European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                To your health exercise keeps pregnant women fit by Janet Agostino medical writer. Many women no longer want to give up excise classes or Jane Fonda video tapes just because item Are pregnant they re choosing to stay til during pregnancy by walking Lancing or doing their favorite stretching and toning exercises. And there is no medical reason for them to Slop exercising in Hoy do ii in moderation and Are otherwise healthy according to or. Maj Roderick Hume an obstetrician gynaecologist at Trie Frankfurt army regional medical Center. Whito the physical fitness movement has been around for awhile it is Only in the past Tew years thai women or medical professionals have had a serious interest in regular exercise during pregnancy. It in really a new Field Hume said in he Early 1930s, there was Noi a lot of interest in exercise during  Hume found that there was limited information and research about exercise and pregnancy. Using what was available he developed a medically and scientifically updated program. He and capt. Kathleen Seehafer. Siead nurse of labor end delivery at the hasp la coordinate and Leach exercise classes at the Frankfurt Hospital Lor pregnant women. They also train other instructors to Leach classes. Exercise during pregnancy is similar to physical fitness training or anything else Hume said. Fitness is like a proscription you have to tailor it to the individual pregnant women can t judge their Progress by the same criteria they would in they were not  women Are mistaken he said it they think exorcise will give them a better baby or will make labor and delivery easier and less painful. Scien ofic research has not proven such results. What exercise will do is Lone Muscles Lessen Back pain and Giva woman More Energy. It will also help them gain less weight and help get them Back into shape More quickly Afulei delivery we Don t know what All the benefits Are yet Hume said strenuous exercise Lor Long periods is not recommended during pregnancy because the effects on the talus Are undetermined. However data does. Vurta Kathleen see Hetor Canter conducting in exec let Elan Lor pregnant women in Frankfurt. Show that moderate exercise is not harmful to the baby. Hume said. Exercise needs to be in moderation because of the changes to the body during pregnancy. The Pelvic floor of a woman is like a Hammock with the uterus acting in the Middle. During pregnancy the hormones oestrogen progesterone and elastin increase softening ligaments so that the Pelvic Bones can separate during birth. Ii you Are doing weight bearing Impact aerobics or running you Are Lamming joints and Are More Likely to overstretch rip or tear the softened ligaments and cause damage to the Pelvic floor Hume said. The woman s expanding uterus and enlarging breasts change the body s Center of Gravity making a pregnant woman More vulnerable to Back injuries because of increased pressure on the Back and the hip joints. The heart works harder and beats faster during pregnancy because the blood volume increases 40 to 60 percent just being pregnant is like a workout said Huma. You Are More fit at the end of pregnancy by All physical parameters than at the beginning. Cardiac output is improved the heart has been beating faster you have carried around extra weight and gradually Over nine months you have built up your  but pregnancy is also a Drain on the the body As the fetus is nourished and protected causing women to fatigue easier. By getting yourself lit you can Cope with the fatigue a bit easier. You can build on Mother nature s own training. You have to locus on the Marathon of labor. Whether you exercise or not you re going to enter the biggest Marathon of your me labor and  in the exercise classes Seehafer leaches women to maintain Good posture to do stretching exercises Pelvic lists modified sit ups and Kegel exercises. Kegel Etc erases which help strengthen the Pelvic floor Are performed by contracting the Walls of the Vagina. The women also do Low Impact aerobics thai increase he heart rate slightly but do not Jot the body. We stress moderation. There s no comp Lilton to keep up with the other Guy this is no time to win contests Huma said a woman should be Able to hold a conversation while exercising and it she becomes Short of breath she should slow Down or Stop. Do common Genie thing. Unless you get a whole k l out of racketball or skiing you really should do More sedate activities that Are less Likely to cause injuries. In sports like racketball you should ask yourself what am i gaining for the risk women interested in attending organized exercise classes should talk to their obstetricians most women Are motivated to exercise during pregnancy because they Are concerned about body image  their first concern is usually Lor the baby. They Don t want to Hurt the baby Hume said. They want to do what is  can doctors heal themselves when a medical student discovered her Gums were bleeding she went straight to her doctor and told him she Houghl she had leukaemia. The doctor laughed. The Young woman s affliction was mid or medical students d