Women can safely participate in moderate activity during pregnancy unless they have experienced complications, an obstetrics expert has said.

Andrew Shennan, professor of obstetrics at baby charity Tommy's, recommends that pregnant women take steps to maintain their fitness, particularly as they will require stamina during labour.

'Labour is the one time in your life when you want to be prepared to be able to do something physical,' he pointed out.

'It is recommended that you maintain your fitness during pregnancy and it is a perfectly safe thing to do.'
 

Professor Shennan also noted that the complications experienced by some pregnant women are often related to inactivity.

'For example, you have a six-fold increase of getting blood clots,' he revealed.

Despite this, figures from a survey by Tommy's and Johnson's Baby show that nearly a fifth of women do not exercise during pregnancy, many because they believe it could damage their baby.

However, the professor said that this is not the case and that, as long as the exercise is not excessive like marathon running, moderate accustomed activity is 'perfectly alright'.