Exercise Tips for Pregnancy
Exercise can increase contractions in pregnant women with diabetes leading to pre-term labor. But this does not mean that exercise has to stop altogether. Leona Dang-Kilduff, a pregnancy adviser at the Diabetes and Pregnancy Center at the Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, recommends that women who continue their exercise program into pregnancy maintain an acute awareness of their contractions.
Following is a list of exercise guidelines for pregnant women with diabetes, developed by the Diabetes and Pregnancy Program.
- Learn how your body responds to exercise. Watch your response to variations in frequency, duration, intensity and types of exercise.
- Learn your blood glucose response to different types and amounts of carbohydrates.
- Always check your blood glucose before you start exercising and take supplemental food as needed.
- Do not exercise if blood glucose is over 200 mg/dl.
- Monitor blood glucose every 30 minutes during endurance exercise.
- Monitor blood glucose after exercise (be aware that you may feel the effects of exercise for 18 to 24 hours after exercising).
- Inject in your abdomen only.
- Adjust insulin as directed by your doctor.