More of a couch potato than a cardio queen? Pregnancy could be just the excuse you need to work out.

Research has found that expectant women who exercise regularly gain less weight during pregnancy than women who don’t exercise at all.

That’s not all: Exercise also makes labor easier, alleviates constipation, back pain and fatigue, and is linked to a lower risk of high blood pressure and gestational diabetes.

The benefits extend to your kids, as well: A British study showed that active pregnant women had children who were likely to be active themselves. You really are exercising for two!

So who’s doing it? According to our survey, more than two-thirds of pregnant physicians said they exercised during their pregnancies – a number matched by regular women.

But how much should you exercise when you’re pregnant? That depends on your activity level before pregnancy. Nobody is expecting you to train hard while pregnant, like marathoners Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher (check out their pregnancy training!). However, almost every woman can take a brisk walk a few times a week.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers guidelines for starting a prenatal exercise program.

And while balmy summer weather may lure you outside, take care not to get overheated. Excessive heat is dangerous for your baby’s developing brain, and it’s harder for pregnant women to cool down since they have two bodies to regulate.

It’s best to avoid the hottest times of day (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), and be sure to follow the CDC’s guidelines on heat exertion.

Do you have an exercise routine while pregnant? Has it helped you manage pregnancy side effects?

It’s not news that pregnant women need vitamin D… and that up to 70% aren’t getting enough.  But now it seems that vitamin D is more crucial than previously thought.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology suggests a link between low vitamin D levels and a severe form of pregnancy-related high blood pressure.

The condition, known as early-onset severe preeclampsia because it strikes before week 34, causes a sudden increase in blood pressure and protein in the urine (your doctor checks both at every prenatal visit).

While it affects fewer than 4% of pregnant women, early-onset severe preeclampsia is responsible for 15% of nationwide preterm births. The study found that women the condition had lower vitamin D levels in their blood than other pregnant women.

So what’s the best way to get enough vitamin D? Drinking a couple glasses of milk a day won’t do it. In fact, diet alone rarely supplies enough vitamin D.

Exposure to the sun helps – ultraviolet B (UVB) rays initiate a process beneath your skin that creates vitamin D. The catch is, sunscreen actually prevents this process from happening. The solution: Go outside with some exposed skin between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. two or three times a week – for 10 minutes max.

Another option is vitamin supplements. According to the Institute of Medicine, pregnant women should get 200 I.U. of vitamin D per day. Most prenatal vitamins include vitamin D, so be sure to check. Also, there are different forms – vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is the recommended type.

And, as always, check with your doctor before starting a supplement while pregnant.

How are you getting your vitamin D?

Feeling baby stress? Take care not to let it get to you: Stress is a one of the factors that can boost your blood pressure during pregnancy.

And high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy (known as gestational hypertension) can be dangerous to you and your baby.

Only a small percentage of women – fewer than 10%, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey – are diagnosed with gestational hypertension, but detection and treatment are critical.

First step: Make sure your doctor is checking your blood pressure during your regular pregnancy visits.

Gestational hypertension usually develops in or after week 20, but it may take time to be diagnosed: The majority of women are diagnosed in or after their 7th month. That’s because there often aren’t noticeable symptoms.

Aside from stress, several other factors increase your risk of developing high blood pressure: smoking, being overweight or obese, lack of exercise, too much salt, age, family history and kidney disease.

Now while high blood pressure itself doesn’t mean you should whip out the meditation tapes (although they can’t hurt!), gestational hypertension can have some serious complications:

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Have a sudden urge to pee? Don’t just chalk it up to being pregnant. You could have a urinary tract infection – a condition often develops among pregnant women.

In fact, 10% of moms-to-be have at least one UTI while expecting, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey.  Around 8% of female doctors got at least one UTI when they were pregnant.  

But “gotta go” urgency isn’t the only symptom of UTIs. You may experience itching and burning when you pee, or feel like you have to go again after you’ve just went. 

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When pregnant women hear they have diabetes, often their first thought is, what did I do wrong?

The answer is: nothing. The cause of gestational diabetes – a condition characterized by dangerously high levels of blood sugar in pregnant women – has long been a mystery.

And more moms-to-be are likely to be diagnosed now. That’s because blood sugar levels previously thought to be normal pose a risk to mother and baby, according to a recent study by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

About 5%-8% of pregnant women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. But as a result of new blood sugar guidelines, that number could climb to 16%.

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You’re at your first ultrasound appointment, excited to see your first image of your baby.  But wait, there’s more than one heartbeat. Turns out you’re expecting twins… or more!

How common are multiples? Carrying two or more babies make up only about 3% of all pregnancies. But if you had multiples in a previous pregnancy, you’re more likely to have them in the future.

A Wiser Pregnancy survey found that 16% of pregnant women who were carrying twins or more had a multiples pregnancy in the past. But that’s not the only cause: Heredity, older age, personal history, race and fertility drugs and treatments also boost the odds.

But multiples bring a downside: a greater risk of complications during pregnancy, including: 
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Alcohol, coffee, sushi, brie – the list of pregnancy “don’ts” is pretty long. Tops on the list: Don’t smoke.

Yet despite the risks, 34% of moms-to-be who are smokers don’t kick the habit during pregnancy, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey.  And that can be extremely dangerous for their babies.

Puffing while pregnant continues to be a major cause of newborn deaths, early births and low birth weight babies.

According to a new study from the CDC, if more women stopped smoking before they conceived, more infant lives would be saved.

The good news is that there has been an overall drop in the number of women who smoke during pregnancy. The Wiser Pregnancy survey found that only 17% of women smokers did so in the three months before they got pregnant. And of those, 63% quit the habit during pregnancy.

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You may not watch your weight during pregnancy, but if you’re obese before getting pregnant, you could be putting your and your baby’s health at risk, according to a recent New York Times article.

Two out of 3 maternal deaths in New York State between 2003 and 2005 were linked to maternal obesity, the article notes. And babies born to obese women are 3 times more likely to die in the first month of life than babies of women who are at a healthy weight.

Other risks linked to obesity during pregnancy include:

• Higher likelihood of requiring a C-section
• Fewer viable pain relief and delivery options
• Increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect
• Increased risk of giving birth to a stillbirth baby
• Higher likelihood of having a premature baby
• Increased risk of severe health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, complications from anesthesia, severe bleeding, blood clots and strokes during pregnancy and childbirth

Nearly 40% of obese women found it difficult or very difficult to cope with their weight during pregnancy, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey. About 7% were even admitted to the hospital for two or more days while pregnant due to obesity-related complications.

Obesity makes your ob-gyn’s job harder, too. Routine procedures, such as drawing blood, are more difficult. It’s also harder to get a good image of the baby using ultrasound. And facilities often don’t have the equipment to accommodate obese women.

That’s why some doctors may recommend drastic weight loss – even gastric bypass surgery – to patients considering having a baby.

Do you think obese women should try to lose weight before pregnancy? And have you experienced any weight-related issues during your pregnancy?

As if regular aches and pains aren’t enough, one pregnancy symptom can be a literal pain in the butt (and back) – sciatica.

Tingling, pain or numbness in the buttocks, thighs or legs is the hallmark of sciatic nerve pain, or sciatica. It’s caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve which, in the case of pregnant women, comes from your growing bundle of joy.

Sciatica affects about 11% of pregnant women, according to a Wiser Pregnancy survey. 

The sciatic nerve – the longest nerve in the body – runs from your spinal cord to each buttock, through the hip area and down the back of each leg.  Some women with sciatica notice relief when their babies change position. And the good news is that pregnancy-caused sciatica goes away after delivery. 

What can you do to relieve sciatic nerve pain?  Here’s what others tried: 

• Over-the-counter medication – used by 60% of women; effective for 54% of them
• Exercising to reduce symptoms – used by 58% of women; effective for 64% of them
• Massage therapy – used by 44% of women; effective for 71% of them
• More comfortable shoes – used by 31% of women; effective for 65%

Less common treatments include: physical therapy (tried by 17% of women), chiropractic treatment (used by 15%), prescription pain medication (used by 16%), and changing mattresses (used by 19%).

Want more tips? Find out about how to manage your back pain.

Have you experienced sciatica during pregnancy?  What treatments worked for you?

To many women, pregnancy is a nifty excuse to pig out. After all, the baby needs calories, right? But it’s easy to pack on too much weight, which can lead to gestational diabetes.

And that, in turn, can put your baby at risk.

A new study has found that babies born to obese mothers with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of becoming obese by age 11. That puts the kids at risk of developing type 2 diabetes themselves.  Read the rest of this entry »