Pregnancy Pilates

There are often so many fears that a mother-to-be faces; eliminating the fear of what pregnancy will do to the shape of her body can be a big weight off her shoulders.

Sometimes when I look at my beautiful daughter I have to admit that I feel a little selfish about one of my early pregnancy fears. As many expectant mothers do, I had the usual apprehensions about the health of my baby and whether or not I would be a good mother, but, in the back of my mind, I also had a nagging panic that my body would never look the same again.

I decided to write this because I wanted to share my feelings about using Pilates in pregnancy because it is something I had such a tremendous experience with. Pregnancy Pilates not only kept me feeling strong and healthy throughout, it also helped me quickly regain my former size and shape.

Eating well, taking vitamins and getting exercise are so important for mothers-to-be and Pilates is an excellent choice for an exercise routine. Pilates builds long lean muscles and focuses a lot of attention on strengthening the muscles in the abdomen, pelvis and back. This is so helpful to a woman, both for carrying a baby and for labour and delivery.

In addition, Pilates improves balance, flexibility and promotes relaxation and a sense of well being. All of these aspects are extremely valuable to a pregnant woman. Following the birth, the abdominal muscles already have a head start on tightening back up and pulling everything back in where it used to be.

I highly recommend Pregnancy Pilates to any pregnant woman and any woman considering becoming pregnant, provided that she first discusses it with her doctor. It definitely eliminated one big fear for me, so that I had time to better concentrate on the multitude of others.;)