Swimming or exercising in water is a pleasant experience that can transform the way you feel, raise your energy levels and introduce you to a new way of living healthily.

    Regular exercise makes all the difference when you are pregnant or feeding a baby. Everything you do also influences your baby's development. In pregnancy, water exercise can help you to feel energetic and have a positive attitude towards your body and your baby.

    When, like your baby inside the womb, you are in water yourself, it enhances your awareness and sense of connection to your unborn child. Babies learn from their mothers throughout pregnancy. The time you spend swimming or exercising will be familiarising your baby with water and encouraging her natural instincts and reflexes to swim. Water exercise or swimming will also aid your recovery after the birth and invigorate you in the post-natal months.

   If you want to have a water birth or use pool during your labour, playing and exercising in water is ideal preparation. It is also a good idea, when you are pregnant, to attend some baby swim classes and see how much fun they are for parents and babies. This will help you to feel more confident about using water for your birth.

   Your partner can join you in the exercise programme and continue to participate in the birth, bath time and swimming sessions afterwards. This is a good way to get to know some water babies and their parents and see the obvious benefits they enjoy.

   Remember to have fun and play in the water. Relax and let yourself be a whale, a mermaid or a dolphin sometimes. If you are near a clean stretch of sea or a river, make the most of them as often as you can.

Types of water exercise suitable for pregnancy

Swimming

   Swimming is a great way to exercise in pregnancy, the water buoyancy giving you some welcome respite from the weight you are carrying. Choose a stroke you enjoy such as freestyle, crawl, sidestroke, or backstroke. Breaststroke is best avoided in pregnancy. Because the pelvic ligaments are softer than usual, the pelvis is more vulnerable to injury.

   The joints can easily be overstretched by the breaststroke kick, especially the pubic joint in front, which may begin to separate in pregnancy in readiness for the birth and is easily over stretched. Swimming aids and floats are useful, especially in late pregnancy. Swim slowly, breathing at a comfortable rhythm, and stop before you get tired or rest between laps. The number of laps you do is up to you - so long as you do not get out of breath or tired.

Aqua natal classes

   If you're thinking about having a water birth (and if you're not), you may want to go to an aquatic ante natal class. A US study showed that pregnant women who exercised in water had lower heart rates and blood pressure than women who did ordinary exercises.

    The babies also benefited by having lower foetal heart rates after water exercises, than when the same exercises were done on land. These are based on water aerobics and are sometimes taught by midwives.

   They are fun and they will help to raise your fitness.

Watsu

   A form of 'water shiatsu' this is wonderful for pregnancy. The emphasis is not on exercising as such, but on learning to relax and trust the water with the help of a partner, encouraging you to let go and become free under water. Watsu has a deeper approach than the usual aqua natal classes and is more effective preparation for a water birth, but is not widely available.

   There is one watsu exercise which is easy to do and very beneficial. Get your partner to stand near the shallow end of the pool with the water at around shoulder height. Float on your back with your head resting near your partner's shoulder. Relax your neck and let your head rest in the water, with just your face above the surface.

   Allow your partner to hold you like a baby in the water, one hand lightly supporting your lower back (sacrum) and the other your shoulders. Close your eyes, relax, breathe deeply and float as your partner gently moves you in slow motion on the surface of the water. It's wonderful to be able to let go, to trust your partner and allow your body to be moved gently through the water.

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Benefits of swimming and water exercise

   Cardio-Respiratory - This is a gentle and effective way to improve your breathing and exercise your heart and lungs. It's ideal aerobic exercise for pregnancy, because your weight is supported by the buoyancy of the water.

   Flexibility - The warmth of the water generally increases the elastic quality of your muscles and enhances flexibility of the joints. This improves mobility and helps to prepare you to use upright positions in labour and for birth - whether on land or in water.

   Strength and Endurance - In water your body moves against resistance to the water increasing effort without strain. Due to the feeling of weightlessness, it is much easier to build up your strength without stress and to increase your physical endurance and fitness level.

   Muscle toning - Water exercise has a gentle, but powerful, toning effect on your muscles The 'water resistance effect' massages your whole body as you move, improving circulation and making you feel more energetic and alive.

   Body Composition - Water exercise helps your body to maintain the right balance between fat and muscle. This is the way to have a shapely pregnant figure and return to your pre-pregnant shape soon after the birth without dieting. For women who are unfit and overweight or uncomfortable during pregnancy, water exercise is the best way to improve your health and fitness level without stress. Start very gradually with the programme, pacing yourself slowly according to your ability and you will soon improve.

   Posture - Water exercises help your spine to accommodate the extra weight of pregnancy and reduce stress on the pelvis and lower back.

   Discomforts of Pregnancy - Common symptoms such as backache, swelling, heaviness or tiredness can be helped by water exercise. Women with high blood pressure often find that both gentle yoga on land and slow gentle water exercise can help to keep blood pressure down. It's essential to discuss any exercise programme with your doctor first, especially if you have a medical problem.

   Sleep, Relaxation and Energy - Swimming regularly can be an effective way to improve sleep, enhance relaxation and restore vitality.

   Feeling tempted? Get out your swimsuit and head for the pool!