What are the contraindications to exercise during pregnancy?

What are the contraindications to exercise during pregnancy?

The first list is Relative Contraindications.  This means that whether or not you should be active is relative to other factors and you will work with your healthcare provider to decide what is the best choice for you.

• Recurrent pregnancy loss
• Gestational hypertension
• A history of spontaneous preterm birth
• Mild/moderate cardiovascular or respiratory disease
• Symptomatic anemia
• Malnutrition
• Eating Disorder
• Twin pregnancy after the 28^th week
• Other significant medical condition

The second list is Absolute Contraindications.  This means that you should not exercise during this pregnancy if you have any of the following:

• Ruptured membranes
• Premature labour
• Unexplained persistent vaginal bleeding
• Placenta previa after 28 weeks’ gestation
• Pre-eclampsia
• Incompetent cervix
• Intrauterine growth restriction
• High-order multiple pregnancy (ex. triplets)
• Uncontrolled Type I diabetes
• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Uncontrolled thyroid disease
• Other serious cardiovascular, respiratory or systemic disorder

These lists come from the 2019 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity Throughout Pregnancy.