Congrats on your baby. Yes it is safe to waIk on a treadmill for at least 30 min. Everyone should do `some`exercise at least 20 min a day.
The type of exercising depends on your condition before pregnancy. But everyone can swim, walk (brisk), bike (stationary), take pregnant specific exercise classes, KEGAL exercises (pelvic toning) and or do relaxtion exercises (meditation, Yoga etc).
You can run if you have ran your ENTIRE pregnancy but not more than 4km (2 miles) a day. You should not sweat or be out of breath or feel flushed so That means no sprinting :-) All excerise should be tapered down in the last trimester - to walking and Yoga etc. There are some good books out there for pregnancy that explains why which exercises one should or should not do and for how long and why.
But talk to some doctors or fitness consultants that specialize in pre and post pregnancy health and wellbeing.
I was an extreme sport enthusiatic athelete before I got pregnant. I continued to run until extreme nausea, exhaustion and depression started at 8 weeks and lasted till almost 16 weeks. I was ìn bed` for 12-20 hours a day. I lost so much muscle during this time that there was no way I could continue to run at the same level or at all. I do bike still and walk daily. My second trimester is awesome, I take fitness and yoga pregnancy classes at the local midwifery clinic. The classes are 75 min once a week, and seem as "hardcore" as regular fitness classes. I hope to start swimming too soon.
Thanks everyone, I'm just kind of walking on eggshells. I wasn't expecting this kind of "surprise" at the age of 42, and I'm really quite nervous!
Yep, that's fine, as long as you don't feel like you are going to pass out or feel dizzy or anything worrysome like that, you can continue to exersise.
Oh...and a big congratulations on your pregnancy!
I agree with Idivecch5. Any low impact exercise is good for you through your pregnancy. Walking especially is excellent, and it is a good conditioner to prepare for when you deliver.
I walk 30-45 minutes on the treadmill 3-4 times per week. My doc said that is perfectly fine and may actually help make my delivery easier :-)