Keep moving during pregnancy
Suitable activity helps maintain fitness and lowers gestational diabetes risk.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
Moderate activity helps keep the heart and lungs healthy during an uncomplicated pregnancy. CDC recommends at least 150 minutes per week and reports lower risks of excessive weight gain and gestational diabetes. The plan should adapt as pregnancy progresses and to any medical restrictions.
How to do it
- Ask your maternity team how to adapt your usual movement.
- Choose comfortable activity such as walking or swimming.
- Use a pace at which you can still hold a conversation.
- Build up gently if you were inactive before pregnancy.
Your maternity clinician should guide activity when there are pregnancy complications or new concerning symptoms.
Do it
Pick the time you have. Anything beats nothing.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Identify one usual activity you want to keep doing during pregnancy so you can ask your maternity team how to adapt it.
5 minutes
Prepare a question for your maternity team about safe activity, including your usual exercise, symptoms and any restrictions you have been given.
15 minutes
Read the NHS pregnancy exercise tips and list suitable options to discuss, including how to avoid overheating, exhaustion and activities with a risk of falling.
30 minutes
If your pregnancy has no complications, walk for up to 30 minutes at a pace where you can still talk; slow down if breathless.
A plan
Make movement fit your pregnancy
- Stage 1: Discuss your usual activity and any pregnancy complications with your maternity team.
- Stage 2: Choose comfortable options such as walking or swimming if suitable for you.
- Stage 3: Build up gently, keeping a conversational pace and adapting to symptoms and advice.
- Stage 4: Work toward the recommended weekly amount when appropriate, accepting smaller amounts as a useful start.
In real life
- Ask your maternity team whether comfortable walking fits your pregnancy and current symptoms.
- If you choose a pregnancy exercise class, tell the qualified instructor how many weeks pregnant you are.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeTrying to meet the weekly target immediately after being inactive can be too much, so start gradually with your maternity team's advice.
- Common mistakeKeeping your old pace despite breathlessness can mean overdoing it, so slow down enough to hold a conversation.
Trusted guides
Check usSources
- Evidence grade
- A Meta-analyses of randomised trials, or a major guideline consensus.
- Basis
- CDC 2025 pregnancy activity guidance and NHS pregnancy recommendations
- The number
- At least 150 minutes of moderate activity weekly in healthy pregnancy (CDC, 2025)
- Outcome
- recommended minimum moderate activity in healthy pregnancy
- Comparison
- CDC weekly pregnancy activity guidance
- Tier 1 guidelinePregnant and Postpartum Activity: An OverviewCDC, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineExercise in pregnancyNHS, 2023
General health information, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Personalization changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess your medical risks. Follow the cautions and consult a qualified clinician when needed.