Preggie do's and don'ts

Hallo Mommy-to-be, congratulations!

What a privilege to be part of the miracle of life!!

You may be wondering how being pregnant affects what you can do in a pilates class.
Pregnant mommies may continue with pilates (with a consent letter from their doctor, of course) but since your body is different, there are different rules when training while pregnant.

But before we go into what you can expect in class, let's talk about the benefits of preggie pilates:

• strengthens pelvic floor muscles
• helps relieve muscle tightness and back ache
• opens pelvis in preparation for birth
• pilates breathing can be used during labour
• strengthens body in preparation for caring for baby postpartum
• relaxes the mind
• improves circulation and relieves swollen feet
• improves posture
  • and the list goes on and on.......

Let's go through each trimester briefly:

First trimester

Mommy - you may experience morning sickness, tiredness and breast tenderness.

Classes usually do not have to be adjusted for you yet unless e.g. breast tenderness make exercises done while lying on your tummy, uncomfortable.

Second trimester

Mommy - you may start experiencing constipation and your pregnancy usually starts to show in the second trimester. Hormones that prepare you to deliver your baby start coursing through your body and will make ligaments looser.

Classes are adapted so that you don't have to lay on your stomach for exercises (client dependent). Caution should be used with flexion exercise from a supine (lying on your back) position. Careful to spend too much time in a supine position.

Third trimester

Mommy - you may experience heartburn, leg cramps, swollen feet, frequent urination or incontinence. Some mothers start experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions. Joints are unstable due to ++ hormonal changes.

Classes should be adapted for safety and comfort. No supine positioning for longer than 4 minutes, have your head and shoulders elevated when lying on your back, no end of range stretching, no abdominal work against gravity.

Acknowledgements
- Pilates and pregnancy - Ashley Richie (BASI)
- Picture of trimesters - emedicinehealth.com