Forgive my French, but no Sh!t, Sherlock! You are growing another human, you superhero, you!! Of course we will have heart rate changes in pregnancy!!
But do you know HOW being pregnant changes your cardiovascular system (heart and blood supply) and WHAT this means for your daily workout? Read on to learn more, my friend!
As we are growing another human, we need more materials to work with, and our amazing body increases the blood supply to accomplish this. BUT…the body takes a while to adjust to these changes, so ‘how’ the body reacts, and ‘how’ we need to adjust our workouts, varies depending on where we are in our pregnancy!
So we have all this new blood volume, but our body is still using it’s ‘old’ heart rate and blood pressure to manage this new volume…and it’s just the right mix.
Add into this, the fact that your blood vessels are all “loosey-goosey” (to use a technical term) from the baby-hormones. The result is that a lot of this new blood gets stuck in our hands and legs (HELLO, SWELLING!).
And if the blood is stuck in our legs and hands…it’s not in our brains. And your amazing body notices this…so early in pregnancy the brain will increase your heart rate, in order to get enough blood (which carries oxygen and nutrients) to vital organs.
So this is why at 10 weeks, you might not even be showing yet, and your heart is racing from walking up and down the stairs once. And why your heart rate might be a bit high, even at rest.
Later in pregnancy, your body has now adjusted to the ‘flexy’ vessels, and has increased the amount of blood in your system. This means that your heart is filling more efficiently.
Your heart is now effectively in “Boss Mode”, and therefore not having to beat as fast, because it’s moving A LOT of blood in a really good way. So now your heart rate is lower.
Practically, this means that later in pregnancy, you might feel like you’re really working hard, and your heart rate not really increase the same way it did before baby was on board.
Wow. So that’s how your heart rate changes during pregnancy as your rad body grows this human! Check out this post for what this means for your daily workout!
Oh, and if you haven’t already, be sure to pop over to my IG Page, @therealpelvicfloored, where I have fun posts, like this one, and others (like this one about importance of prenatal education in reducing negative outcomes, and this one about how to make padsicles, and OF COURSE, this one, your Vag Bag Must Haves! AND MORE!!)
And, as always, heck out my Pelvic Floored Signature Lecture Series for in-depth training of how your current pelvic floor muscle status could be contributing to your pain, incontinence, constipation, pelvic organ pressure, or sexual dysfunction complaints. The online program, streamable from the privacy of your own home, includes 12 mini lectures, and 12 progressive exercise programs that I developed based upon current research, as well as my 16 years of experience in pelvic health.
What other motivation do you need? Did I mention that for every 4 courses I sell, I will donate one to a person in need, through my People Before Profits Program. I am so proud of this. By buying my program you are not only helping yourself (or your loved one), but also someone in need.
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