Call The Midwife!!

Midwives know best, call the midwife!

During the last 28 weeks, I have been determined to continue training, I’ve spent my whole life competing in some sport or another and to stop would send me insane. During my pregnancy, I decided to start taking photographs of my bodies development along with any adaptions I have had to make to any form of training I am doing, be it muay Thai, yoga, weight training or aerial. I love to post to social media to give other pregnant ladies inspiration to show that being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to stop all your passions, it just means you have to listen more to your body. Since posting to social media I have had a few people say to me you shouldn’t be doing that, it’s not safe when pregnant and also some clients who feel it is not safe to train with me anymore so I decided to call the midwife!!

Meet Kelly Plummer a registered Midwife at St Peters Hospital

I asked Kelly what her thoughts and opinions were on what I do and here is what she said on pregnancy and training:

A Professional point of view
There are no adverse risks or complications associated with exercise during pregnancy. In fact, it’s most likely to be better for you, in terms of self-esteem, managing weight gain during pregnancy, keeping baby in a favorable position for labour and being able to manage the labour and birth much more successfully. Pregnancy hormones are known to soften ligaments (oestrogen), also there is an increase in blood volume and therefore changes in blood pressure can occur… These physiological changes during pregnancy are what I believe lead to the negative stigma towards training whilst pregnant.

Listening to your body
A mother who trains regularly should not in anyway stop due to pregnancy, it’s about listening to your own body, know your limits, if you feel a bit dizzy then take a break, ensure you are hydrated. Babies are surprisingly tough little things, they have to go through labour as well remember!
Then there is the fact that you have a layer of skin, then fat, then the uterine muscle which grows to facilitate the growing baby, a double membrane bag of water then the little one, all protection for baby, he or she isn’t going to be adversely affected by exercise! A low-risk pregnancy is exactly that, it shouldn’t stop a mother from doing anything she would normally do.

The third trimester may see a mother feeling more lethargic but again there is no reason to discontinue exercise, in fact, keeping so active and upright during the latter phases will help engage baby into the pelvis and hopefully kickstart the labour naturally without going way over the due date and going down the induction route!

Stay healthy, nourish your body and baby with healthy nutritious food (for one- not two!!) and stay active, listen to your new maternal instincts and if in doubt then seek advice from your midwife or health professional.

Listening to the midwife

So all in all, I think it’s safe to say it is safe to continue training and listening to my body is key.

Next installment of the bump 24 – 26 weeks

My abs have well and truly gone, well if I were to lean back there was a small glimpse still at 24 weeks but by 26 weeks holy smokes the little human sharing my body had pushed my tummy outwards! The baby has grown from 21.5 cm to 23 plus cm long and has roughly a weight gain of 220g weighing around 900g all in the space of 2 weeks. By 26 weeks babys eyes are beginning to open, the eyes still have little pigmentation so it’s too early to guess an eye colour.

A great way to connect to your breath

Starting mornings with 10 minutes of meditation connecting with my breath, and taking the time to connect with the baby, knowing you’re breathing for two gives a special connection. At 24 weeks all training remained the same but an extra 2 weeks on and I needed to start making adaptions. My coccyx had been a bit sore, having seen the physio and midwife I found out this is due to the pressure of the baby in my pelvis but also the fact the baby has decided to sit back to back adding a little more pressure to my spine, still plenty of time for it to turn around and it doesn’t hurt when I train so happy to continue.

Adaptions to training

Due to not being able to use my abs as well anymore, we have lowered the hoop in aerial so I can just sit in the hoop and work poses from here. I’m still able to use the silks but becoming harder with this extra weight to lift and needing a lot more recovery time. I haven’t done any strength work for a few weeks due to being tired and not having the time. Muay Thai is still all good although a whole lot slower, but I can accept this now. I’m just happy to still be moving!

Cravings

everything is still pretty normal, phew!

Stay tuned

I am now currently 27 weeks and the bump has well and truly grown, I look forward to sharing with you. Please feel free to write any comments below, I’d love to hear what you have to say, your thoughts and opinions.

Don’t forget you can follow me on social media – Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Check the home page for links, or you could always join me at any of our classes in Surrey. Contact me for more information via the website.

Thank you for sharing my journey

Sheree 🙂