Pilates Safety During Pregnancy
Many pregnant women are wondering how safe Pilate’s method of exercises is to continue or to start while pregnant. If they have already been practicing the Pilates method prior to becoming pregnant they already understand the benefits to their body and it just makes sense to continue these benefits as they relate directly to continuing to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are the ones, used in labor and delivery. Women who are investigating the benefits that they would receive for the first time while pregnant may have heard of the wonderful results other women experienced while working the Pilate’s method and want to reap the benefits for themselves.
Pilate’s benefits pregnant women especially because of the core strength built right into their exercises. This strength building benefits a woman’s abdominal, back muscles, and most importantly the pelvic floor muscles which pregnant women use when doing “kegel muscle exercises” as part of normal labor/delivery classes. Having strengthened and toned kegel muscles supports a comfortable pregnancy and makes for an improved ability for the muscles to perform during labor and delivery. The great thing about Pilate’s is that the exercises can be modified for each individual pregnant woman to take into consideration her health and the stage of her pregnancy.
All pregnant women even those who have been doing Pilates before becoming pregnant should check with the medical professional following her pregnancy to ensure that there are no medical conditions that might prohibit her from doing any kind of exercise including those that are a part of the Pilate’s method.
There are pre-natal Pilates classes that you can join. Instructors assigned to these classes are specially trained in the needs of a pregnant woman and are experienced in tailoring the Pilate’s method to meet your individual needs. Although there are options for doing Pilate’s on your own at home, such as books, DVDs and Internet training it is not recommended that pregnant women use these self-help Pilate programs. It is important to modify the basic exercises used in Pilates for the safety of the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Self-help Pilates Programs are not set-up to be able to be modified for pregnancy.
As a compliment to a Pilate’s pre-natal class there are lots of books and DVDs that are specially made for pregnancy that are available in local libraries and stores.
An active pregnant woman should be especially careful to keep in mind that while exercising she needs to be mindful to eat and drink water in a manner that is consistent that she is caring for another human being inside of her. While exercising you lose water through perspiration and this water is vital to the well-being of your baby and must be replaced. It is important to not only replace this water but to pace you while exercising. Typically, if you are too winded to talk, then you are not pacing yourself correctly.
Be aware of warning signs that you are exerting yourself too much such as feeling faint, dizzy, or experiencing nausea, or feeling like your heart is racing. If you experience shortness of breath, have uterine contractions, or notice bleeding or leakage of fluid or experience a headache while exercising stop immediately!
Your center of gravity will shift as your pregnant body grows as it nourishes and provides for your baby. Knowledgeable Pilate’s instructors will compensate for this shift in the center of gravity as well as changing energy levels. You will be instructed to be careful while getting up or down from the exercise mats, while getting on or off of the reformer, and while getting up or down from working on the exercise ball.
Another aspect of pregnancy that affects how you exercise is that during pregnancy a chemical is released that relaxes your tendons, and muscles, which makes your joints looser than is normally experienced in a non-pregnant body. This looseness allows your body to stretch further than normal. If you are not aware of this ability you may tend to overdo stretching when exercising which may lead to injury such as strains or torn ligaments. This is why pre-natal Pilate’s concentrates on smaller range of motion exercises, the inner-core muscle exercises, breathing exercises, and working on oppositional stretches that are monitored and controlled.
Your pre-natal Pilate’s instructor will be aware of a pregnancy condition called, “diastasis” which occurs sometimes in later pregnancy when the abdominal muscles separate. You will then be instructed if this happens, to use modified exercises, or to pause your Pilate’s workouts until after your baby is delivered.
