Staying physically fit while you are pregnant can be challenging.  Pilates may be the perfect routine for your body during pregnancy if you have no medical reason to avoid doing Pilates and IF you are doing it properly. Pregnancy means that your whole body is going through changes:  breasts enlarging, belly broadening, posture shifting, lower back curving inward with the increasing weight, all of your pelvic floor muscles recruiting to bear a growing load, and leg veins swelling under growing pressure.  Fortunately, the muscles that you will use to usher your baby into the world are the very muscles targeted in  Pilates.  As your body changes shape, Pilates taught by a highly qualified instructor will help you to stabilize, strengthen, overcome some of the exhaustion, tone upper back muscles to help with breast feeding and lifting your new baby, improve leg circulation (helping to reduce swelling and varicose veins), support the lower back, and make it easier to restore your pre-pregnancy form after delivery.   Since Pilates also includes lengthening and stretching as you strengthen, it can help you to be flexible in all the right places during your labor and delivery.  Someone trained in teaching Pilates for pregnancy will know just how far to stretch you, as your increasing hormones require a different approach to stretching than you would use in a non-pregnant state.  Please take your time in finding a qualified instructor. Your teacher must be specifically trained to teach Pilates for pregnancy.  There are modifications and changes in the choreography that must be used especially in the second and third trimesters.  If finances are an issue, ask if you can be part of a small group class of pregnant women.  Classes of 2-4 will work very well if the teacher is well experienced with pregnant ladies.  And the classes can be a lot of fun, too.  Find an instructor with whom you feel confident so that you can relax and focus on your workout.  The results during pregnancy and after delivery will be worth your effort!