Abstract
Physical activity is a crucial element in preventing and coping with several chronic conditions. Many women become aware of their health issues as they plan pregnancy or become pregnant and consult their physician regarding limitations and recommendations in this situation. This review intends to endow the consulting general practitioner and obstetrician, as well as midwives with the background knowledge for this encounter. It details the physiological changes of pregnancy with regards to physical activity and deals with the range of allowed activities and the major risk groups who should be given special concern. In general, the best judge of a woman's ability to perform physical activity is her subjective feeling of appropriateness of a given effort.