healthy seeming person may find new issues arise from the time of being pregnant.  Stay active to keep changes at bay while your hormones are doing enough crazy changes. 

4. Exercise, even third trimester exercises, helps prepare your body for the rigors of childbirth. In general, the fitter you are when you give birth, the better.  Mmmmhmmm, it literally can be a marathon.  Keep active so delivery can be "easier" that it would be if you didn't work your pelvic floor, kegals, and do those long walks.  

5. Regular exercise reduces stress and boosts feel-good brain chemicals like serotonin.

6. Regular exercise helps ease some of the discomfort associated with pregnancy like swelling (by increasing blood flow) and lower back pain.  Even really good long walks can help circulation, keeping down any swelling of the legs and ankles.

7. Exercise helps improve your self-image, which can suffer when you start to gain weight.  A "belly only" pregnancy is possible by keeping a healthy diet and keeping up activities.  Eat a ton...a ton of good healthy foods, and balance sweet cravings with activity and eating them periodically so you avoid excessive fat gain.

8. Being fit can help make the process of childbirth a little easier because it improves muscle tone and strength.

9. Exercise improves your posture, which is a help when your body is carrying several extra pounds.  Back pain is real. Sit up straighter, get a body pillow if needed (works wonders in bed), and try to walk with good posture. 

10. Exercise improves the health of your heart -- and your baby's heart too!  You're heart needs to be strong for childbirth so keep it up mama!

11. Studies show that when your body fat is low (as a result of exercising), your baby's will be too, and those benefits not only give her a great start, but can help ensure she stays that way into her childhood years.  This also ties into your baby's birthweight and risks for childhood diabetes.  Keep healthy for that healthy baby to be. 

12. Being healthy and fit when you give birth due to faithfully following an exercise regime during pregnancy can help your body bounce back faster.  While your body is a superpowerful force, as long as you can stay active and eat a healthy diet, you will find postpartum recovery to be a little easier and quicker. 

13. Regular exercise during pregnancy is believed to help boost your child's brain functioning.

14. You can improve your Microbiome -- the beneficial bacteria in your gut -- and your unborn baby's as well. Why is this important? Because scientists have learned that the bacteria that reside in the intestines of humans have a direct connection to our immune systems, our brains, and our metabolisms -- not to mention improving our digestion.

15. Practicing yoga regularly keeps you calm and stretches tired and overused muscles.

16. Regular exercise is a great way to ward off constipation -- a common complaint among pregnant women that are sometimes exacerbated by the supplemental iron in prenatal vitamins.  It's amazing what even a good walk will do to get the food down and reduce feeling backed up. 

17. You can capitalize on the fact that pregnancy tends to make your muscles more flexible by doing prenatal yoga and showing off your amazing flexibility to your friends and family! (Relaxin is a pregnancy hormone that loosens your pelvic joints in preparation for childbirth, and also has the effect of relaxing other joints in your body.)

18. Being fit might make you less likely to need an Episiotomy for a vaginal delivery.

19. Exercise also reduces the odds that your obstetrician will need to use forceps to aid in your baby's delivery.

20. Women who exercise throughout their pregnancy are less likely to need a C-section than women who don't exercise while pregnant. That is only considering everything is normal, like not breech baby, etc. etc. 

21. The benefits of exercising during pregnancy can follow you into middle age, according to a Fit Pregnancy's citing of a study that followed women for 20 years after pregnancy.

22. Practicing prenatal yoga will help you learn to better deal with discomfort.

23. Exercising in water can help relieve pressure on joints and let you enjoy a wonderful sense of weightlessness at a time when you feel anything but weightless!  Swimming is a great workout while pregnant!

24. Establishing a regular exercise routine during your pregnancy can make you feel so good about yourself, that you're more likely to continue to prioritize exercise after giving birth.

25. Exercise may make you less prone to nausea -- or at least it can help take your mind off it, which certainly helps.

26. Dancing (a great form of aerobic exercise) can boost your mood and expose your baby to uplifting music while he's still in the womb!  Baby can hear and sense the happiness in you...so bust a move mama and crank up the tunes!

27. Exercises like walking can help improve your stamina -- something you'll need plenty of for labor and delivery and once your baby arrives at home.

28. Each time you complete a workout, you get a boost in confidence, and that can spill over into the rest of your life.  A bright and happy mama is totally contagious to the energy of those around her!

29. Taking a prenatal exercise class will give you the opportunity to meet other expectant Moms, some of whom you may end up being friends with for years to come!  A great support group will also help curb postpartum depression and feelings of loneliness. 

30. Exercise makes you look better. Increased blood flow enhances the legendary "glow" that pregnancy brings.  That glow can be real...so exercise combined with the fact you haven't been drinking, you're gonna look and feel amazing!

31. Exercising regularly helps keep your immune system in tip-top shape, reducing your risk for colds and flu during your pregnancy. You can't afford to be sickly during pregnancy so stay active and eat lots of blueberries and antioxidants to keep sickness away. 

With all these benefits, don't forget to drink 2.5 to 3 liters of water a day!  Keep the UTI's away, stay hydrated for baby and yourself, manage exercise with drinking water, and find yourself feeling really good during this special time. 

So obviously, there are a multitude of reasons to exercise during your pregnancy. Some of the best pregnancy exercises include prenatal yoga, walking, water exercise and working with weights to tone muscles. Just be sure to advise your doctor of your exercise plans and get her approval -- a wise move even when you're not pregnant!

While we're on the subject of exercising while pregnant, take a minute or two to check out the great tank tops, hoodies, tees, leggings and other great prenatal, postnatal and breastfeeding fashions at robertwilsonassociates because you'll want to show off that bump and mama glow in style!

So, your doctor has said it's fine for you to start exercising again, but you've heard that you'll either lose or sour your milk by doing so. These are just a few of the many myths that have kept women from engaging in physical activity while breastfeeding.

The truth is “Even vigorous exercise does not significantly affect the amount or composition of milk your body produces. And despite what you may have heard, it's unlikely that your baby will reject your milk even if you breastfeed shortly after exercising.” according to nurse-educator, Susan Toth.

With this peace of mind, you're now free to enjoy exercise's many health benefits (e.g. increased cardiovascular fitness, restored muscle strength, toned abdominal muscles). But wait! There are 5 workout tips for nursing mothers you should still heed.

Express Your Milk Before Exercising

Settle your baby with a full stomach by breastfeeding them before you leave to exercise. This is also beneficial to you because full or engorged breasts are uncomfortable when you're standing still. Just imagine how they'll feel during exercise! By breastfeeding before you leave you also don't need to worry about leakage.  Baby is happy and now you can enjoy and really focus on your fitness instead of how full of milk your breasts are. 

Support Your Breasts

It's important to support your breasts by wearing a good sports bra - one that will keep your breasts from bouncing around a lot while also reducing nipple friction. It also shouldn't make you feel squished.

The wrong bra isn't only uncomfortable, but it also can increase your risk of clogged ducts.  Clogged ducts are a pain! Literally.  So get in touch with the bra experts in your area so you can get your proper measurements and sizing.  This is golden information that you can use in your next bra or sports bra purchase wherever that may be.  Breakout Bras is one of our favorite bra experts!  Sports bras without wires are the best, in our opinion, to also improve comfort and avoid clogged milk ducts. 

Drink Plenty of Water

When you sweat you must replenish your body with water, especially if you're also nursing. While some doctors suggest drinking two or three extra glasses of water, others tell you not to force it, but to simply make sure you stay well-hydrated. Water is definitely your best choice here, though, unless you're engaged in something like distance running. This is because most sports drinks are full of sugar and more calories than you can burn during a workout. If you must reach for something to help you replenish your body's minerals, reach for something healthy, like a banana.

Don't like the taste of water? Consider infusing it with some fruit. Cucumbers, lemons, limes, oranges, and strawberries (all fruits with really high water content) left sitting in your water overnight make for a great, refreshing taste in the morning. Kinda like our Spa Water Recipe.

If you're still having problems adding more water to your day, carry a bottle of it around with you wherever you go or add some foods with a higher water content to your diet such as watermelon, cucumber, tomatoes, apples, and celery. 

Maintain a Healthy Diet

If you're like many postpartum mothers, you're probably anxious to lose weight. However, it's important to remember you're breastfeeding. As such, now is not the time to cut down on your calories because doing so can seriously impact both your milk supply and your health.

Instead, make sure you eat several small meals each day and if you're hungry, eat healthy snacks (e.g. carrot sticks; apples; celery and humus; a yummy smoothie).

Keep eating because you need calories, BUT calories are all made different so eat healthy, nutrient dense foods.  

You can eat a big whooping plate of salad with fruit, veges, fiber, and grilled chicken.  You can drink a delicious large smoothie made with organic ingredients and highly nutritious greens, fruit, and oatmeal.  You can eat an entire wrap filled with veges and lean protein without all the mayo and cream sauces.  It's not about the quantity.  It's about the quality. 

Go Slow and Have Support

It's important for you to balance your needs with your baby's needs. Sometimes your baby will fuss so much you can't leave. However, you can include your baby in your exercise regimen by working out with your baby at home instead of heading to the gym, or wearing your baby as you go for a brisk, uphill walk.  

If you have local hiking areas nearby, go on a hike while baby wearing.  Try stroller jogging (you will need to find the best jog stroller for you), or joining a mommy and me fitness group, especially if you can't get away from baby. Mommy fitness groups also offer ways to connect with moms that may be on the same mission as you and you can gain support from people in similar shoes. 

Baby Boot Camp is awesome. If you are in Playa del Rey, Hermosa Beach, or South Bay this is the link here. They offer STROLLGA, yep that's stroller and yoga combined! Genius! Also, they have a 5K training program for moms. The group energy is your perfect lift off into your new fitness routine and they have lots of classes. 

Looking for more workout choices? Here's something new - Try a baby wear dance class! These are awesomely fun. Try a GrooveaRoo dance class or mommy mingle dance classes in your area.

While there's no doubt it'll take you some time to get back your postpartum body, these tips will help you ease back into your exercise routine. After all, your main goal should be to feel better, not to look better. It really is about the inner health of your body which in turn, leads to healthy mood and energy levels.  Take it day by day and be patient...you really can only safely afford to lose about a pound of fat each week without compromising your milk supply anyway.  Keep going and when you look back, you will be so proud of how far you have come.

Working out and breastfeeding also entails the right clothing. Check out some of our nursing tanks and breastfeeding hoodies that can easily go with you into your fitness routine so you can nurse your baby quickly and easily, or pump right after if needed. 

***Links to products and groups are NON sponsored. Just pure love for quality, good stuff we want to share with you!