Welcome to Gaia! ::

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

Benifits tp exercise.
Resistance to fatigue.
Stronger back muscles, which can help manage back pain and strain as your belly grows.
Improved posture.
Smaller gain of body fat.
Stress relief.
Preparation for the physical demands of labour.
Faster recuperation after labour.
Faster return to pre-pregnancy fitness and healthy weight.
Increased ability to cope with physical demands of motherhood.





There are quite a few ways to get some easy exercise into your day:


Take the stairs whenever possible.

Park further away and walk to stores.

Walk to do short errands.

Use a video if you can't get to the gym.

Walk around the house or up and down stairs while commercials are on television.

Schedule your workout like any other appointment.

Get up to change the television channels.

Use a push mower.

Exercise in water (aquarobics)

Walking

Swimming

Yoga

Stretching

Dancing

Pilates

Cycling on a stationary bicycle

Pregnancy exercise classes.




General Tips:

Aim for four exercise sessions per week.
Don't try to exercise too far beyond your current fitness level.
Warm up thoroughly for at least 10 minutes.
Exercise on soft surfaces, such as grass or carpet.
Maintain a moderate intensity - a general rule of thumb is to keep your heart rate below 140 beats per minute.
If exercising in water, keep your heart rate below 125 beats per minute.
Do no more than 20 minutes of vigorous activity per exercise session, and keep an eye on your heart rate.
Rest frequently, especially if you are feeling breathless.
Don't hold your breath - as a rule, breathe out through the movements that need the most effort.
Change positions carefully and slowly.
Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise.
Cool down thoroughly for at least 10 minutes.
Include stretching in your exercise program - aim for slow, sustained stretches and avoid 'bouncing'.
Monitor your body temperature - if you are feeling too hot slow down your activity and take in some water.
Wear multiple layers of clothing that you can remove, rather than one bulky layer. Choose natural fibres such as cotton.
Wear a supportive bra.
Have at least two rest days every week.


Exercises to AVOID

Outdoor cycling, rollerblading or vigorous stretching.
Contact sports, trampolining or activities that carry a risk of falling.
Competition sports, depending on the stage of pregnancy, the level of competition and your level of fitness.
After about the fourth month, exercises that involve lying on your back - the weight of your baby can compress your main artery. This will lower your blood pressure and make you feel dizzy and light-headed.
In the later stages of pregnancy, activities that involve jolting or jarring the body, such as running and jumping, or that demand rapid changes of direction.


General cautions:

Avoid raising your body temperature too high - for example, don't soak in hot spas or exercise to the point of heavy sweating.
Reduce your level of exercise on hot or humid days.
If weight training, choose low weights and medium to high repetitions - avoid lifting heavy weights altogether.
Don't exercise if you are ill or feverish.
If you don't feel like exercising on a particular day - then don't! It is important to listen to your body to avoid unnecessarily depleting your energy reserves.



Pelvic floor exercises
The pelvic floor muscles are tightly slung between the tailbone (coccyx) and the pubic bone, and support the bladder, uterus, v****a and bowel. Weak pelvic floor muscles can't adequately support these organs, which could cause problems including incontinence and prolapsed uterus.

The weight of the growing baby puts excessive strain on the pelvic floor muscles, but you can perform simple exercises to help avoid future problems. Urethral muscles are those that stop urine in mid-flow, and the a**l sphincter is responsible for 'holding on' when you need to pass a bowel motion. You can feel the muscles around your v****a by inserting a finger and squeezing or practice stopping your urine mid-flow. Exercises include:

Squeeze your muscles slowly and hold for up to 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
Perform quick, strong squeezes. Repeat 10 times..
Abdominal exercises
Strong abdominal muscles support your spine. It is important to keep your abdominal muscles strong, particularly during the third trimester when the size and weight of your baby are rapidly increasing. Suggestions include:
Concentrate on drawing your belly button towards your spine.
Breathe out while pulling in your belly.
Hold the position and count to 10. Relax, and breathe in.
Repeat 10 times, as many times per day as you are capable.

You can perform this exercise sitting, standing, or on your hands and knees.
Consider doing your abdominal exercises and pelvic floor exercises at the same time.
Avoid conventional 'crunches' or sit-ups that involve lying on your back and drawing your ribcage and pelvis together.

The problem with her telling her parents is that they quite possibly will hurt her for it. They aren't the nicest people in the first place. As far as money goes her boyfriend and I have that covered.

QFE.

There really is no way around it. Krystalanna posted an awesome idea, that's probably the best idea to do it with both sets of parents. It's really unrealistic and childish of all of you not to tell her parents. I can understand the fear and not having the best parents, but it's time to be adults, even if no one was adults before. She is still in their legal care as of now and all of you border on illegal activity (if the parents choose to pursue it) for not telling them.

PLEASE get her to a doctor ASAP. That's horrible irresponsible to not to. Unless you are a doctor, you can't really give her advice about how to eat, etc. Some of the things posted aren't really the norm for everything and doesn't apply to everything. ESPECIALLY if she is a teenager, there are WAY larger risks to her than you can even fathom.

Regardless of the parent issue, I'm really hammering she needs to get a doctor, don't encourage her not to by asking for advice for pregnancy on a public forum, it's no substitute for a doctor.

If she's all ready getting prenatal care, taking her vitamins, the doctor will tell her what is best, she just needs to ask and read the information they give her.

Thank you guys. I'll get that to happen...