Giving Compass' Take:

• Katherine Hobson explains that women may shy away from physical activity during pregnancy, but research shows that exercise during pregnancy has benefits for both mother and child.  

• How can funder help to shift cultural norms around pregnancy to encourage exercise? 

• Read the official U.S. physical activity guidelines. 

Serena Williams won the Australian Open while in her first trimester of pregnancy. A Sherpa woman in her third trimester climbed to Everest Base Camp. Paula Radcliffe, who holds the world record in the women’s marathon, ran twice a day in the first five months of her pregnancy. Olympic track athlete Alysia Montano competed in a high-level 800-meter race while 34 weeks pregnant. Pregnancy can feel like one long list of things not to do. But these women are demonstrating that exercise doesn’t need to be on that list — and the science backs them up.

There’s now plenty of evidence that regular exercise during a normal pregnancy is good for parent and baby. According to a new joint guideline from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, physical activity can lower the risk of excess weight gain, gestational diabetes and postpartum depression in the parent without harming the baby or causing the child health problems later. Although the benefits of exercise during pregnancy are clear, the message can be difficult to convey in a culture that can seem ready to scrutinize a pregnant woman’s every move.

There’s no evidence that exercise causes miscarriages (although more research is needed on the heaviest exercisers). But pregnancy can bring a vague dread of something going wrong. And that dread may lead people to perceive that doing nothing is less risky than doing something.

Pregnant would-be exercisers could use the inspiration, along with some social support. Pregnant people who don’t exercise cite many of the same reasons that people who aren’t pregnant do — including a lack of time, of resources or of motivation or enjoyment.

Read the full article about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy by Katherine Hobson at FiveThirtyEight.