Introduction: Regular physical activity is an important factor that affects the quality of life. It is essential for one's health and well-being as it is beneficial to the entire spectrum of women's health and helps protect it. The current guidelines for the improvement of health and well-being in pregnant women recommend moderate physical activity every day or at least three to four times a week for more than 30 minutes. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to present the importance of regular physical activity during pregnancy and describe the impacts of regular physical activity on mental and physical well-being of pregnant women. Methods: The paper uses the descriptive method, along with a systematic literature review. The timeframe for searching articles was set from 2010 to 2020, with the exception of one article from 2000. We searched for Slovene and English literature in the following databases: CINAHL with full text, MEDLINE, Google Scholar and Science Direct. Results: The results show improvement in mental and physical health of pregnant women. Regular physical activity positively affects mental state of pregnant women as it reduces the symptoms of depression, anxiousness and fear, improves their self-esteem, shortens labour and reduces sleeping problems. Regular physical activity also positively benefits physical well-being of pregnant women as it improves their aerobic capacity, reduces chances for the development of gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension, controls urine incontinence and reduces the symptoms of sickness and vomiting. Discussion and conclusion: The results show that regular physical activity during pregnancy is recommendable. Positive impacts on mental and physical well-being of pregnant women and their unborn babies were proved. It is important that pregnant women control their bodies and adjust the intensity of physical activities to their abilities.
|
