Pregnancy & Lifestyle: Safe Practices During Early Pregnancy

Question
QUESTION: Hi,I am 8 weeks pregnent.Is it possible to suck stomach in so that your stomach looks flat and i will get less bump ? I have one more question and that is i have been drinking lemon water empty stomach in the morning after when i wake up?I was wondering if it would show any negative effect on my pregnecy however this is my all time habit i have been drinking small cup of luke warm lemon water from 3-4 years so do you think that i should stop this habit now or i can continue??   thanks you very much in advance

ANSWER: If by sucking in your stomach, you mean that you contract your deep abdominal muscle, your Transverse Abdominis (TvA), then yes, keeping this muscle strong will help you carry you baby with more ease and your tummy will not get as big, at least in the first half of pregnancy or so .

Many athletic women with strong abs, particularly the TvA, carry 'small' and look less further along than sedentary women. The TvA is the body's internal girdle and the most important core stabilizer. A strong TvA also helps to prevent diastasis recti (abdominal separation) a condition where the midline of the body widens during pregnancy.

Make sure that you do not hold your breath, or pull you diaphragm up into your upper torso when you try to strengthen your TvA. A common mistake. You want to be able to breath normally as you work the area.

As to the lemon water, while I an not a nutritionist, drinking plenty of fluids during pregnancy is very healthy, and the addition of lemon juice will add a small amount of vitamin C and should not cause any negative side effects.

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QUESTION: thank you very much for your answer.However i have not yet strated doning this stomcah contraction excercise but i will appreciate if you explain me how should i do this so that it effect me positively,as i have only heard about this but have never done this i have no idea how should i practise this during pregnency stage.
thank once again

Answer
For a in depth description of this exercise go to my web site at: http://befitmom.com/strength_training.html. Scroll down to the bottom where you'll find info on how to safely perform abdominal exercises during pregnancy, including info on how to contract the Transverse Abdominis.