Corrective Exercise

WRITTEN BY MAGGIE YOUNT

There are a myriad of benefits to exercising throughout pregnancy and as a new or veteran parent, but pre- and postnatal corrective exercise offers a path forward that makes navigating all of it feel a lot easier.

The benefits of exercise during pregnancy are numerous, from helping to optimize weight gain to decreasing the risk of complications and reducing the need for pain relief during labor, all while helping to grow a fitter, healthier baby. But without the knowledge of the physiological changes specific to pregnancy, traditional fitness can increase the risk for injury and in some cases make recovery postpartum more challenging. Prenatal corrective exercise, however, offers a safe, customized, evidencebased approach to prenatal fitness that helps a birthing parent get stronger for pregnancy, birth and life as a parent.

During pregnancy, the body experiences a lot of physiological, emotional and mental changes that traditional fitness isn’t typically equipped to support. But pre- and postnatal corrective exercise with a certified specialist offers coaching in a supported, holistic way that takes pregnancy’s unique physiological changes into account. Unlike traditional fitness that focuses only on strength and cardio-respiratory fitness gains, pre-and postnatal corrective exercise looks at the layered nuances and needs of every pregnant or postpartum person along with the many physiological changes happening in their body. It offers a whole-person, mind-body approach to fitness that incorporates breathing, movement, mindfulness, nutrition and lifestyle to help foster a stronger, healthier, more comfortable pregnancy, birth and postpartum recovery.

One physiological change that gets a lot of attention in the pre-/postnatal fitness and physical therapy world is diastasis recti. It’s experienced by nearly everyone during pregnancy and is a physical adaptation of the core that happens when the connective tissue along the midline of the belly, called the linea alba, gets soft and stretchy to allow for the growing baby. The “six-pack” abdominal muscles separate along this now-soft midline as the pregnant belly grows. The change is completely normal and needed. But prenatal corrective exercise can support this change by optimizing how the deep core muscles work together, and gently strengthening them to help support the belly and the baby as the connective tissue stretches.

In the postpartum period, parents are suddenly thrust into the world of no sleep and movements their bodies have never had to do before. Core and pelvic floor dysfunction experienced after giving birth are also common but postnatal corrective exercise in the early weeks, or even years, after birth can help parents restore their core strength and connection, eliminate core and pelvic floor complaints and provide a fitness program designed for the postpartum body.

By improving muscular balance and neuromuscular connection, increasing physical self-awareness and improving confidence in the body’s ability to perform what is asked of it, pre- and postnatal corrective exercise takes your fitness journey to a whole new level.

By using even gentle corrective exercises, core and pelvic floor function can improve, and lower back pain can be eliminated. The repetitive movement patterns used in activities of daily life – like bending over to change a diaper, or put baby down to sleep – can become a natural part of rebalancing and restrengthening the body. By teaching you how to activate certain muscles correctly and lengthen or “quiet” others that are doing too much, you teach your body how to rebalance itself and move in ways that can help you move better for the rest of your life.

Maggie Yount is a Licensed Fit for Birth Pregnancy Safe Coach, a Certified Pre and Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist, and a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. She is currently seeing pregnant and postpartum private clients in Bozeman. For more information visit www.wholehealthymama.com or Instagram at @ wholemamafit.