Activities to approach with care

If you're not sure whether a particular activity is safe during pregnancy, check with your health care provider. Consider avoiding:

• Any exercises that force you to lie flat on your back after your first trimester
• Scuba diving, which could put your baby at risk of decompression sickness
• Contact sports, such as ice hockey, soccer, basketball and volleyball
• Activities that pose a high risk of falling — such as downhill skiing, in-line skating, gymnastics, and horseback riding
• Activities that could cause you to hit water with great force, such as water skiing, surfing and diving

Other activities to avoid include:

• Exercise at high altitude
• Activities that could cause you to experience direct trauma to the abdomen, such as kickboxing
• Hot yoga or hot Pilates

If you do exercise at a high altitude, make sure you know the signs and symptoms of altitude sickness, such as headache, fatigue and nausea. If you experience symptoms of altitude sickness, return to a lower altitude as soon as possible and seek medical care.