Author: Priya Tew
Losing the Baby Weight, Week 1.
It’s day 7 post birth and slowly my body feels like it is returning to normal. My mummy tummy is shrinking gradually and the after birth pains are definitely diminishing. For me these after birth pains have been the worst thing. I didn’t have them with baby number 1, but everytime I feed it feels like another contractions. This is due to my uterus contracting and everything shrinking back to normal so it’s a good thing, but I’m not enjoying it!
Having a toddler means little time to rest so I’m quite active around the house. I’ve already learnt that I can’t lift my toddler, it’s too much for my back and lifting her led to some twinges (yikes) so I’m steering clear of heavy lifting for a while.
So what exercises have I been doing?
Pelvic floor exercises or kegels. I’ve been trying to do these everytime I feed the baby. If you aren’t sure where these are they are the muscles that now don’t work very well 😉 Imagine you are doing a wee and try to stop the flow of urine, it’s those muscles. Try doing some fast contractions where you squeeze the muscles all the way up and then release – imagine a lift going up inside you. Then also do some slow contractions where you slowly take the lift up, hold at the top for 5 seconds and slowly release. You really want to strengthen these muscle as otherwise there will be problems when you cough, laugh, sneeze, jump…. you get the picture!
TVA or core activation. Think about drawing in the muscles below your belly button. There is a belt-like muscle that comes all the way around your body like a corset. Try not to scoop in all your tummy but just tighten up the lower tummy muscles. It may help to place your fingers just inside your hip bones, then cough. Did you feel something tighten? That’s the muscle.
Rest time is also essential though personally this is the bit I find hardest to fit in as I seem to have babies that require a lot of feeding! Try to rest when the baby is napping and remember you don’t have to be superwoman at this point in life. If you have a slightly “messy round the edges house” no-one will mind 😉 Plus if you do too much you can affect your milk supply, so be kind to yourself.
Giving Birth for the Second Time.
Judah Elisha Tew was born on Thursday 12th September at 11.46am, 7lb 1oz.
This was my second labour which did make it easier in terms of I knew a little more about what to expect and had the knowledge that I’d done it all before so could do it again. However it was not easy. Anyone who gives birth to a baby is amazing in my opinion.
I’m very fortunate in that I seem to have happy, healthy pregnancies. I worked all the way through both pregnancies, this time I was still teaching Pilates and seeing dietetic clients, in fact I had run a clinic Thursday afternoon and chatted to a journalist about an article that evening and then my waters broke!
My waters broke just before midnight and trickled throughout labour. Having had a 23 hour labour with my first baby I had a snack, a quiet whoop of excitement and then went back to bed to rest. A quick nudge to the hubby to let him know and he rolled over back to sleep 😉 At 3 am I decided to alert the birthing centre, they wanted me to go in to check my waters had gone, however I knew they had and wasn’t prepared to wake a sleeping toddler and leave her with friends at this stage. So I waited until 6am by which time the contractions were building but manageable. Now getting a toddler up, explaining the situation and getting out of the house with contractions every 3 minutes was a bit of a challenge, but typically the car journey led to the contractions slowing. Very frustrating, but quite common.
At the birthing centre I was 3 cm dilated, so we got ready for action. By 8am I was in the birthing pool and things started to get hard. Although my active labour wasn’t long in the moment of it, it felt like a long time. Around 9cm dilation I started to panic and needed reassurance, at this stage the gas and air was given to me. Thank goodness. Even though it did make me feel slightly woozy and sick I needed it to take the edge of the contractions. Pushing didn’t take long at all and it is amazing how your body takes over, suddenly I was aware I had to push, looked down in the water and there was a head – very odd to see!
This labour I really found made me go deep into myself, I was talking myself through it, willing myself on and it showed me how determined I can be. Focusing on the contractions and moving around as much as I could really helped. In the last stages of labour and pushing my husband took over and he was the voice willing me on, talking me through it and telling me what was happening. I gave birth in a birthing centre where they let the woman take the lead, this was amazing as it was a very natural birth but I also needed to know what was going on and have a plan ahead of me. This is where my birthing partner (hubby) came in. He was my eyes and ears.
Top Tips:
1. Stay as active as you can in the early stages, I found circular hip movements helped me work through the contractions.
2. Stay calm and focus on getting through one contraction at a time.
3. Find something to distract yourself early on. I blogged an article and finished making some breakfast/breastfeeding bars.
4. Eat food that will sustain you. I’ve not wanted to eat once my contractions have started coming fast and strong, so eat early on. Pasta, an oat based cereal, rice dish, wholemeal toast with peanut butter or a tuna sandwich for example.
5. Keep drinking and have small snacks in case you fancy a bite. Cereal bars, bananas, sport drinks can all be useful.
6. Have a birthing plan but be prepared for it to change!
7. Discuss your ideas with your birthing partner. Think through things they may be able to do to help you. Gentle massage or running you a bath for pain relief for example.
8. When your waters break collect a sample, the midwife may want to check! So take a wet pad with you.
9. Focus on the final goal – your baby! Labour is hard work but it is only a small part of the adventure of mummyhood.
10. Try and get some skin to skin time and a breastfeed in as soon as possible after giving birth.
11. Practise breathing techniques before hand. Pilates has taught me these.
12. Antenatal exercise classes can really help you be in tip top condition for giving birth. Don’t forget my “From Bump to Birth DVD”.
I feel privileged and completely blessed to have had a water birth, in a calm amazing environment. The human body is an awesome piece of work and giving birth shows what you can do. However I’m not planning on doing it again anytime soon 😉
Stabilise those Shoulders
Often in classes I come across people with tight shoulders, shoulder pain or can just see shoulders rising up towards people’s ears. It’s amazing how easy it is to start tensing in the shoulder region, I should know as I do it myself if I am not conscious enough. So I am often heard saying phrases like “Relax your shoulder” or “Draw those shoulder blades down in your back”. In actual fact the correct terminology is to “stabilise your scapulae”. Your Scapulae are the wing-like bones on your upper back, commonly called your shoulder blades. Stabilizing your scapulae is as important as contracting your abs during every exercise. This will help you avoid strain through your neck and upper shoulders.
When our scapula ride up or wing out to the sides, the shoulder area is less stable. Similarly, if you draw/squeeze the scapula together on the back this too is a less stable position than when the scapula are flat on the back with the shoulders drawn down in our favoured neutral position.
To find this shoulder position think about dropping the shoulders away from the ears and allowing the shoulder blades to slide down in your back. I like to think about them being down down towards the back pockets of your jeans. In fact this analogy has really help one of my ladies who suffered very badly from hunched shoulders, so hunches that she used to walk looking down at the floor. After learning where her scapulae should be her whole posture has changed! Amazing.
It can be easy to start with the shoulder in this stable position but harder to keep them there when doing mat based Pilates. If you know you have a tendency to lose this position and tense up, then keep bringing your attention back to your shoulders. Have you tensed up? Think about not doing the move with your shoulders and neck but switching on your core more. It may also be that you need to decrease your range of motion in order to get the correct technique established first.
Why is Pilates so beneficial for new mums?
Pilates is still quite a new form of exercise in the UK. Just to give you some background, Joseph Pilates, a German-born gymnast, circus-performer, boxer and anatomical-chart model, developed his training method during the 1920s, so it’s been around for quite a while. He named his method “Contrology”, initially to rehabilitate soldiers during the war. Later, it became popular in the ballet circuit, then went mainstream, where now it’s suitable for just about everyone.
You’ll hear Pilates Instructors mention your “core” muscles quite a lot during class. The “core” is made up of several muscles which wrap around your spine – a bit like a cylinder. There are muscles at the front of your body (transverses abdominus/hip flexors), side (obliques), back (multifidis), top (diaphragm) and base (pelvic floor).
To find your core muscles, you just need to tighten/pull/draw your abdominal muscles in slightly. Start by breathing into your belly first, then as you breath out, drawing your tummy muscles in towards your spine and keeping that light tension switched on. These muscles are slow to contract and slow to fatigue, so it means you should be able to hold your tummy muscles inwards with a low level of contraction, for a minute or two, then simply move an arm or a leg, or the spine, to create an unstable environment and therefore provide a challenge for the muscles. Pilates is quite simple in design.
Pilates is particularly beneficial for postnatal women, because, put simply, it targets the very muscles which get weakened by pregnancy itself eg the pelvic floor and core. It also helps you breathe better, puts your body in an optimal postural position and relieves tension in your neck, shoulders, hips and lower back from constant lifting, carrying, feeding and changing your baby.
Trainers hung up at 37 weeks. Tips on exercising late in pregnancy.
As well as being a Pilates instructor I’m also trained to teach various other exercise classes. One of my favourites is Step Aerobics. I recently set up my own little community class and have adored teaching my group of amazing ladies. Go back a few months and many of them had never done a Step class before, this week I looked on with happiness seeing how them all getting the moves and putting the steps together like pros.
So at almost 37 weeks I’ve finally hung up my trainers, tonight was my last cardio class (I’m still teaching Pilates) and althought it feels sad my body is definitely telling me it’s time to stop. Having said that it also feels awesome to exercise and keeping active in pregnancy has kept me mobile, well, fit and able to do all I need to do. Here I am after class this evening.
Step Aerobics wouldn’t be the class I’d suggest to start up in pregnancy as it involves moves where you stand on one leg and other moves that may not be great if your body is not used to it. However if you have already been doing this type of class then you will be fine to continue as long as you LISTEN to you body and consult your instructor. I have had a pregnant lady in my class who is now 29 weeks and doing really well.
Here are my tips on exercising late in pregnancy:
1. Now is NOT the time to start an exercise regime or take up a new form of exercise but continuing with what your body is used to is fine.
2. Avoid moves that involve twisting, jumping, standing on one leg, lifting the leg out to the side and high kicks.
3. Dial down the impact level. It is perfectly fine to stay active but you will need to bring it down a notch 😉 Make moves smaller.
4. Take regular breaks, drink plenty of fluids and make sure you don’t overheat.
5. If you feel any pain or discomfort then STOP. It is really important to listen to your body.
6. Wear suitable clothing, a decent, supportive, sports bra, good trainers are essential.
7. Ask your instructor for modified moves that you can do in a class or find a pregnancy fitness class.
8. Keep going as long as you feel good and feel like it is doing you some good.
9. Rehydrate and refuel afterwards.
Top Tips on Maintaining Neutral Spine and Pelvis
Neutral pelvis is a funny concept where we aim to keep the pelvis neither tilted up or under but in “neutral alignment”. The idea is to have a straight line from hip bone to hip bone and to be flat from that hip bone area all the way through to the pubic bone. With Neutral spine it can be simpler to think of the spine being straight, however this isn’t actually true! When lying down there will be a slight natural curve in the lower back, for some this will be bigger than others. Think about being able to pass an envelope underneath your lower back and get your instructor to check if you are not sure.
Most people find getting into neutral is relatively easy to achieve at the start of an exercise but maintaining it is the tricky bit. My top tips are to:
1. Think about the lower back being heavy and almost sinking into the back (we don’t actually want it to do this but the imagery can help)
2. Think about there being a heavy weight on the ribcage holding you down to the mat.
3. Keep the sides of the body long and strong to hold you still.
4. Think about the core being weighty as this is what is keeping you in neutral.
If you feel yourself coming out of neutral, stop the exercise, check your core is drawn in and then try again. You may need to make the movement smaller until your body is a bit stronger.
The Stout truth about Iron in Pregnancy
Iron-deficiency anaemia. It’s not much fun, especially when you are pregnant. Unfortunately it’s also not unsual, and many have it in the third trimester. I was anaemia with in y first pregnancy, the sheer horridness of the iron tablets has sent me scuttling for the green leafy vegetables this pregnancy. What I’ve discovered working with pregnant ladies is how little sensible advice is given on this topic, so here is some from me 😉
Top Foods to eat for Iron content:
- Red meat (beef, lamb, pork)
- Egg yolks
- Dark green leafy vegetables – spinach, swiss chard, watercress, curly kale.
- Dried fruit – prunes, raisins, figs, apricots.
- Breakfast cereals that are enriched with Iron.
- Beans, lentils, chickpeas and other pulses.
- Sardines
- Tofu
Top Tips:
- If you eat iron-rich foods along with foods that provide plenty of vitamin C, your body can better absorb the iron.
- Phytates : Oxalates in spinach and phytates found in wholegrains, brans and legumes (soy beans, split peas, lentils and dried beans) inhibit the absorption of iron
- Tannin: Avoid drinking tea, coffee & cola drinks withmeals as they decrease the amount of iron absorbed.
The Myth: In 1759 Arthur Guinness first began to brew his famous Irish stout, over the years a lot of clever marketing went on and a few myths were created. As much as I’d like to encourage pregnant ladies to have a little stout now and again I’m afraid the iron content really isn’t worth writing home about. A pint of Guinness contains 0.3mg of iron, less than three per cent of daily adult needs. That means, you’d need to drink 15 pints of Guinness to get the same amount of iron as two Weetabix. So ladies, stay away from the Guiness, it will not help with anaemia. Sorry. 
Supplements: If you feel your iron levels are low (common symptoms include tiredness, looking pale and feeling washed out) then ask your midwife or GP to check your iron levels via a blood test. There are iron tablets that can be prescribed or you can increase your intake of iron containing foods, or look for a natural supplement like Spatone. I hope that helps! Pregnancy is a tiring time anyway, so it can be hard to tell if you have low iron levels, but it’s always worth keeping your iron topped up through plenty of iron rich foods just in case.
Why Men need Pilates.
Pilates was developed by a man, for men. Joseph Pilates, a beer drinking,cigar smoking boxing man, devised it and used it to help soldiers rehabilitate after injuries. He even turned hospital beds into Pilates aids. Now all these years later somehow Pilates has fallen out of favour with men.
We have a steadily growing group of men coming to our classes and I can definitely say that those who commit to it really see the benefits. A few of the ladies who come are gradually persuading their husbands to come along for a trial class and it’s always great to show them that it’s not all about leotards, ballet moves and breathing.
Slowly Pilates is having a come-back with men, the All-Blacks, several football teams and tennis players like Andy Murray have been shown doing Pilates exercises. Personally I think it’s essential.
Why Do Men Need Pilates?
Pilates is great at strengthening muscles that you wouldn’t otherwise work on. There are big muscles that we use in day to day life that can take become overly strong and tight leaving other muscles weak and lengthened. For example you may have tight hamstrings (back of the thigh) but weak gluts (in the bum). Balancing out these muscles will lead to less aches, pains and a better functioning body.
Improving flexibility may not be the top of most men’s list but if you are more flexible then you will move better and be less prone to pulling muscles and injuries.
Everyone needs core strength. It’s not all about amazing abdominals and a six-pack, although you can definitely get those from Pilates. Think more about how a stronger core leads to less back pain, more strength and movement in your limbs. It can also lead to you lifting heavier weights and help prevent injuries.
When done properly Pilates is flipping hard work! I’ve worked with a few men who have almost been in tears during a workout. It can really push you to your limits but also relax you too.
If you haven’t tried it, you really need to.
I’d love your feedback if you are man who does Pilates – how do you find it?
My Top 3 Pilates Exercises for Pregnancy.
I’m a huge fan of Pilates during pregnancy, it really kept me strong, active and held my pelvis together throughout 2 pregnancies. In fact in my second pregnancy when I was teaching 11 Pilates classes a week and doing Pilates daily I had no lower back pain or pelvic pain. It really does work!
So here are my top 3 Pilates exercises to do in pregnancy. These were filmed when I was 34 weeks pregnancy myself and are safe to do throughout all 3 trimesters of pregnancy and after birth too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p97UC4_tDTA
You can buy my “Bump to Birth” Pilates in Pregnancy DVD here.