Exercise is good for you, especially when you are pregnant. Countless studies confirm this.

But exercise is often the last thing on your mind when you are dealing with the nausea, swollen feet and ankles, exhaustion, heartburn, achy wrists, backache and hip pain, that accompany most pregnancies.

How are you supposed to go for a walk when you need to pee constantly? How can you get to an exercise class when you feel so exhausted?

"It can be hard to get yourself to exercise when you are pregnant," admits Tracy Carr, a certified nurse midwife at Heartland Women's Healthcare in Marion. "But it's important to stay fit during pregnancy. You don't want to gain an excessive amount of weight."

Carr recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise, on most if not all days a week for moms-to-be and says a gentle, low-impact workout, such as walking, yoga, or swimming can be very beneficial. Other more vigorous exercises such as aerobics, running, strength training and racquet sports, if done in moderation, are safe for women who have done them for a while before pregnancy, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

"With the exception of vigorous exercise such as horse back riding and trampoline jumping, most women can continue whatever form of exercise they have been doing in the past," says Nancy Armstrong, R.N., a maternal child health educator at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. "Talk to your physician about exercising during pregnancy and modify the exercise to fit your needs."

Carbondale-resident, Erica Budslick, 31, is a little over 12 weeks pregnant. In addition to her tiny baby bump, she says she can already feel her thighs getting bigger.

"I have exercised all my life and one of my biggest fears in gaining 60 pounds during this pregnancy," she says. "So I try to stay pretty active and also focus on making sure my baby is healthy."

Erica uses her Nordic Track for 15 minutes three times a week and follows a yoga DVD once a week, in addition to attending a prenatal yoga class at One o One Yoga in Carbondale.

This was the same class Lisa Dover, a certified massage therapist and hot yoga instructor, at In Sync Mind Body Therapy Center in Carbondale, attended before giving birth to Patrick Alan Dover, her bright-eyed and beautiful baby boy just last month, Sept 15, 2008 to be exact.

Opting to have a natural childbirth, Lisa was in labor for 15 hours. But once she got into active labor, things moved along rather quickly.

"It only took four pushes to get the baby out," she recalls. "Everyone was shocked at how fast it happened!"

Lisa practiced yoga right up to the time she delivered her baby boy. She taught her regular Hot yoga classes till her seventh month of pregnancy and then stopped teaching, but continued to practice yoga in her own time, in addition to attending a couple of prenatal yoga classes at One o One Yoga.

"I pretty much kept up with the yoga I have been doing in the past, altering the techniques a bit, you know pregnancy modification and such," Lisa says.

Lisa believes her yoga practice helped her feel limber and flexible during her pregnancy, and helped strengthen her pelvic floor; resulting in an easy labor and delivery.

"My yoga routine changed as I went further along in my pregnancy," Lisa admits. "Instead of 90 minutes, I scaled back to 60 minutes and then 30 minutes. The key is to do a gentle practice and being mindful not to stretch or twist too much."

Of the prenatal yoga class she attended, Lisa says she enjoyed meeting other pregnant women and doing yoga together in a supportive environment.

Taught by Barbara Bates, a trained childbirth educator and yoga teacher, the prenatal yoga class offers a series of postures for moms-to-be designed to strengthen the body and increase flexibility during the whole childbearing period.

"Yoga creates an opening for trust in the mind and body," Bates says. "It encourages being in the here and now and helps make that body-mind-spirit connection with your baby. It is also an effective preparation for labor and birth."

Of course a lot of the postures are modified, Bates explains. Moms-to-be never lie on their tummy or backs for any period of time in class. They also learn to listen to their bodies and avoid anything that doesn't feel right, including compression of the abdomen, twisting from the abdomen, and overstretching.

"If you have been exercising in any capacity before you got pregnant, you can start yoga from very early on in your pregnancy and do it right up to the day of your delivery," Bates says.

For those who have not been consistently working out, Bates says it is important to get through the first 10-12 weeks of pregnancy, before starting an exercise routine. As with any exercise program it is always best to check with your doctor first before beginning.

"Prenatal yoga creates a place of strength, stillness and self-confidence," Bates says. "Most women tell me they are thankful for the stillness and focus yoga helps them create for themselves. As they get bigger and bigger, yoga helps women feel beautiful, radiant and in control of their bodies."

According to Janet Balaskas, in her book, Preparing for Birth with Yoga, your body already has all the knowledge and power you need, to give birth and to nurture your baby. Practicing yoga while pregnant will help you to relax and to trust and have confidence in the power of your body to go through the natural processes which occur during birthing, even if you start out feeling apprehensive and fearful.

A low impact exercise that helps expectant mothers stay in shape, yoga can also provide relief from back pain and nausea and come in handy during labor and delivery.

If there aren't any prenatal yoga classes in your neighborhood, pick up a DVD or book specifically designed for expectant mothers or talk to a regular yoga teacher and find out how you can modify certain postures for your pregnancy.

In the water

In addition to low impact exercises such as walking and yoga, research shows that exercising in the water has proven benefits. The natural buoyancy and weightlessness of water, helps moms-to-be exercise harder and longer in water, while avoiding injury and muscle strain. The water supports your weight and also helps you stay cool, while preventing your legs from swelling.

A study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology found that pregnant women who participated in a 45 minute water aerobic class twice a week for a period of six weeks, reported greater feelings of positive well-being and less psychological distress and fatigue, in comparison to their pre-program reports.

Similar improvements were noted following a single bout of exercise during each week of the program. The researchers concluded that regular engagement in an aquatic exercise program is associated with improvements in positive feeling states and reductions in negative feeling states and fatigue for women during pregnancy.

Jean Szidik, teaches an aqua aerobics and aqua arthritis class in West Frankfort and Carbondale. In the past she has taught a "Moms in Motion" class targeted at pregnant women.

Having had four kids herself, Szidik says having a baby is a bit like running a marathon. "You will have good and bad days. Some days you will feel exhausted and that's o.k. It's a normal part of being pregnant."

If you want to exercise under water while pregnant, Szidik recommends any swimming strokes, water aerobics and water jogging.

She says there are however certain precautions you should take. Remember that high temperatures cannot be tolerated by pregnant women. Never turn or twist rapidly. Always make sure you are able to talk comfortably, otherwise you may not be supplying enough oxygen to the baby.