Pilates and pregnancy

Est-ce conseillé de commencer un sport mêmi si on a jamais fait auparavant?

Un sport adapté à la femme enceinte est fortement conseillé pour toute femme en bonne santé et ceci à n’importe quel moment de sa grossesse.
Le répertoire Pilates ne vise pas une perte de poids; son objectif est un renforcement musculaire toute en augmentant sa fléxibilité en préparation de la naissance. On travaille surtout le plancher pelvien et la ceinture abdominale.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) along with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) “…encourage women with uncomplicated pregnancies in ANY trimester to begin an exercise routine.”

On conseille combien de sport?

La SOGC/CSEP conseille jusquà 30 minutes de fitness cardiovasculaire à titre de maximum 4 jours par semaine.

Pilates, Pregnancy and Risks

The SOCG and CSEP state that “recent investigations, focusing on both aerobic and strength conditioning
exercise regimes in pregnancy, have shown no increase in early pregnancy loss, late pregnancy complications,
abnormal fetal growth, or adverse neonatal outcomes…”
In fact, the risk is in NOT exercising.

SOGC/CSEP :  Women and their care providers should consider the risks of NOT
participating in exercise activities during pregnancy, including loss of
muscular and cardiovascular fitness, excessive maternal weight gain,
higher risk of gestational diabetes or pregnancy induced hypertension,
development of varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis, a higher
incidence of physical complaints such as dyspnea or low back pain, and
poor psychological adjustment to the physical changes of pregnancy.

However, there are some contraindications that should never be ignored. Some of these include :

  • Ruptured membranes, premature labour
  • Persistent second or third trimester bleeding/placenta previa
  • Pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-eclampsia
  • Incompetent cervix
  • Evidence of intrauterine growth restriction
  • High-order pregnancy (e.g., triplets)
  • Uncontrolled Type I diabetes, hypertension or thyroid disease, other serious cardiovascular,respiratory or systemic disorder

Other concerns worth evaluating include :

  • History of spontaneous abortion or premature labour in previous pregnancies
  • Mild/moderate cardiovascular or respiratory disease (e.g., chronic hypertension, asthma)
  • Anemia or iron deficiency? (Hb < 100 g/L)
  • Malnutrition or eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia)
  • Twin pregnancy after 28th week
  • Other significant medical condition