Being active during pregnancy is generally safe and helps most women feel better, stay fit, manage their weight, lower their chance of getting gestational diabetes (especially if they're overweight), and feel less stressed — so doctors often recommend it for healthy pregnancies.

We don't yet know the best way for pregnant women to exercise—how hard, how often, or what kind of support helps most—and we also need to understand if working physically while pregnant affects the mom and baby's health.

Working out while pregnant doesn't make it more likely for a mom to lose the baby, have the baby too early, or have a baby with low weight — it's generally safe for most pregnant women.

Even when pregnant women with a normal weight are given exercise programs or motivation tips, most still don't get enough physical activity during pregnancy — they're still moving less than the recommended amount each week.

If you're having a normal pregnancy, staying active with workouts like walking, swimming, or light weight training can help you stay fit and make your pregnancy go more smoothly.

If a pregnant woman gets at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, she’s less likely to develop gestational diabetes, high blood pressure during pregnancy, or pre-eclampsia.