Benefits of Pilates during pregnancy

Benefits of Pilates during pregnancy

Exercising during Pregnancy helps to keep you healthy, helps you sleep better, improves your state of mind, and reduces your symptoms during pregnancy.

Pilates helps to strengthen the correct muscles during these physiological changes, promoting good posture and improved body awareness, supporting your weight as you grow and better facilitates the changes within your body during pregnancy. It has been proven that improved body awareness by participating in Pilates improves the baby’s position in pelvis during the gestation period.

Pilates has many benefits: it not only strengthens your abdominal, pelvic and core muscles which will reduce the incidence of lower back pain and assist in the labour and delivery process, but it will also help to optimise one’s balance and flexibility. Improved breathing patterning (as instructed in Pilates) aids in relaxation and helps in managing pain during labour. One study has suggested that a major obstacle in natural child birth is the mother’s levels of fear and anxiety. This releases adrenaline which reduces the body’s production of endorphin (the body’s natural source of pain relief). Being taught breathing techniques will improve one’s tolerance to the pain during the labour process.

Functional Pilates is a safe and effective way to strengthen and tone the relevant postural muscles to support you during pregnancy, helps the delivery process and improves your recovery time to fitness after the birth. It makes your labour more manageable and you recover your figure quicker! Strengthening the trunk and core improves your posture, making it easier to carry your baby while also reducing the risk of personal injury. Pilates is a relaxing workout that can be done throughout the pregnancy and gives your baby a great start to life! It can help to improve oxygen and nutrients to the foetus due to the focused breathing techniques which help to lower stress levels for both the mother and child.

8 Reasons why Pilates is recommended during pregnancy?

1. Relaxation: Helps to reduce negative stress and tension thereby improving sleeping patterns.
2. Ability to concentrate: Intrinsic focus allows one to forget about your ‘daily woes’ and to focus on your own health.
3. Postural alignment: Improves your posture and reduces prevalence of associated pregnancy pains. Stretching overworked muscles and strengthening relevant muscles will assist in stabilising the pelvis during pregnancy.
4. Breathing: Improves breathing efficiency and the delivery of oxygen to your foetus. Improved breathing techniques learned during Pilates helps contribute to a smoother labour process and delivery.
5. Core stabilisation: Pilates strengthens the correct core muscles helping to create a solid functional base, stabilising and supporting the spine.
6. Co-ordination: Pilates utilises movements that promote the coordinate and correct patterning between different muscles groups to ensure one benefits not only during pregnancy and labour, but also for the rest of your life!
7. Fluidity of movements: The gentle, soft flow of movements minimises and prevents excess stress to an already tired and over-stressed body.
8. Stamina: The regular participation in Pilates will allow you to build stamina and functional strength helping you to deal with the stresses of labour and after birth.

(http://www.gofigure.org.uk/pre-post-natal/benefits-of-pilates-pregnancy/)