Although pregnancy and birth can be a wonderful set of experiences, they also take their toll on your body. Many women wonder how on earth they will get back into shape afterwards, but Pilates really can help!
The advice from physiotherapists is to start right away with your core exercises so you can get back your strength.
I usually advise people to come for a one-to-one session to learn how to do their exercises on a daily basis. Breast feeding can interfere with some of the exercises so your programme will need to be adapted. Usually new mothers struggle to make classes regularly so what I recommend is that they come for a one-to-one session at least every month whilst they are breast feeding and then take up classes regularly once they have worked out a proper routine round their baby. Whilst a mother is breast feeding she will still have high amount of pregnancy hormones that aim to relax ligaments. For this reason it is useful for a mother to practise pelvic floor strengthening and local unit exercises. Too much stretching at this stage of recovery may be counterproductive.
For ladies who have had Caesarean Section Surgery it is essential that you get extra advice and care for yourself after your birth. Pilates offers pelvic floor exercises and specialised exercises to switch on inhibited core abdominal muscles that may have been affected by surgery. Lack of attention to these muscles after surgery can hinder a person's long term recovery so please get advice from your doctor or hire an instructor if you don't know what to do.
Emma Tawse at Pilates@Home is qualified in Pregnancy Pilates and, having a small child herself, really understands what you're going through and how to set you quickly on the road to recovery, greater strength and a flatter tummy!
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