Fit to Deliver: An Exercise Program for You and Your Baby.

Fit to Deliver: An Exercise Program for You and Your Baby

Nordahl K, Kerr S, Petersen C. Burnaby, BC, Canada V5H 4M4, Fit to Deliver Inc, 2000, paperback, 121 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-9687305-0-7, $22.

This text is a good resource for exercise guidelines and specific exercises appropriate for women who are pregnant. It can be used by the healthcare practitioner as a reference for patient education, or it can be given to patients. It is clearly written and uses terms that the general public can understand.

The first section of the book has the patient determine her current level of fitness. General exercise guidelines for each trimester are described. Absolute and relative contraindications for the exercises are described. Two separate sections list guidelines from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecological and the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine. A brief description of the physiological changes in the body systems that occur during pregnancy is included. Nutritional guidelines and proper postural alignment are reviewed.

The next few chapters are devoted to describing workout programs. The chapters are divided into warm-up, cool-down, and stretching guidelines; aerobic guidelines; strength training guidelines; and trunk and pelvic floor stability exercises. A separate section presents exercises based on trimesters and whether the patient is at the beginning, intermediate, or advanced level of training.

The last few pages of the book contain an activity log to monitor the exercise routine, questions and answers, and a review of exercise and safety guidelines and nutritional guidelines. "Tips from the Team" are extra comments from the authors that can be found at the bottom of several pages in the text.

The book is well organized. The illustrations of the exercises are excellent. Specific prescriptions for repetitions, frequency, and monitoring of the intensity level through use of a Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale make it easy for women who are pregnant to follow a sale exercise program.

Carolyn Galleher, PT, MHS
Gannon University
Erie, Pa

Mrs Galleher is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. She is a primary instructor in the musculoskeletal courses.