Motherhood.

Given the physical nature of labor, delivery and all-around mothering, it's no wonder women are integrating fitness activities into their pre- and post-partum lives.

"Unless there are medical problems, basically anyone can benefit from physical activity in pregnancy," says Ann Cowlin, an assistant clinical professor in nursing and an athletic department movement specialist at Yale University. Her company, Dancing Thru Pregnancy, Inc., conducts seminars for health, fitness and childbirth instructors, including one here last fall and another planned for downtown Seattle in June.

Which physical activity and how much of it? It depends on several factors, which is why each woman should be screened first by her doctor or midwife. Some conditions may limit exercise or even rule it out.

Women who weren't working out regularly before they got pregnant should seek expert advice and supervision for their workouts, perhaps even hiring a personal trainer, Cowlin says. Those already exercising 30 minutes a day two to three times a week would benefit from the support and education in special group classes for mothers-to-be. High-level amateur athletes might come to such classes twice a week and work out other days on their own.

For regular exercisers, "The really bad thing to do is to stop. Generally you'll gain a lot of weight and so will the baby, so the birth will be more difficult." A woman who takes a month off from exercise, Cowlin adds, loses 25 percent of her functional capacity. "That's the physical equivalent of aging 30 years."

Whatever the exercise, some modifications may be necessary: Pregnancy shifts a woman's center of gravity and stretches tissue that supports internal organs. Jarring and twisting movements should be limited, often taking regular activities down a notch, say from playing tennis singles to doubles.

Weight training is important, Cowlin says. "The mother will be lifting something that starts out 6 to 10 pounds, and is only going to get bigger." But resistance and repetitions often need to be reduced, in order to avoid fatigue. Both short-term and long-term fatigue can be dangerous.

Three exercises most women can do:

1) Kegel exercises (tightening and releasing the pelvic muscles). They help with delivery and in preventing incontinence.

2) Deep abdominal exercise or "hiss training." Breathing out with a hiss contracts the deep muscles upon which further abdominal training is built.

3) Walking.

Those are also the first exercises after delivery, though when to start depends on pre-birth fitness, how the labor and delivery went, and the adjustment of mother and baby. For a vaginal delivery with no complications, Cowlin recommends trying Kegel exercises within a few hours. Hiss training might begin within the first day or two, and walking around the house with the baby within a week.

Further abdominal work can start once a woman can consistently suck in the gut using the hiss training. If muscle tone in those deep abdominal muscles (the transverus abdominus) isn't regained, women can suffer from low back pain and a pooching belly, the dreaded "mummy tummy."

Mothers' exercise classes also offer social and technical support. Sometimes infants are in strollers, sometimes they're on their mothers' bellies for resistance during curl-ups, sometimes they're danced around the room by their moms. Look for classes at local gyms, Y's and park departments. Check that instructors for both pre- and post-natal classes have specialized training and certification.

Cowlin doesn't buy into the common complaint that new mothers don't have time to exercise. "The question itself is being perpetuated by society, with the idea that a mother should sacrifice herself and pay attention to the baby. We have to get rid of that way of thinking, so a mother can say, `OK, I need to find a way so I can take care of myself and still care of the baby.'

"To invest in children, we must invest in our mothers."

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Magazine. Gary Sette is Pacific's picture editor. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NOTEBOOK

Mother load

Moms, how do you do it? How do (or did) you manage to get exercise consistently during pregnancy and after delivery? Send your successful strategies to On Fitness, Pacific Magazine, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111 or e-mail mmar-new@seatimes.com

`Dance' lessons

For exercise guidelines, screening form and food diary from Ann Cowlin's company Dancing Thru Pregnancy, send $2 and a self-addressed, stamped, legal-size envelope to Box 3083, Stony Creek, CT 06405-1683. Its Web site is at http://www.dataimages.com/dtp

Video mom

For pregnant or new mothers who like to exercise at home to videos, "Optimal Pregnancy Fitness" outlines a 50-minute workout, including a 7-minute warm-up, 10-minute low-impact aerobic exercise routine, 10-minute power-band workout, 15 minutes of abdominal and Kegel exercises and 8 minutes of stretching and relaxation. The video features fitness trainer Reine Vilim (when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant) and New York obstetrician Marc Sklar, and follows the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' 1994 guidelines for pre- and post-partum exercise. It's $19.95 (including power band) from (800) 435-0055.