Lifestyle: Exercise                                           

Women need to be asked about the amount of cardiovascular and weight-bearing exercise they do in a usual week.

Women need to be counseled on the numerous benefits of exercise and reminded that exercise does not have to be strenuous in order to be beneficial. Thirty-minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week is recommended as a bare minimum. Adding weight-bearing exercise twice a week has been shown to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis.

There is more to exercise than running or jumping jacks – everyone can find something they can do and even enjoy. Help your patient put together ideas about what they can do or show them where to look for more information (see next page for resources).

As far as preconception care goes, exercise benefits weight loss efforts for overweight / obese individuals as well as stabilizes mood, two conditions that should be optimized before conception.

Though there is no real contraindication to exercise during pregnancy, it is relatively contraindicated to begin a new exercise routine or to change from an extremely sedentary lifestyle to an active one during pregnancy. This could be considered yet another reason for women becoming active before they conceive.

These recommendations are not reserved for overweight or obese individuals. Exercise benefits everyone!