When you are trying to get pregnant, it is only natural to ask whether exercise will interfere with conception. 

Many women stop working out completely to minimize any stress on the body for fear of upsetting the fertilized egg whilst on its way to implant in the uterus. 

So is exercise safe when trying to conceive? 

Every patient is unique and everyone should keep their bodies moving in ways that are right for their conditions. 

The rest of this article expands on different types of women and explains how working out could impact fertility. 

Inactive Women

Research has claimed that women with a sedentary lifestyle have lower fertility rates. 

Therefore, sedentary women are recommended to start an exercise program at least 6 weeks before getting pregnant. 

If you don’t exercise regularly, try to introduce low to moderate activities into your daily routine.

This will help improve your fitness level and prepare your body for pregnancy. 

Walking or swimming three times a week, gardening or even running house chores are good for your body and future baby.

Active Women  

If you already work out regularly, then you don’t have to change your workouts when trying to conceive. 

However, if you are a seasoned athlete and your workout routines are very strenuous, then you need adequate nutrition in parallel.

This will help you maintain a healthy weight. 

Vigorous workouts without adequate nutrition drain your body from baby-making nutrients.

This could lead to an underweight Body Mass Index (BMI), which interferes with ovulation and irregular menstrual cycles. 

Therefore, if you are planning to get pregnant soon, stick to moderate exercise with a healthy diet. 

You will be able to get back to your high-intensity workouts after you deliver when you find the time!

It is important to listen to your body, rest whenever needed, and drink plenty of water. 

Women with PCOS

Exercise with or without weight loss is beneficial for all PCOS patients. 

Women with PCOS suffer from irregular menstrual cycles – missed periods, very light periods, or irregular periods. 

They may find themselves taking so much time to conceive because of irregular ovulation or failure to ovulate. 

Options for these patients include certain medication to induce ovulation.

Some studies have shown that regular physical activity improves hormonal balance, and regulates the menstrual cycle. 

Read our article Can You Get Pregnant with PCOS to get better insights on the subject matter.

Women with Obesity

Obesity is associated with fertility problems due to irregular menstrual cycles and miscarriages. 

Some studies show improved cycle regularity and conception with physical activities in obese women with or without weigh loss.

Regular exercise will eventually help improve your hormonal balance, insulin resistance, ovulation and conception, and will help you achieve a healthy weight. 

Maintaining a normal BMI is important before you get pregnant because pregnancy is not the best time to try and lose pounds.

Furthermore, obesity can increase the risk of complications like preeclampsia.

Women Undergoing IVF

The process of IVF can take a toll on women’s lives due to the medications, the injections, the clinic’s appointments, the egg retrieval procedure, and the recovery after. 

If you have gone down this road before, then you may have experienced most (if not all) of the hardships of IVF. 

Many women experience bloating and fatigue and are in no mood to work out. 

However, even when motivation is hard to come by, any low movement that gets your heart pumping is worth the effort.  

Aiming for a moderate exercise routine of 20-30 minutes three times a week before getting pregnant will relieve some of the pregnancy symptoms like back aches and bloating.

It will also prepare your body to bear more weight, and make the delivery of the baby go much smoother.  

Why is excessive workout contraindicated during the IVF treatment? 

Patients often wonder whether the transferred embryos can fall off the uterus if they work out or even walk after the procedure. The answer to this is NO!

In fact, exercising during IVF has no impact on implantation. 

However, the major reason that patients are asked to avoid strenuous exercises during the IVF treatment is because it can lead to ovarian torsion.

Ovarian torsion is a condition when the ovary and/or the fallopian tube twists around the ligaments that hold it in place, blocking adequate blood flow to the ovary. 

When undergoing IVF, the ovaries become enlarged with developing follicles and are at a higher risk of becoming twisted due to strenuous exercise. 

Therefore, avoid exercising the large muscles in the arms and legs that may take the blood away from the ovaries and uterus like crunches and heavy-weight lifting. 

Additionally, any fall or injury to your abdomen could compromise your reproductive health.

Keep in mind that hormones produced during pregnancy cause the ligaments that support your joints to stretch, increasing the risk of injury.  

So in order to be safe, focus on meditative exercises that encourage stress relief such as walking, yoga, pilates, light stretching, low-intensity swimming, and aerobics. 

Listen To Your Body

Keep up your normal daily physical activity for as long as you feel comfortable. 

Some exercises will become harder to do as your pregnancy progresses anyway. 

Even if you are used to exercise, it is still best to be careful not to put added pressure on the fetus. 

If you suffer from some forms of heart or lung diseases, you should cut down your workout to a moderate level to minimize the risks of complications during pregnancy. 

References:

Foucaut, Aude-Marie. “Sedentary behavior, physical inactivity and body composition in relation to idiopathic infertility among men and women.” Plos One, 2019 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0210770.

Kallen, Amanda. “The Best Types of Exercise for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).” Healthline, 2020, https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/exercise-for-pcos.

Ernst, Holly. “Preeclampsia.” Healthline, 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/preeclampsia.