Managing gestational diabetes with lifestyle: exercise

You should try to continue to exercise during pregnancy, but modulate this to what you are capable of as the pregnancy progresses. The aim of exercise during pregnancy is to try to prevent gaining weight, particularly if you were overweight before becoming pregnant.

A good rule of thumb is the one, two, three rule. Women overweight prior to pregnancy should gain no more than 1 stone (6 kg), normal-weight women should gain no more than 2 stone (12 kg) and underweight women should gain no more than 3 stone (19 kg) during their pregnancy.

• Exercise can help improve your blood glucose control and, if you stick at it, it can bring your glucose levels down. Just 150 minutes a week of a raised heart rate will help to maintain a steady blood glucose level.

• Exercise can make your blood glucose control better by increasing your insulin sensitivity. This means you might need less medication.

• Exercise and good muscle tone can help you feel better during your pregnancy – for example, strengthening your stomach muscles may help lessen back pain. It may also make birth and postpartum recovery easier.

• In the long-term, exercise can decrease your risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart disease or high blood pressure.

• Exercise can make you feel better and happier. Many people comment on the feel-good factor after exercise. The hard bit is to actually do it in the first place.

To start this section click on the fist topic ‘What shouldn’t I do?’ below.