Bend With That Baby

Continuing an exercise routine while you grow that baby can help keep you healthy and feeling great… yes, you can feel great while pregnant!  Regular exercise is not only beneficial for your baby but it can improve your posture and decrease many common pregnancy gripes like backaches and fatigue.  Studies show that physical activity may even prevent gestational diabetes, reduce anxiety and relieve stress.  Need another perk?  Staying active can also help you build more strength and stamina, something that will come in handy when you enter the delivery room.

This form of yoga can be very beneficial to an expecting MOM.  Anna Starikov, RYT of Blossoming Yogis says that in prenatal yoga, “We focus on strengthening the pelvic floor and the muscles in the legs so that women can squat during labor and delivery.  We also focus on poses that help the hips to open.”  Not only do the poses present benefits to the body, Anna says, “Women usually leave class with less discomfort in their bodies and with a sense of calm and well being like in any other yoga class.”

The many perceived benefits of working on the yoga mat are long and range from improved circulation, possible aid in digestion, strengthening of the uterus and pelvic muscles and a decrease in back and sciatica pain.  “Yoga will not only prepare you physically for birth, but also mentally and emotionally.  The breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques practiced in class can be used to help women cope during labor and delivery.” Says Starikov.

Deb Flashenberg of the Prenatal Yoga Center in New York agrees, “There was a study that showed, women that practiced prenatal yoga in the third trimester have shorter, less painful labors.  The study attributed this to the building of pain threshold, the ability to move with the breath and the connecting of sounds and moans.”

Pregnancy and labor are physically challenging and require a certain amount of strength and stamina. Flashenberg says that, “By participating in prenatal yoga or any fitness program tailored to pregnancy, the mother is being an active participant in helping maintain a healthy body and lessening her pregnancy related aches and pains like back ache, edema, shoulder pain and headaches.  She is also learning how to incorporate deep breathing into her prenatal yoga practice which can be very beneficial with dealing with labor pains.”

So how should you pick a Prenatal Yoga class?  Anna says to make sure the teacher is trained in Prenatal Yoga, has first hand childbirth knowledge (so they can better understand the changes in your body as you progress through each trimester), the class is offered consistently and that props such as foam blocks, blankets, bolsters, straps and chairs are provided.

And finally, the biggest question of them all:  Can engaging in this activity help speed the recovery phase after pregnancy?  Deb says, “While I don’t have any specific studies verifying that prenatal yoga helps women recover faster,the students I have worked with believe it has helped them afterwards. Several of the students that underwent a c-sections feel that their bodies and minds were stronger from the prenatal yoga practice and they were able to get back on their feet quicker.”

Every pregnancy is different.  ActiveWoMOM reccomends speaking with your physician before engaging in any new physical activity.