Pilates during pregnancy?
Many women have the same question about working out and exercising during their pregnancy. There is no completely right answer on this issue since everyone experiences slight differences throughout the course of their pregnancy and labor. Here’s a general question about doing prenatal pilates during the first trimester:
Are you able to do pilates after your first trimester? I have a dvd for your whole pregnancy, however, it has moves that require you to be on your back. I thought you couldn’t do exercises on your back after first trimester. I am 16 weeks. Thank you
My answer to this woman would be two-fold. First, check with your doctor to make sure he/she clears you for any type of exercise. Make sure your doctor knows and understands what pilates is…if they don’t, you’ll be like me with my first doctor. All doctors should at least know what pilates is and isn’t…mine didn’t really know what it was and that was obvious to me. Dealbreaker! I found another doctor and got her clearance immediately.
Second, there are physical changes that happen during each trimester. After the first trimester it becomes difficult and often very uncomfortable to lay flat on your back. Ask your doctor about these limitations if you are not sure what they are. Most baby books and pregnancy books spend time talking about this issue.
So, after the first trimester you can workout on your back, just keep it small spurts of time. Always roll to your side after spending time on your back and do some side-lying pilates exercises. Then, roll back to the center, be aware of how you feel, do the exercises and roll to your other side. Keep your movement slow and controlled.
Other ideas include putting a pillow under your lower back or under your upper back and neck!
So – yes – do pilates but be aware that your body is going through a ton of changes and you need to be careful, no matter what you do!
I’ve heard the general idea is that any exercise you did prior to getting pregnant you can continue throughout your pregnancy without problems.
However, you might want to check with your doctor to be on the safe side.
If anything doesn’t feel right, hurts, or starts to go numb, then definitely stop!!
The ladies over in the Pregnancy section of Yahoo! Answers might have a better answer for you though.
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