Should i play volleyball while pregnant

Send to: is required Error: This is required Error: Not a valid value. Benefits of doing sport and exercise If you are healthy and have an uncomplicated pregnancy, playing sport can help you stay fitter and stronger, prevent excess weight gain and make you feel better mentally.

Regular exercise also lowers your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers. But while pregnant, you'll need to be more careful as well as avoid certain types of sport.

Why do I need to be more careful? Medical conditions that may affect you playing sport Your maternity team may want to monitor your sport or advise you against participating, if you: have problems with your heart, lungs or liver have diabetes that is not well controlled have bone or joint problems have an infectious disease are obese or underweight have problems with your pregnancy or a previous pregnancy have anaemia are having a multiple birth e.

It's important for you to stay comfortable and to warm up before and cool down after your sport. Sports to avoid You should not play sports that: make you work very hard or become too hot could cause you to fall could hit your baby have lots of jumping or bouncing involve sudden changes in direction involve diving or high altitudes Sport and stages of pregnancy You may need to make some changes as your pregnancy advances. First trimester weeks During this time, try not to overheat so as to protect both yourself and your baby: Avoid playing sport in high heat or humidity.

Wear loose, cool clothing. Drink plenty of water Second and third trimesters weeks During this time, the baby moves upwards and is not protected by your pelvis so avoid high impact sports that could hit the baby. What sport is recommended? It's good to do lower-risk activities that: are non-contact or limited contact support your weight, such as swimming and aquanatal exercise classes — but try to avoid being in water that is warmer than 32 degrees Celsius for very long allow you to exercise in a straight line rather than suddenly shifting positions have a limited chance of you falling allow you to exercise at low or moderate intensity are designed specifically for pregnancy You can learn more about what exercises are recommended during pregnancy and also read more about doing yoga and Pilates during pregnancy.

Back To Top. Information about exercising during pregnancy. Call us and speak to a Maternal Child Health Nurse for personal advice and guidance. Need further advice or guidance from our maternal child health nurses? Support for this browser is being discontinued for this site Internet Explorer 11 and lower We currently support Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

For more information, please visit the links below: Chrome by Google Firefox by Mozilla Microsoft Edge Safari by Apple You are welcome to continue browsing this site with this browser. Community groups. Home Pregnancy Exercise and fitness Safe exercise in pregnancy. Hanna Dabbour Physiotherapist.

You need to be cautious about any activity that puts you at risk of losing your balance. Your centre of gravity changes as your bump grows , so you're more likely to lose your balance.

This means that waterskiing, horse riding, snowboarding, gymnastics, downhill skiing, rock climbing, skating, ice hockey and surfing are best put on hold while you're pregnant. These sports also carry the risk of you falling on to your stomach, which could injure your growing baby. Again, due to the risk of falling, sports such as tennis and mountain biking are best avoided in pregnancy, if you're not used to them. For the same reason, many health professionals advise that you avoid cycling on a road, after your second trimester.

Cycling on an exercise bike is a safer option. Robert Stiller , section chief of maternal fetal medicine at Bridgeport Hospital. Though he agreed that Walsh Jennings acted responsibly, "I don't know if you can take that and apply it to the very common question of how much a woman should exercise during pregnancy. Stiller said he recommends that most expectant women exercise no more than a half-hour at a time, and then only at a moderate level. One key issue that all pregnant women face is keeping their core temperature relatively low.

If you overheat, so could the baby. That's one reason why it's important to hydrate while exercising. As for which exercises are pregnancy-friendly, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has several recommendations, including walking, swimming and aerobics.

Also, if you were a regular runner before your pregnancy, running during it is fine, though you might have to limit your speed or distance. This lack of support makes your joints more susceptible to injury. Playing volleyball requires jumping, which is a high-impact movement on your joints. The quick stops and starts that are required to play volleyball are also stressful on your joints.

Lower back pain is common during pregnancy, and the impact on your back from playing volleyball can increase your chances of developing back problems. Becoming dehydrated is particularly dangerous while you are pregnant. Your chances of overheating increase when you play volleyball in humid conditions, such as beach volleyball. Based out of Houston, Texas, Michael Hutchins is a personal trainer who has been writing health and fitness-related articles since