April 14, 2023 | by Raw Personal Training | Personal Training, Post Pregnancy, Strength Training For Women, Women Health,

Pre and Postnatal Care for Mums: Personal Training Options!

Are you a mum-to-be or a new mum looking for the best care options during and after pregnancy? Our personal training services are here to help you every step of the way. From customised exercise plans to nutrition advice, we are committed to supporting your physical and emotional well-being during this transformative time.

Many women of childbearing age wish to begin or continue with their exercise programs during and post-pregnancy to sustain their health and quality of life. Traditionally, the medical practice advised pregnant mothers to mitigate their habitual levels of exertion due to prevailing fears that strenuous exercise could impact their pregnancy negatively.

Many personal training central locations like Raw Personal Training encourage pregnant women to use a minimum of 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise on most -if not all, days of the week if one does not experience any medical complications. Taking on one personal training session initially to understand the routine can also go a long way. 

Appropriate fitness services for pre and postnatal women are currently in high demand, providing a platform for many exercise professionals. It’s paramount that pre and postnatal women are catered for individually because there can be a substantial variation between individuals and pregnancies. To clarify for registered exercise professionals who offer pre and postnatal for women, Raw Personal Training has provided the following information for guidance.

Pre-exercise screening

The purpose of pre-exercise screening is geared to identify those pregnant mothers. They might have any medical conditions which may expose them to risks of an adverse event when exercising. It’s tailored to:

• Evaluate the client’s readiness to undertake the prescribed exercises
• Maximizing the benefits of exercise participation for the client
• Identification of susceptible clients who requires clearance from their respective 
• medical practitioner to continue with the exercise program
• Safeguarding fitness professionals and organizations from costly lawsuits
• Pre-activity screening

All new participants are expected to complete an appropriate pre-exercise health screening questionnaire such as the Adult Pre-Exercise Screening Systems and adhere to the prescribed recommendations under the risk stratification.

The Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination For Pregnancy(PARMed-x For PREGNANCY, designed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, provides an outstanding practical guide for screening and referral. This resource program provides a formidable checklist for evaluation to identify any client with any prevailing musculoskeletal condition that can implicate exercising and its catered within appropriate allied health or medical practitioners.

This program also evaluates pregnant clients willing to commence or sustain an exercise program during the entire pregnancy period.

General recommendations for pregnant mothers

Exercise participation in pre and postpartum has versatile health benefits, which are already well documented. It’s paramount for registered exercise practitioners to be sensitive throughout this period by tailoring safe and suitable exercise programs.

During pregnancy, both the mother and the baby get exposed to higher risks of exercise-induced complications due to physiological and morphological variations. During the postnatal period, extra care is vital in ensuring proper musculoskeletal recovery.

Collaboration with pregnant clients even for one personal training session might help them set realistic goals that primarily focus on self-efficacy, enjoyment, and finding success while working towards achieving specific exercise recommendations.

There are associated benefits for pregnant mothers undertaking exercise programs such as:

1. Improving or maintaining physical fitness
2. Averting increased risk from gestational diabetes in obese women
3. Weight management
4. Reduced risk of pre-eclampsia and cesarean deliveries
5. Amplified psychological wellbeing
6. Mitigates backaches, bloating, constipation, and swelling
7. Boosting your mood and energy levels
8. Improving your sleeping patterns
9. Enhances muscle tone, strength, and perseverance
10. Speeds post-delivery recovery

However, pregnant women need to receive a splendid clinical evaluation before commencing a new exercise program. Upon a solidified assessment of a pregnant mother and ascertaining that there are no complications, pregnant mothers are encouraged to undertake a regular, moderate-intensity activity.

Exercises For Pregnant Mothers

Pregnant women who got previously engaged in exercise programs should get advised to modify their exercises following the general physiological changes related to pregnancy and their situation. Inactive mothers indulging in exercising should start at a low level and progress gradually.

These moderate-intensity physical exercises prescribed for pregnant mothers to indulge in include:

1. Walking
2. Swimming
3. Stationary cycling
4. Yoga
5. Strength training
6. Low-intensity water aerobics
7. Low-impact aerobics
8. Low-impact aerobics or postnatal class

What basic guidelines should prenatal and postnatal mothers observe before exercising?

For getting total fitness, pregnancy exercise programs get geared towards strengthening and conditioning their muscles. It’s prudent to always begin by warming up and stretching up for five minutes. It is also paramount to include at least fifteen minutes of cardiovascular activity. Other guidelines include:

1. Wearing loose-fitting, comfortable clothes, including a supportive bra
2. Choose proper shoes that get designed for the type of exercise you do to prevent injury
3. Exercise on a flat, level surface to avert injuries
4. Finish eating at least one hour before exercising
5. Observe hydration before, during, and after your workout

However, pregnant mothers should not indulge in the following exercises to avert any impending dangers. They include:

• Refrain from exercising in a hydrotherapy pool
• Engage in high-impact, jerky or ballistic movements
• An exercise that involves holding breath, like scuba diving
• Contact sports like rugby

Pregnant mothers should refrain from exercising if they experience any of the following warning signs:

1. Fainting
2. Vaginal bleeding
3. Blurred vision
4. Dizziness or feeling faint
5. Abdominal cramps or pain
6. Suppressed baby movements
7. Chest pain
8. Regular painful contractions
9. New or persistent nausea or vomiting
10. Excessive shortness of breath
11. Risk factors for preterm labour
12. Leaking of amniotic fluid

Guidelines at Raw

At Raw Personal Training and personal training Central, the following guidelines have been stipulated to ensure that pregnant mothers navigate this entire exercise process safely and smoothly. They include:

1. Don’t commence a strenuous exercise program shortly before or during pregnancy.
2. If you have regularly engaged in exercising, continue exercising in the current program during the first trimester to a maximum of 30-40 minutes per day as directed.
3. If a pregnant mother was not involved in any previous activity, it’s prudent to begin slowly for 15 minutes, characterized by low intensity and steadily increasing to 30 minutes.
4. Primarily focus on good hydration.
5. During the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, both intensity and time should get significantly minimized.
6. Refrain from undertaking exercises in areas experiencing high temperatures or humidity
7. Use extended warm-up and cool-down periods
8. Ensure that you run or walk on flat surfaces
9. Refrain from motionless postures, especially the supine position and certain yoga positions

Postnatal exercises and guidelines

Whether this is your first or third trip around the postpartum block, this is an outstanding opportunity for your post-baby body to feel different than during your pre-pregnancy. Parameters such as the mother’s pregnancy, type of birth, and any prevailing complications you experienced during delivery will determine specific exercise guidelines. Still, above all, the most instrumental one is the way you feel.

Engaging in any form of workout after delivery is pivotal to your fitness plan’s long-term success and generally your overall health. In a nutshell, being realistic and patient about what you can execute will help you achieve your well-being goals in the long run.

Factors like altered sleep patterns, hormonal changes, and breastfeeding, together with establishing new routines with your baby, can trigger fatigue. Therefore, programming for a postnatal woman is paramount in considering the individual’s energy level.

Reverting to physical exercise after pregnancy or delivery offers varying benefits such as;

1. Decreased incidence of postpartum depression
2. Social Interaction and psychological well being
3. It hastens recovery and helps with muscle strength and toning
4. Promotes weight loss
5. Conditioning your abdominal muscles
6. Enhanced maternal cardiovascular fitness without affecting milk production

Further modifications must be designed to take care of women who have undergone cesarean having pre-existing pelvic joint pain. Nursing women should also adopt an infant feeding program before indulging in exercise to avert the discomfort of engorged breasts.

A postnatal mother should adopt the following further guidelines:

1. Begin with walking several times per week
2. Refrain from excessive fatigue
3. Initiate Gym programs to maintain posture
4. Engage in low-impact aerobics
5. Wear a supportive bra
6. Abruptly stop the session if unusual pain crops up
7. Observe superb hydration
8. Stop the session if vaginal bleeding gets pronounced
9. Obtain a physician clearance
10. Begin exercising at a slow pace

Prenatal and postnatal personal training is not a one-size-fits-all program; every woman is unique.

How can Raw Personal Training help?

Prenatal and postnatal training is a safe and spectacular workout regimen customized for pregnant mothers or those who have delivered. Prioritizing an active life is an instrumental way to maintain a healthy pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum recovery. Take up one personal training session to learn more about how exercising through and post your pregnancy can help you! 

A well-managed exercise program during the pre and postnatal periods is highly pivotal to both the mother and the baby. Luckily, many pregnant mothers are aware of this program and are active in finding the professional guidance of a personal trainer in managing the exercise program that will support and revamp their pregnancy experience.

Accessing a gym may harbour the following benefits during the prenatal period; a mother requires stamina and fitness during birth. They include:

1. Averting gaining excessive body weight
2. Boosting mental health energy levels
3. Enhancing chances of a shorter, uncomplicated labour
4. Lowering chances of high blood pressure
5. Improved sleeping patterns and posture

Postnatal personal fitness training is beneficial to a mother who has delivered and usually commences exercising after six to eight weeks of the postnatal check-up. Some of the benefits accrued by a postnatal mother include:

1. Improved sense of wellbeing
2. Loss of excess baby weight
3. Improved strength and muscle tone
4. Correction of any postural changes
5. Increased energy levels
6. Enhancing pelvic floor strength to avert birth-related incontinence

Continuing to undertake exercise throughout the pregnancy period is the ultimate way for a woman to help enhance her energy levels and circulation as she transits from one semester to another. It also helps in aggravating mental and physical strength for labour and delivery.

Women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be highly encouraged to undertake aerobic and strength conditioning exercises before, during, and after pregnancy. In a nutshell, regular physical activity in all stages of life, including pregnancy, enhances and promotes health benefits.

Contact us today to learn more about our pre and post-natal care services.