You’re growing a tiny human inside of you, and you feel enormous, exhausted, nauseous, and like you need to pee every five minutes. Should you lace up or rest up? How will pregnancy affect your running? Is running while pregnant safe? Here’s what you might expect when you’re running while pregnant.

Exercise throughout pregnancy—at least 20 to 30 minutes a day on most or all days—is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Doing so reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, preterm birth, pre-eclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure), having a baby with high birth weight, and the need for a cesarean section. It may also improve your baby’s brain development.

Plus, as any of us knows, running can make you feel better and relieve anxiety—over carrying and caring for a new baby, perhaps. And despite some rumors, it won’t put you into labor, although it can help get you through it. “Women who exercise [during pregnancy] have easier, faster labors, they feel better postpartum, and their recovery is much quicker,” says Erin Dawson Chalat, M.D., an OB-GYN and runner in Maine.