What Swimmers Should Know About Swimming While Pregnant

If you’re pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, you may be wondering whether that means you’ll need to leave your swimming routine in the dust.

The simple answer is absolutely not! Swimming can—and probably should—be part of your prenatal care protocol.

That’s according to Michael Tahery, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and urogynecologist with L.A. Women’s Health and Fitness, a private practice based in southern California.

Tahery, who is a swimmer himself, says that first and foremost, it’s important to remember that “pregnancy is a healthy condition. It’s not a sickness or an illness. Women can do whatever they want—if they want to do Pilates or hike or swim, they can do that,” he says.

“However, they have to bear in mind a few things,” he continues.

Big Body Changes

Because the body is undergoing many physiological changes rapidly, the pregnant swimmer may need to make a few adjustments to their training and racing routine—anything from getting a new swimsuit to accommodate an expanding belly to how intensely they swim during any session.

During pregnancy, the cardiovascular capacity of the body changes. “This causes function changes in the heart and lungs along with blood volume changes,” Tahery notes. That’s because greater demands for nutrients to feed the growing baby place an added burden on the pregnant person’s body. This can create stress in some instances. Many pregnant athletes can adapt to these needs, but some may need to scale back their energy expenditure to ensure the growing fetus has what it needs to thrive.

In addition, the center of gravity in the body shifts. For some swimmers, this means that ideal body position falls out of kilter and the swimmer slows down. For a few lucky swimmers, however, the shift, along with the increased weight that naturally comes as the baby grows, can help push the swimmer into a more ideal position that can improve their swimming ability.

Across all these changes, the pregnant swimmer will likely notice some other fluctuations to how fit they feel and whether they can push as hard as they did in the pool prior to becoming pregnant. A pregnant swimmer may need to reduce the length, intensity, or frequency of swims. But that’s a highly individualized calculation, Tahery notes.

Rakhee Patel, a board-certified OBGYN with Pinewood Family Care Co. Direct Care network in New Jersey, adds that pregnant athletes should avoid overly vigorous or high-impact exercises as the pregnancy progresses. For example, activities such as diving or water skiing and others that can pose a risk of falling or abdominal injury are best avoided during pregnancy.

“It’s also important to stay hydrated and avoid overheating,” Patel says, “as pregnant women are more prone to heat stress.” And pools that have “excessively high chlorine levels or unhygienic conditions should be avoided to reduce the risk of infections,” she notes.

Benefits of Swimming While Pregnant

In virtually all cases, “exercise is very beneficial in pregnancy,” Tahery says. The great news for folks who like to swim is that it’s one of the best exercises you can engage in while pregnant because it’s low impact and doesn’t stress the joints the way weight-bearing or land-based sports can.

Another benefit of swimming while pregnant is simply being in the water. Fluid retention in the body is a common feature of pregnancy, but being submerged in water can help ease some of that swelling while reducing the feeling of carrying around extra weight. “The buoyancy of the water can provide relief from the extra weight of pregnancy, reducing stress on the body and helping with mobility,” Patel explains.

It’s also a full-body exercise that works all the major muscle groups, allowing you to remain strong and fit while your body undergoes big changes. 

What’s more, swimming while pregnant may be safer than other forms of exercise because “during pregnancy, the joints become more flexible because of hormonal changes, so injury is more common with high-impact exercises,” Tahery says.

Although swimming during pregnancy is generally very safe and encouraged, Tahery does add a note of caution: you must listen to your body. Rather than constantly pushing through when you’re feeling tired, scale back on workouts and take some extra rest. Your body is growing a new human, so it’s important to eat right and get plenty of rest to meet the steep physical demands that undertaking requires.

If you’re an avid Masters swimmer and are considering becoming pregnant, take heart—you’ll likely have an easier experience with pregnancy than a sedentary person because you already have a good level of fitness, stamina, and muscle tone that can help facilitate a safe pregnancy and speedy delivery.

“I’m such an advocate for swimming during pregnancy because swimming consistently helps maintain muscle and stamina,” which can lead to “much lower risk of needing a Cesarean section delivery,” Tahery says.

What’s more, “labor goes a lot faster and easier” for fit folks who exercise regularly during pregnancy, Tahery says, “especially when they get to the stage where they have to push.” Having good muscle strength and tone in the core can aid in bearing down to push. It also means you’re less likely to have pelvic floor damage post-delivery. “A lot of the issues that we see with women with incontinence and damage to the vaginal tissue, the recovery is much faster” if the person has been exercising consistently throughout pregnancy, he says.

Lastly, Tahery underscores that “pregnancy is a healthy condition. It’s not an illness.” And whatever you want to do, you likely can achieve it. Just be aware of how your body is changing and talk with your doctor.

“You can exercise all the way to the end, which will make your baby healthier. It will make your body healthier. And it’ll make your labor much easier and your recovery much faster,” Tahery says.