Pilates and New Moms
by Amanda McKinney
published in the PhysicalMind Institutes web forum 2008
New moms embrace many new life changes in a matter of 9 months but embracing a post-pregnancy figure is usually a temporary matter. Thanks to classes like Baby & Me Pilates, moms don’t have to part from their wee ones for a moment to get their body back. At Sweet Pea’s Yoga Studio in Chicago, moms are using Pilates as a multi-faceted tool; while they work with their bodies they are also bonding with their babies and making new friends along the way.
Most moms are eager to get into the Baby & Me Classes just weeks after welcoming baby into the world. New moms naturally want to lose baby weight, tone their softer bodies, and ultimately get into a bikini again but there is much more to gain beyond superficial appearances. Many women experience a diastasis, a separation of the rectus abdominus muscles to accommodate a growing womb, and turn to Pilates to bring their muscles back together again. An added bonus of Pilates is the inevitable working of the deep transversus abdominus and rebuilding the perineum muscles often torn and stretched from childbirth. Pilates can help women combat urinary incontinence and even enhance sexual function. Furthermore new moms may tend to hunch over into a kyphotic posture through breast-feeding or simply adoring their baby, stretching the tightened trapezius and rhomboid muscles helps to counter the habit and feels wonderful too.
Amanda McKinney, mat instructor who teaches Baby & Me Pilates and Pilates Playdate classes feels fortunate to be involved, “I think Pilates is a new mom’s best friend. During pregnancy working the core muscles beyond a kegel gets incredibly challenging. I remember trying to do a roll up in my third trimester and the only thing that came up was a belly laugh! Getting reacquainted with your mid-section is a priority when you come home from the hospital.”
Very small and simple exercises are encouraged upon return from the hospital after a vaginal birth. Lifting the head and looking at plantar-flexed feet to work the abdominals and doing kegel exercises to stimulate the perineum may be recommended. The entire perineal area may temporarily feel numb from delivery. Those who have cesarean births are more limited with sore abdominals. It is often recommended to refrain from starting exercise routines for at least 4 weeks for vaginal deliveries and 6 weeks for c-sections.
The Baby & Me Pilates classes are offered for babies 4 weeks to crawling, more for mom’s sake than baby. The class format is much like any other mat class and no less challenging. Modifications are cued prior to more advanced exercises so that everyone can work at their own level. Poses are interspersed with songs and games such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “London Bridge” and babies are often used as counter-resistance in bicep curls that end with a kiss or standing Plies that offer a little ride. Side-lying and Prone poses offer a little more face time with babies so exercises like Leg Pull Front Support, Push-Ups and other Plank poses make an opportunity to shoot adoring smiles while strengthening and toning muscles.
The progression of the class very much depends on the class energy. Babies rule so they at any time may be nursing, crying or cooing. When the class is quiet with babies fixated on their mommies movements (or the ceiling fans spinning), moms can lie supine and focus in for a while with classic exercises like the Hundred, Single Leg Stretch, and Double Leg Stretch. When fussiness dominates the class, standing Plies and Lunges while holding baby usually distract the little ones from their woes. Occasionally the majority will sleep through the class so the baby stuff is skipped for an uninterrupted workout. Each class is ended with functional baby stretches like stretching their legs long and pushing their knees into the chest to relieve gassiness, criss-crossing opposite arm and leg to stimulate brain development, gathering hands and feet and rocking baby side to side for a spinal massage or bringing their toes to the nose for plain fun.
The Pilates Playdate class is geared toward the mobile babies from crawlers to early walkers. “There was a high demand for a place for moms of this age group to go,” says McKinney, “Moms don’t want their often runny-nosed toddlers pawing on their classmates newborn, so this class offers a safe haven to bring the rowdy crowd.” This class is similar to the other Baby & Me class only the little ones are free to roam from their momma’s mat and venture around the room littered with toys and other babies their age. This class ends with blowing bubbles, a popular ending for a toddler.
Muscles aren’t the only networks connecting here; life-long friendships abound for moms and babies alike.