Make pregnancy and birth easier by keeping fit

Training regime will ‘speed up delivery and help recovery’.

Personal trainer Anna Holmes gives pregnancy fitness training to Jane Flournoy at the Smart Fitness. Pawan Singh / The National

DUBAI // It is essential that women stay fit during pregnancy in order to have an easier labour and recovery after birth, according to a women’s health expert.

Dr Gowri Ramanathan, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children, said maintaining exercise helps pregnant women adapt far easier.

However, although they should maintain their normal daily physical activity they should avoid very strenuous exercises.

“There are specific exercises that can be performed to help strengthen muscles, improve circulation and ease backache,” Dr Ramanathan said. “These include stomach strengthening exercises, pelvic tilt exercises and pelvic floor exercises.

“Prenatal yoga is a great way to encourage stretching and has been shown to improve sleep, increase strength and flexibility during childbirth and decrease lower back pains. This should only be performed with certified instructors.”

After delivery, a mother can participate in light exercises within a few days, if she is able to, Dr Ramanathan said.

Women who have had complications during labour or a caesarean section should discuss the exercising regimen with their obstetrician.

Exercising after birth promotes weight loss and restores the muscles, Dr Ramanathan said. It also boosts energy levels and improves a mother’s mood, alleviating postpartum depression. “Undertaking exercise routines together with your baby also helps with bonding,” she said.

In Dubai, the Baby Bump Fitness class at the Smart Fitness gym in Jumerirah Lakes Towers offers a group programme and personal training for prenatal and postnatal mothers.

Trainer Anna Holmes said many mothers are worried about exercising during their pregnancy, believing it can harm their baby.

“A lot of women are worried about exercising while there are pregnant and many won’t do it. I just want to teach women that it can be effective and you shouldn’t really stop training while you’re pregnant.”

She believes that women just need to alter the kind of exercises they do. She recommends low intensity body weight movements, TRX, and core exercises that moderately increase the heart rate.

“A lot of people actually try to avoid the core, but its very important to try to keep it strong, even throughout pregnancy,” Ms Holmes said.

Ms Holmes said exercising makes delivering the baby much easier, and speeds up the mother’s recovery after giving birth.

“Basically, if you’re keeping the muscles strong and you’re conditioning the body, it will effectively be much ready to give birth,” she said.

“And even in terms of hormonal changes in the body, everything kind of works more effectively.”

Ms Holmes said that after delivery, women should wait six to eight weeks before returning to training.

“Then we start from scratch, the intensity will remain low, and then we will build up gradually. Your body will still be tired,” she said.

Many women are keen to lose weight after giving birth and Ms Holmes helps them achieve their goals.

“When you’re pregnant, you don’t have a weight goal, just general health and well-being of the mother and baby. Afterwards, you have a long-term goal of losing the baby weight and building up strength and toning up,” she said.

Depending on the individual mother, Ms Holmes said most women start losing weight after eight weeks and can lose about 10 to 20 kilograms within one year.

Jane Flournoy, from the UK, is due to give birth to her first child and she said her pregnancy had been easy thanks to the exercise regime she followed.

“I have had an easy pregnancy and, even at 40 weeks, I can easily get around, if a little bit slower,” she said.

“I firmly believe keeping active has helped with that.”

Ms Holmes’s group classes are held every Monday and Wednesday at 10am.