The perinatal physiotherapy service is part of Leeds Teaching Hospital’s Perinatal Pelvic Health Service (PPHS).
The perinatal physiotherapy service aims to provide specialist care and advice for the management of common symptoms in pregnancy or the post-partum year.
Exercise during pregnancy
Exercise during pregnancy
xercise is a great way to maintain your physical fitness and prepare yourself for birth. It’s recommended that pregnant women do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week and muscle-strengthening exercises twice a week.
These could include walking, jogging, swimming, pregnancy-based Pilates or yoga, and modified gym workouts. Aim to work hard enough to increase your breathing rate, but not so hard that you can’t maintain a conversation.
You can lie on your back to exercise, but after 19 weeks, aim to lie on your back only for short periods and stop if you feel unwell. It’s important to listen to your body, adapt your routine, and think about reducing weight, resistance, or intensity as needed.
If you’re not already active, make sure you start gradually. Always warm up and cool down, and stay well hydrated.
During pregnancy, you should avoid contact and high-risk sports, heavy lifting if your body is not used to it, and hot environments.
Stop exercising if you experience any of the following:
Vaginal bleeding
Dizziness
Abnormal pain
Calf pain or swelling
Chest pain
Pelvic pain
Feeling unwell in any way
Before starting any exercise, please check with your midwife or obstetric team if you have any of the following:
Signs or risk of early labor
A weakened cervix
High blood pressure conditions or pre-eclampsia
A small baby
Carrying more than one baby (e.g., triplets)
Placenta previa (where your placenta is over your cervix)
Uncontrolled type 1 diabetes
Uncontrolled thyroid disease
Recurrent pregnancy loss
Any other significant medical condition
Anything not routine about your pregnancy
Obstetric physiotherapy
Our Obstetric Physiotherapy service supports individuals throughout pregnancy. Physiotherapists can help manage pregnancy-related changes and provide advice to support your health and wellbeing. This can be done through virtual groups, telephone calls and 1:1 face to face appointments.
What are some of the common symptoms?
- Lower back pain
- Pelvic girdle plain
- Mid back pain
- Separation of the abdominal muscles or Diastasis recti abdominus (separate section for more details
- Pins and needles in finger tips (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome)
- Bladder leakage
- Bowel leakage
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
All of these are symptoms pregnant individuals may experience. Please do not feel embarrassed when discussing these. We are here to help.
How we can help:
- Management of pelvic girdle and back pain, and joint discomfort
- Advice on posture, movement and safe daily activities
- Support for pelvic floor health, bladder and bowel control
- Group education classes or online resources (if available)
How to access the service:
You can be referred by your midwife, GP, or another healthcare professional to our obstetric physiotherapy service. You can also self-refer to our obstetric service by filling in our self-referral form.
If you have any questions, please contact our Pelvic Health Physiotherapy team by calling 01132024523
Please note if your problems are not pregnancy related, (you are over 1 year post-natal or under 12 weeks pregnant) your care would be best suited to see other physiotherapy teams. Your GP can refer you to these services as appropriate.