Pregnancy is a very precious and delicate time for all mothers. They tend to not move much and reduce their activity to minimum. However, newer research in the field has led us to new conclusions. When it is an IUI pregnancy, women are even more worried about their health and fetus. Health professionals that care for pregnant women have been researching the effects of exercise on women when they are pregnant.
Pregnancy is a beautiful phase, where the mother sustains the child until they are ready to come out. But it comes with its fair share of misery. 50-80% of women have back pain during their pregnancy. There is a very simple solution to this problem. It is to exercise during your pregnancy. It does not matter if it is IUI pregnancy or IVF pregnancy or natural pregnancy. Exercise creates endorphins in the body. Endorphins are hormones that are released when we are happy. Our body is designed in a way that moving your body makes you happy. We are not made to sit in the chair for a long time. There are also more cases of depression in the corporate firms where employees are sitting and working for long periods of time.
Coming back to the topic at hand, moving your body doing exercise or physiotherapy will be good for mother as well as the baby. There are some restrictions on intense exercises that can harm the baby. However there are only a few such exercises.
Surveys conducted by the health professionals suggest that most pregnant women don’t meet targets for bare minimum exercise standards. There are some women who wish to be active but due to fear of harming the baby they don’t do it. These cases lead to depression in women. It is very smart to not smother your instincts. IUI pregnancy women who might have wanted a baby for a long time tend to restrict themselves more for the safety of the baby.
There Are Many Benefits Of Exercising During Pregnancy
We are going to look into how exercise affects the mother and child during pregnancy.
Gestational Diabetes
In this condition, a mother is diagnosed with high blood sugar during pregnancy. It can happen to anyone not just diabetic women. This could be fatal to the baby’s life. This will also increase the chances of developing type-2 diabetes and obesity in mother later in life.
So it is conjectured by many that exercise can help decrease the chances of developing gestational diabetes. As it was found previously that exercise reduces the chances of getting diabetes. This theory was not proven yet due to insufficient evidence. What this means is that women are not exercising. So researchers are unable to prove their theory with facts.
Nonetheless, few studies and surveys witness that women who exercised have lower levels of glucose in the 6th month of their pregnancy. And even though they might develop gestational diabetes, they are less likely to need insulins to decrease the blood sugar levels in the mother’s body. If they start resistance exercise even after the diagnosis, they can have easier pregnancy. Bulk of investigations suggest using exercise as a preventive intervention for the treatment of gestational diabetes.
It also helps in maintaining weight during pregnancy. There is also risk of larger risk for gestational age newborn due to gestational diabetes. So exercise can help you manage this concern as well. Also, if you are healthy you will less likely to have issues during IUI pregnancy.
Hypertension And Preeclampsia
Hypertension is a condition where a person develops high blood pressure in the body. It is very bad for both mother and child to have hypertension during pregnancy. Preeclampsia is one of the four hypertension disorders that occur during pregnancy.
There are three other hypertension disorders namely, gestational hypertension, chronic hypertension, and chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia.
In first disorder gestational hypertension, women have high blood pressure but no excess protein in their urine or other indicators of damaged organs. Some women can develop preeclampsia after they suffer from gestational hypertension.
Chronic hypertension is a condition where high blood pressure is present before pregnancy. High blood pressure develops before 20 weeks of pregnancy also comes under this criterion. High blood pressure patients don’t have any other symptoms. It may be hard to make a diagnosis.
In chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia, women are diagnosed before with chronic hypertension but during pregnancy it worsens. This high level hypertension complicates the pregnancy. High blood pressure and protein in the urine can make a high risk pregnancy.
This all leads us to believe that preeclampsia/ hypertension is very dangerous. It is the cause of morbidity and mortality in pregnancy. Even though it has been proved that exercising is useful in preventing cardiovascular disease. It has not yet been confirmed to have the same impact on hypertension.
Although being active before natural or IUI pregnancy and during natural or IUI pregnancy is said to lower the chances of gestational hypertensive complications.
Maternal-fetal Circulation And Fetal Growth
Since early times activity during pregnancy is frowned upon. It is believed that it will affect the blood circulation, growth and health of the baby. This is a very orthodox view of pregnancy. Times have changed; doctors encourage women to be active during their pregnancy.
It is observed in many studies that blood flow to the fetus is not radically impacted by the moderate physical activity during pregnancy. It is fascinating that women who are active and exercised in the first half of the pregnancy show an increase in total vascular volume of the placentas. Placentas of such women also have an increase in capillary surface area and parenchymal density in the placentas.
Some parents worry about the weight of the baby. They think that exercise will cause babies to be underweight. But these are completely unsubstantial thoughts. There are only minor differences in the weight of the new-born with active mother vs inactive mother.
In addition to that, women who exercise will have less risk of giving birth to babies larger for the gestation. Women who already had some difficulties getting pregnant will need to keep an eye during IVF or IUI pregnancy.
More in-depth research is needed for this subject. But research thus far indicates that physical activity is not only safe but also beneficial to both mother and baby.
Labour And Delivery
Labor is the final stage of the pregnancy, which will be followed by the delivery. It is really painful to give birth to the baby. But it is observed that the fitness level of the mother can result in shorter labor. It also helps that fewer medical interventions are required during the labor if mother is in peak health condition.
Being healthy and fit may not reduce pain you will go through for the delivery but it will help you endure the pain. Exercise will increase your stamina and endurance level, so you are able to stay awake and not get tired, which will help you with delivering a baby without many complications and minimum medical interventions.
Regular exercise can shorten the labor. Shorter the labor time, lower the risk of caesarean and other operative assisted vaginal delivery. Though it is just a conjecture at this time as there are few contradictory cases in the study but those women who participate in the exercise program throughout pregnancy reduce the risk of caesarean section and other operative procedures.
These newer studies are far more conclusive than before. As they form a strict control group and maintain the watch over the women who participated in the exercise program. Although, this exercise period was only from 20 to 36 week of gestation.
In one other study, aerobic fitness was inspected in nulliparous women. Nulliparous women are those who have not given birth yet, who have given birth to still born baby or baby which was not able to survive outside for one reason or other outside the womb.
This study was done to test how aerobics fitness can affect the duration of the labor. It is observed that aerobics can help you learn how to increase maximal oxygen consumption. Maximal oxygen consumption is a measure of aerobatics fitness, which will shorten the labor duration by 30 minutes.
Perinatal Depression
It is really difficult for some women to feel happy during the pregnancy. It is not their own choice to be unhappy but the hormones surging through their bodies during and after the pregnancy is off the charts.
Exercises are known to alleviate the depression by pumping your body with endorphins. So it is not that much of a stretch that this can also be applied during and after pregnancy. Thus activity and exercise will alleviate the symptoms of depression during the pregnancy and postpartum depression as well.
The trial conducted by health professionals reports that there are many inconsistencies in their findings. In one study, women reported that decrease in depression symptoms who exercised only 1 or 2 times a week but not more than 3 times a week were less likely to report depression.
In another study women who were exercising more than 4 or more times a week but not less than 4 times reported a decrease in depression symptoms. These two studies provide very inconsistent results. This creates controversies in the field of research.
In addition to creating contradictory results, these trials might not be clinically significant. This concludes that we don’t have enough evidence to support this hypothesis. But we do know that doing something is better than doing nothing. So go out and be as active as possible.
Up until now we talked about how exercise is good for both mother and fetus. But it is not enough to have successful IUI pregnancy or natural pregnancy. There are many reasons which contribute to having a high risk pregnancy. In India, nearly 30% pregnancy ends up being the high risk pregnancy. Yes, you read it correctly. High risk pregnancies contribute such high rates in India.
In the face of such a high contribution you will think that there will be more awareness platforms for women. But it is a really sad fact that most women don’t realise the risk themselves. Couples who had gone through fertility treatments might be aware of risks that constitute pregnancy as high risk pregnancy.
So let us first define the high risk pregnancies.
A high risk pregnancy is the one that puts higher risk on the health complications for the newborn, mother or both. A health complication can rise anytime during, before or after pregnancy. Gynaecologists suggest that women with high risk pregnancy be monitored carefully. They need to be cared for until the baby is born or risk goes away.
Now Let’s Look At The Risk Factors Associated With The High Risk Pregnancy.
Some women are more likely to have high risk pregnancy than others. High risk pregnancy can be caused by many factors. Some factors are more common than you think.
Life Style
The way you live your life affects your body and your body in the future as well. The way you lived and are living now will impact your child’s birth and life. The chances of risks increases if you are or in the past had a substance abuse problem. It will be smart to consult your doctor before you plan a baby. You will need to take additional preventive measures to have a healthy baby. IUI pregnancy will be difficult if the reproductive system was damaged previously.
Maternal Age
The age of the mother is a crucial element in the risk factors. Women expecting over the age of 35 years or younger than 17 years are more likely to have complications in their pregnancy. As your age advances there are also issues with conceiving in the first place. After 40 years of age risk of genetic distortions and miscarriage becomes greater. Doctors don’t recommend using IUI pregnancy to women who are after the age of 40.
Underlying Health Conditions
Health of the mother affects both during the pregnancy. When a mother has any chronic disease like diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid, sexually transmitted disease, obesity, asthma, fertility issues, etc. chances of high risk pregnancy becomes higher. These not only affect the complications that may arise during the gestation period but it can also affect the health of the fetus. These problems will not provide you with positive IUI pregnancy. So if you have any infertility issues they will need to be corrected by another means.
Obstetrics
Your previous history in childbirth is relevant enough to consider as a risk factor in the current pregnancy. If your earlier birth was also a high risk then chances of having it again is probable. Your doctor will provide you with the plan of action for the duration of gestation, labor and delivery. Obstetrics medical history includes stillbirth, premature infant, caesarean delivery, post term pregnancy, etc. this all precedent to high risk prenatal period. It is not relevant that your earlier pregnancy was due to IUI pregnancy. But if that baby had any complication in their incubation then it does become relevant.
Stillbirth is when a baby dies inside the womb before even coming out. Premature babies are those that are born before normal gestation is completed i.e. baby is born before 37 weeks are ended. Caesarean section is when a baby is cut out of the mother’s womb through surgical procedure. Post- term pregnancy is when the baby is staying inside the mother’s womb after normal gestation period is over i.e. 42 weeks. These are the problems that can cause complications in later pregnancies.
Pregnancy Complications
These issues arise during the prenatal period. There are numerous complications; some are more common than others. So we are going to discuss the complications that are fairly common. Pregnancy complications rise regardless of how you get pregnant i.e. if it is natural, IVF or IUI pregnancy.
Preterm labor
Premature labor is not good for the baby as well as mother. Baby is not developed enough to come out before a certain amount of time. This complication is the top most reason for the high risk pregnancy. It is very difficult for a fetus to stay alive if it is not developed yet.
Preeclampsia
As we discussed above, this causes mothers to develop hypertension during the pregnancy. It is not good for mother or fetus. This makes it a high risk factor for the prenatal period. But many women develop it after the 20th week of incubation. So it is very relevant that you take preventive measures to avoid this ailment.
Diabetes
Women can develop gestational diabetes during incubation period. It will increase your blood sugar level. Though it might be only temporary, you will need to take precaution to not letting it get too high. Diabetes is a dangerous disease.
Problems with baby’s growth
Whether it is a natural or IUI pregnancy. Fetus is supposed to grow at a certain pace. If the baby is not growing at the rate it was supposed to, complications arise. If growth is stunted due to some reason the baby will need to come out preterm. This will reduce the surviving rate of the child.
Multiple Pregnancies
It is risky to carry one child in your womb. But if there are multiple babies in your belly, difficulties will increase as well. There are several factors that will rise with expecting multiple births. IUI pregnancy sometimes gives you multiple births.
It is smart to see your doctor to assess the risk factors for the incubation period.
It is not always supposed to be a scary thing to carry a baby. However, sometimes there will be complications that you need to face before you are able to welcome your baby into the world. It is really difficult for the couples who had fertility issues in the beginning. And when they finally get pregnant they are faced with different set problems. IUI pregnancy gives you the most natural form of pregnancy. But you will also have to bear with other problems that come with natural incubation.
