Why You Should Exercise When Trying to Conceive

Maximize Your Chance of Conceiving with Exercise

If you want to maximize your chance of conceiving, you should get exercise in the pre-pregnancy months to get your body in shape. Exercise is also beneficial to your overall health. It releases endorphins, which puts you in a happier mood. It decreases your stress level and increases your energy levels. All of this combined makes the “baby making” experience more positive for you and your partner. On top of that, healthy women have an easier time conceiving than those who aren’t.

Exercise for Weight Management

Photo Credit: John Nyberg

Keeping a healthy body weight boosts your chance of getting pregnant. If you are overweight and trying to conceive, you can still conceive but it may take longer. To have the healthiest pregnancy possible, it’s important that you aim for a healthy weight because obesity can increase your risk of miscarriage, gestational diabetes and birth defects. Exercise and eating a balanced diet can help you achieve this goal.

Regular exercise helps with maintain a healthy body weight, and it also manages your blood pressure and blood sugar. The healthier you are when you conceive, the higher the chance that you’ll have a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Work Out to Decrease Stress

Another reason that exercise is vital for women trying to conceive is that it lowers your stress levels. Chronic stress can alter your hormone levels and interfere with your fertility, making it more difficult for you to get pregnant. If you have a lot of stress in your life, you’ll want to find a way to relax and decrease this stress. Exercising can be an outlet to help you do this. Yoga is one great exercise that can help you do this.

Tips for a Healthy Exercise Program

If you’re trying to get pregnant and you haven’t exercised before, start slow. Ease into your exercise program. You may want to start with a very simple workout, like walking around your neighborhood for 10 to 15 minutes. Once you feel like you’re ready to step it up a notch, why not take the stairs instead of an elevator? Then, you may want to do some cycling or weight training.