Latest / Silver FM 100.6 / Don't stop exercising just because you're pregnant

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Don't stop exercising just because you're pregnant · Silver FM 100.6

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Speaker 2: Hey, it's Mary el Sagata. You're listening to Life Kit.
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Speaker 2: I have often wondered what pregnant women can actually do
0:34
Speaker 2: in terms of exercise. I got the idea that you're
0:36
Speaker 2: not supposed to lift heavy things or jump around too much,
0:40
Speaker 2: But then there are also women online doing CrossFit at
0:43
Speaker 2: nine months pregnant. Life Kit reporter Andy Tagle was confused
0:47
Speaker 2: about this during her pregnancy.
0:49
Speaker 3: I remember when I first found out I was pregnant.
0:51
Speaker 3: I had joined this boot camp gym, and I've been
0:55
Speaker 3: going pretty regularly and it was really fun and really hard.
1:00
Speaker 3: But almost immediately after seeing that positive pregnancy test, I
1:06
Speaker 3: stopped going Wow. Yeah, Not because my doctor told me
1:09
Speaker 3: I couldn't. Not because I had read any research. It
1:12
Speaker 3: just seemed like, maybe this isn't a good idea.
1:15
Speaker 2: What was your fear.
1:19
Speaker 3: That I might do something to hurt the baby, That
1:21
Speaker 3: like something might happen if I worked out too hard,
1:25
Speaker 3: you know, like if I'm lifted too heavy, or if
1:27
Speaker 3: like I exerted myself too much.
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Speaker 2: Her family was protective too, and the idea wasn't just
1:35
Speaker 2: we have to protect the baby, but also we have
1:38
Speaker 2: to protect you.
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Speaker 3: As soon as we started telling my family, I just
1:41
Speaker 3: felt like that, like there was an immediate cushioning, cushioning
1:45
Speaker 3: bordering on coddling, like, oh, sit down, I got the dishes,
1:48
Speaker 3: you know, don't worry about that, Like put your feet up.
1:51
Speaker 3: It was so early on that I couldn't even see
1:53
Speaker 3: the doctor, Like the doctors wouldn't see me yet, but
1:55
Speaker 3: it was already like take a load off. Yeah, was
1:58
Speaker 3: the messaging right.
1:59
Speaker 2: Away, Which is nice on the one hand, right because
2:01
Speaker 2: you probably are get a little tired when you're pregnant.
2:04
Speaker 3: But it was like you, you are delicate now.
2:07
Speaker 2: But what Andy found in reporting this episode is that
2:10
Speaker 2: pregnant women are not delicate. They can do a lot,
2:14
Speaker 2: and movement exercise is great for them. It's probably not
2:18
Speaker 2: a big surprise now to hear that, just like when
2:21
Speaker 2: you're not pregnant, a pregnant person's body, brain, heart benefits
2:26
Speaker 2: from movement. And actually the recommendation is exactly the same
2:31
Speaker 2: for pregnant people as it is for everyone else. So
2:34
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate intensity physical activity
2:37
Speaker 2: a week, But the most current research says only ten
2:42
Speaker 2: to fifteen percent of pregnant women actually follow that guidance. Yeah,
2:46
Speaker 2: this is most of what I hear from friends who
2:48
Speaker 2: are pregnant. They're like, I'll get to that after I
2:52
Speaker 2: give birth.
2:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, but research shows that exercising regularly throughout pregnancy does
2:59
Speaker 3: not increase your risk of having a miscarriage, of having
3:02
Speaker 3: a small baby, or of having an early baby.
3:05
Speaker 2: So anyone out there who's like on the fence about
3:08
Speaker 2: keeping up that pilates class or their strength training.
3:12
Speaker 3: Keep going. It's not just safe, it's highly recommended for
3:17
Speaker 3: your health and for babies. For starters, it can reduce
3:20
Speaker 3: pregnancy pain and make birth easier. But I should note
3:23
Speaker 3: for the record that we are not offering medical advice here.
3:26
Speaker 3: You definitely want to check in with your doctor about
3:28
Speaker 3: what's best for your pregnancy. But we did talk to
3:31
Speaker 3: a lot of medical experts who have a lot of
3:33
Speaker 3: great tools to help keep you moving safely.
3:37
Speaker 2: After the break, how exercising can make pregnancy less painful
3:41
Speaker 2: and make birth easier, also specific advice and exercises for
3:45
Speaker 2: each trimester.
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5:17
Speaker 3: Congratulations parent to be and welcome to your guide to
5:20
Speaker 3: what you expect from your workout. When you're expecting, we're
5:25
Speaker 3: going to move through this one trimester at a time.
5:28
Speaker 3: To start, let's warm up your mindset. Maybe you're here
5:32
Speaker 3: because you're having trouble getting motivated. That makes sense.
5:36
Speaker 9: In the first trimester, many women experience fatigue, and that's
5:39
Speaker 9: a very normal part of the first trimester. People want
5:43
Speaker 9: to maybe sleep all the time.
5:45
Speaker 3: This is doctor Anna Sepine, an OBGYN and director of
5:49
Speaker 3: Community Women's Health at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
5:53
Speaker 9: The advice I always say is to listen to your body.
5:55
Speaker 9: Right Like, if something feels like it's too strenuous, it's
5:58
Speaker 9: really impossible to do, then that's the that's your body
6:00
Speaker 9: telling you to do that, and so you should listen
6:01
Speaker 9: to your cues.
6:03
Speaker 3: Take away one new to this not feeling great, Start low,
6:08
Speaker 3: go slow, but keep at it. Whether you're a seasoned
6:13
Speaker 3: athlete or you've never step foot inside a gym, the
6:16
Speaker 3: beginning of being pregnant can pack a punch, to say
6:20
Speaker 3: the least. So if you're not already active, but you
6:24
Speaker 3: want to try for that thirty minutes a day of
6:26
Speaker 3: aerobic exercise five times a.
6:28
Speaker 9: Week, maybe work up to that. So doing maybe like
6:31
Speaker 9: ten minutes at a time and working your way up.
6:34
Speaker 3: Now, if you are a gym regular and you're rearing
6:37
Speaker 3: to go, but you've just been feeling.
6:40
Speaker 10: Wiped, listen, this is your first lesson in the first
6:44
Speaker 10: trimester of mom life, and it's like, you've got to
6:47
Speaker 10: change your mindset and your expectation.
6:50
Speaker 3: Crystal Howeld is a women's health physical therapist as well
6:53
Speaker 3: as the co owner of Expecting and Empowered, a platform
6:57
Speaker 3: designed specifically for pregnancy and post part of workouts.
7:01
Speaker 10: I just got my workout it myself, so that's why
7:03
Speaker 10: I have this wet hair. But you always got to
7:05
Speaker 10: prioritize that fitness.
7:07
Speaker 5: You know.
7:07
Speaker 3: As a mom of three herself, she fully understands just
7:11
Speaker 3: how hard it can be when the first trimester puts
7:13
Speaker 3: you on your heels.
7:14
Speaker 10: So if you go for a walk because you're feeling sick,
7:18
Speaker 10: that's a win. Chalk it up. If you only feel
7:20
Speaker 10: like doing some flexibility and gentle movement because you feel
7:25
Speaker 10: like you're going to bar chalk it up.
7:27
Speaker 3: Because even small, regular efforts to stay active can make
7:31
Speaker 3: a difference during pregnancy and postpartum, especially.
7:34
Speaker 5: We saw a forty percent reduction in the odds of
7:37
Speaker 5: developing preclamsia, gestationial hypertension, and just stational diabetes.
7:42
Speaker 3: I'm guessing you're familiar with these three because there are
7:45
Speaker 3: major pregnancy complications that your doctor likely already has or
7:49
Speaker 3: will be screening you for. Each can pose a serious
7:53
Speaker 3: or even life threatening risk to both mom and baby.
7:57
Speaker 3: So I talked to Marki Davenport about this. She's a
8:00
Speaker 3: researcher at the University of Alberta in Canada who focuses
8:03
Speaker 3: on the effects of exercise before, during, and after pregnancy.
8:07
Speaker 3: She says, the benefits of exercising during pregnancy don't just
8:11
Speaker 3: stop with you. Babies with active moms have a lower
8:14
Speaker 3: risk of obesity and diabetes down the road.
8:16
Speaker 5: For instance, their babies have slightly stronger cardiovasco systems, baby
8:21
Speaker 5: brain activity in the month postpartum is a little bit higher.
8:25
Speaker 3: So in this early stage of pregnancy, resolve to fit
8:28
Speaker 3: in movement, how and where and when you.
8:31
Speaker 9: Can maybe get off one stop earlier and walk, you know,
8:36
Speaker 9: get in some more steps. Try to find a way
8:39
Speaker 9: to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
8:43
Speaker 3: I know what you want to know next, what's the
8:45
Speaker 3: perfect pregnancy exercise routine? Right Well, there's a short answer
8:52
Speaker 3: and a long answer. Short version.
8:55
Speaker 5: There is no one best way to exercise. I would
8:58
Speaker 5: say that the best forum activity is the one that
9:01
Speaker 5: you're going to enjoy and do and maintain during pregnancy.
9:06
Speaker 3: So if you're twelve weeks in and waking up every
9:08
Speaker 3: day still feeling jazzed about that morning jog, don't feel
9:12
Speaker 3: the need to reinvent the wheel.
9:14
Speaker 9: There's very little that you shouldn't do in pregnancy, barring
9:19
Speaker 9: a complication in pregnancy where we are asking or recommending
9:22
Speaker 9: that you restrict exercise, and it's probably fine to continue
9:25
Speaker 9: what you were doing.
9:30
Speaker 3: The longer answer is your body is going to do
9:33
Speaker 3: a lot of changing over the next several months, and
9:36
Speaker 3: the best workout will adapt accordingly. Take away too, you
9:41
Speaker 3: don't have to feel this way, adding workouts early on
9:45
Speaker 3: that can help prevent pain down the line, heartburn, acne, constipation,
9:51
Speaker 3: nose blades, lay cramps, itchiness all over. As your first
9:56
Speaker 3: trimester progresses, so too does a unique parade of new
9:59
Speaker 3: body pains and surprising bodily functions that can often spur
10:02
Speaker 3: the phrase is that supposed to be doing that?
10:05
Speaker 10: I wish that people knew that a lot of things
10:07
Speaker 10: are preventable during pregnancy.
10:10
Speaker 3: As your body grows and shifts, Crystal says, your body's
10:14
Speaker 3: different internal pressure systems can get thrown off, causing pain
10:19
Speaker 3: or problems in areas where pressure is unevenly distributed. Sciatica,
10:24
Speaker 3: for instance, can happen when the uterus puts too much
10:27
Speaker 3: pressure on the sciatic nerve, or maybe you're dealing with hemorrhids.
10:31
Speaker 10: Too much pressure in the pelvic floor region.
10:34
Speaker 3: But by building balance and strength in a few key
10:37
Speaker 3: areas of the body, you can alleviate or maybe even
10:41
Speaker 3: prevent some common pregnancy aches and pains. So let's walk
10:46
Speaker 3: through a few ways to do that. We'll start with
10:49
Speaker 3: what Crystal calls a triple b breath, going to breathe
10:52
Speaker 3: in through your nose, then down your back and into
10:56
Speaker 3: your brawline.
10:57
Speaker 10: All the way down into your butt. That's the third bee,
11:00
Speaker 10: So almost think about yourself being like a tiger. Instead
11:03
Speaker 10: of the tail being tucked, think about lifting the tail
11:07
Speaker 10: out from behind you with your breath.
11:09
Speaker 3: In addition to being a useful tool for calming down
11:12
Speaker 3: your nervous system, the triple B is great for a
11:15
Speaker 3: warm up because it hits a lot of the areas
11:17
Speaker 3: that need your attention throughout your pregnancy. Your back, chest, core, hips,
11:23
Speaker 3: and pelvic floor. These areas you're going to want to
11:27
Speaker 3: work out regularly. Now, what will that look like exactly?
11:31
Speaker 3: There's no official guidance on this, and check in with
11:34
Speaker 3: your doctor, of course, but Crystal very generously gave us
11:38
Speaker 3: some ideas on what an exercise plan throughout your pregnancy
11:42
Speaker 3: might look like. Let's start with a big picture overview first.
11:46
Speaker 3: She suggests incorporating some sort of flexibility or stretching daily,
11:51
Speaker 3: plus one to two days of focused work like plates
11:56
Speaker 3: or yoga that can help prep your body for delivery.
12:00
Speaker 3: Aim for one cardio workout per week and three strength
12:03
Speaker 3: workouts per week. Because of that aforementioned instability and imbalance.
12:09
Speaker 3: During those strength workouts, you might focus on one or
12:12
Speaker 3: two areas of the body on a rotating basis, say
12:15
Speaker 3: fifteen to thirty minutes at a time to start, So
12:19
Speaker 3: maybe you do back in chest on Mondays, hips core
12:22
Speaker 3: public floor on Wednesdays. If you don't already have a routine,
12:27
Speaker 3: you can just pick a few favorites from the exercises
12:29
Speaker 3: in this episode and plan to you a few rounds
12:32
Speaker 3: of between ten to twenty reps of each exercise at
12:35
Speaker 3: a time. Ease up on the weights as your pregnancy
12:38
Speaker 3: progresses or as your body needs. Now in the first
12:43
Speaker 3: trimester specifically, Crystal says.
12:46
Speaker 10: I'm starting to think about adding that lateral hit movement.
12:49
Speaker 10: I'm starting to think about really reconnecting to my core.
12:53
Speaker 3: For your hips, you could try sidelining leg lifts, banded walks,
12:57
Speaker 3: side to side, lateral lunges, or glute bridges. Trust me,
13:02
Speaker 3: your third trimester, yourself will thank you for all of those.
13:06
Speaker 3: You know that very distinctive wattle walk of the deeply pregnant.
13:10
Speaker 10: When we start to wattle, it means that our feet
13:13
Speaker 10: are slowly like drifting outwards. When our feet drift outwards,
13:18
Speaker 10: our hips are actually rotating outwards too. What that means
13:22
Speaker 10: is they've lost some of their lateral hip control. That's
13:26
Speaker 10: why I'm also obsessed with it in the beginning of
13:29
Speaker 10: the first and second trimester, trying to get side to
13:32
Speaker 10: side movements.
13:33
Speaker 3: For your core. Go for bear crawls, side planks, or
13:37
Speaker 3: bird dogs that's the one where you start in a
13:40
Speaker 3: tabletop position and then reach out opposite arms and legs,
13:44
Speaker 3: or dead bugs, which is essentially the same exercise just
13:48
Speaker 3: on your back. These are all going to target your
13:50
Speaker 3: deep core muscles.
13:51
Speaker 10: The transverse of dominos. It's called it's like your own
13:54
Speaker 10: personal pair of spanks. So we want to learn how
13:57
Speaker 10: to use the spanks if we can. I I have
14:00
Speaker 10: great abdominal control. One of the things I might not
14:03
Speaker 10: have is what's called cubic synthesis pain.
14:06
Speaker 3: Better known as SPD or lightning crutch. The name is unfortunate,
14:11
Speaker 3: I know, but also appropriate.
14:15
Speaker 10: When that belly expands, there's going to be a lot
14:17
Speaker 10: more pressure on the front of the bone, but all
14:21
Speaker 10: of that pressure that's moving forward preventable, you know, like
14:26
Speaker 10: working on my handstring strengths also going to help tilt
14:29
Speaker 10: my pelvis back, get it into nice neutral position. Preventable,
14:34
Speaker 10: So it's going to reduce aches and pains. Like that
14:37
Speaker 10: it's also going to reduce complications during labor and delivery.
14:41
Speaker 3: If you're looking for more structure, more cardio or both,
14:46
Speaker 3: bar zoomba or other dance based workouts might be a
14:49
Speaker 3: good place to start. Any standard plates or yoga class
14:52
Speaker 3: is also sure to cover everything on Crystal's list. Just
14:55
Speaker 3: make sure you don't end up in any heated or
14:58
Speaker 3: aerial silk type classes too. Best protect that tiny growing bump.
15:03
Speaker 3: Speaking of safety, general guidelines are pretty straightforward. You follow
15:07
Speaker 3: the same basic best practices as you would when not pregnant,
15:12
Speaker 3: Stay well hydrated, make sure you're not going to overheat,
15:15
Speaker 3: wear supportive clothing, and the same goes for when you
15:18
Speaker 3: should worry.
15:19
Speaker 9: I think that warning signs that are true for everyone
15:23
Speaker 9: who is exercising. You know, if you are feeling very
15:26
Speaker 9: short of breath, if you're having chest pain, if you're
15:28
Speaker 9: feeling dizzy, those are cues to stop what you're doing.
15:33
Speaker 3: When it comes to pregnancy specific symptoms.
15:35
Speaker 9: If you start to feel like you're having contractions, if
15:38
Speaker 9: you develop spotting, call your doctor.
15:42
Speaker 3: Okay, those recommendations are helpful, but surprisingly broad. Are you
15:47
Speaker 3: sure there's nothing else we should be staying away from?
15:49
Speaker 6: Doc?
15:50
Speaker 9: Make sure that you're not doing things where there is
15:54
Speaker 9: a risk for direct abdominal trauma. Right, So things like
15:59
Speaker 9: boxing is probably not a good idea. There is that
16:03
Speaker 9: opportunity for direct abdominal.
16:04
Speaker 3: Trauma boxing, of course, that's a no brainer.
16:09
Speaker 5: Well, actually, we are changing again the way that we
16:12
Speaker 5: think about most of these things. So you probably shouldn't
16:16
Speaker 5: go and be in a full out match, but that
16:18
Speaker 5: doesn't mean that you can't be hitting a bag, right,
16:22
Speaker 5: So you can do modified activity that's going to be
16:27
Speaker 5: lower risk.
16:28
Speaker 3: And that rule goes for a lot of other physical
16:30
Speaker 3: activities too. Be discerning. Of course, avoid extreme pressure and temperatures.
16:36
Speaker 3: Anything with extreme in the name really contact sports or
16:39
Speaker 3: any activity we're falling as likely. Plus lying flat on
16:43
Speaker 3: your back for long periods of time, especially in the
16:46
Speaker 3: third trimester, but you have more room to move than
16:50
Speaker 3: a lot of people think.
16:51
Speaker 5: What has sort of been traditionally recommended is to avoid
16:54
Speaker 5: heavy weightlifting in pregnancy. So some people are told don't
16:58
Speaker 5: lift over ten pounds, don't lift over twenty pounds. Well,
17:01
Speaker 5: you kind of get into a bit of a pickle
17:03
Speaker 5: after you deliver, because you walk out of the hospital
17:08
Speaker 5: or wherever, and you have this lovely little, say seven
17:13
Speaker 5: pound baby, and I don't know, it feels like fifty
17:16
Speaker 5: pound car seat to go with it. And so there's
17:19
Speaker 5: no reason to stop resistance training during pregnancy.
17:23
Speaker 3: Strength training as that belly starts to pump. That's where
17:26
Speaker 3: we're headed. After the break.
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18:12
Speaker 3: You're listening to Life Kit and it's time for Takeaway three.
18:15
Speaker 3: Keep building your strength as your belly grows. All right,
18:19
Speaker 3: We're going to cover a lot of ground quickly in
18:20
Speaker 3: this takeaway because.
18:22
Speaker 10: The second trimester is honestly gold and golden trimester.
18:27
Speaker 3: Once you turn the corner on week fourteen or shortly thereafter,
18:31
Speaker 3: you're hopefully feeling better, brighter, and more energized as you
18:36
Speaker 3: reacin your vitality. Crystal says, build on that momentum in
18:39
Speaker 3: your workout, particularly when it comes to resistance training.
18:43
Speaker 10: So this is when I really though, start to think
18:46
Speaker 10: about my upper back and tension. Here. Most women will
18:51
Speaker 10: have peck weakness, so their pecks start to get really tense.
18:56
Speaker 10: That's when you start to see that slump position because
18:59
Speaker 10: I can't hold myself upright. I want collar bones to
19:02
Speaker 10: be like nicer than wide.
19:03
Speaker 3: Working with your body weight, go for incline or wall
19:07
Speaker 3: push ups. You could try any or all types of
19:10
Speaker 3: rows with free weights and at the gym head to
19:13
Speaker 3: the seated chest press, or try some standing cable flies
19:16
Speaker 3: with a wide stance that can safely accommodate that growing bump.
19:21
Speaker 10: From there, I want to work on my postural muscles
19:25
Speaker 10: so that my trunk can stay stacked over my pelvis,
19:29
Speaker 10: and again this is going to help the pelvic floor.
19:32
Speaker 3: Postural muscles are constantly working to help keep you balanced
19:36
Speaker 3: and upright. It's a big group, but generally your neck, back, core, hip,
19:43
Speaker 3: and leg muscles are all included, and the stronger they are,
19:47
Speaker 3: the better aligned you'll be, the more you can protect
19:50
Speaker 3: yourself against things like the all over backbane that can
19:54
Speaker 3: really start to come calling as that beat us grows.
19:58
Speaker 3: So next up to training those hamstrings, which can really
20:02
Speaker 3: support your fast changing center of gravity. That could look
20:05
Speaker 3: like lateral lunges or sumo squats. That wider stance might
20:10
Speaker 3: just be come here for you now. For free weights,
20:13
Speaker 3: one of Crystal's favorites is a variation on Romanian deadlifts.
20:17
Speaker 10: Where you're bringing the opposite arm across to the opposite
20:21
Speaker 10: leg but loading it.
20:23
Speaker 3: Start in a standing position with weight in one hand,
20:26
Speaker 3: then hinge at your hip with back straight and knees
20:30
Speaker 3: slightly bent. Bring that weight down to the opposite foot,
20:34
Speaker 3: then hinge back up and switch sides. Now, if just
20:39
Speaker 3: listening to that description felt complicated, you could up instead
20:42
Speaker 3: for lake presses or the hip abduction. Adduction machines at
20:46
Speaker 3: the gym aim for moderate resistance, meaning you should be
20:51
Speaker 3: able to have a conversation while you exercise. A final
20:55
Speaker 3: area of note in your second trimester.
20:57
Speaker 10: That diaphragm. I'm thinking of out keeping space for the diaphragm,
21:02
Speaker 10: so I'm thinking about flexibility through my spine loading it,
21:06
Speaker 10: and then I'm also thinking about breathing in that area
21:10
Speaker 10: is really important.
21:12
Speaker 3: A Mermaid stretch is a fun one to try. Sit
21:14
Speaker 3: on the ground with knees bent and feet folded to
21:17
Speaker 3: the right as you inhale or raise your left arm
21:21
Speaker 3: to the sky with your right arm on the ground
21:23
Speaker 3: for support. As you exhale venture torso to the right
21:28
Speaker 3: hold for four breaths, you should feel the stretch on
21:32
Speaker 3: your left side. You also want to keep going with
21:35
Speaker 3: deep core exercises to help combat diastasis rectie. That's when
21:39
Speaker 3: your app muscles separate from stretching during pregnancy. Heel slides
21:43
Speaker 3: are a popular recommendation in this category, as are those
21:46
Speaker 3: bird dogs from earlier.
21:47
Speaker 10: Because I'm getting the opposite side, opposite arm, opposite leg,
21:52
Speaker 10: keeping that back what's called the postier or chain act
21:54
Speaker 10: of as long as we can.
21:56
Speaker 3: The bigger that belly. Of course, the more discomfort you're
21:59
Speaker 3: likely to feel, the harder it might be to pick
22:02
Speaker 3: up those weights. So let's move on to how to
22:05
Speaker 3: keep moving in your third trimester when you make it
22:09
Speaker 3: to that home stretch. First of all, just give yourself
22:12
Speaker 3: a pat on the back. Then try to build a
22:15
Speaker 3: movement in your day that might relieve it some.
22:19
Speaker 10: Just trying to create space and take the load off
22:21
Speaker 10: the back is really what the job would be for starters.
22:25
Speaker 3: Returning to that triple b breath can help massage the
22:28
Speaker 3: muscles along your neck and spine. Keeping up your cardio
22:32
Speaker 3: at least walking and strength training or at least gentle
22:37
Speaker 3: stretching and flexibility might feel like way more of a
22:40
Speaker 3: chore as the weeks go by, but could also serve
22:44
Speaker 3: as a very necessary mood booster around this time. Another
22:49
Speaker 3: somewhat strengthening practice that can offer a lot of relief.
22:52
Speaker 10: During the third trimester. Dude, just give that baby a
22:54
Speaker 10: hug all the time. Put your back up against the
22:57
Speaker 10: wall like that song. Put your back up against the
22:59
Speaker 10: wall and then with the baby.
23:02
Speaker 3: That'll temporarily take the pressure off of your lower back
23:05
Speaker 3: and your spine and can help you reconnect with your
23:08
Speaker 3: core while creating some blessed space around your hip joints.
23:13
Speaker 3: One last recommendation. Swimming can offer not only exercise, but
23:19
Speaker 3: pain relief and needed relaxation because as you get closer
23:24
Speaker 3: to your due date, your objective changes.
23:27
Speaker 6: The overall goal is not how strong can I get
23:30
Speaker 6: in that last trimester, it's stretching the peblic floor and
23:34
Speaker 6: also am I clear on how to let go and
23:36
Speaker 6: push through the pelvic floor without tightening it.
23:40
Speaker 3: This is Janelle Frederick.
23:41
Speaker 6: On the social media streets. I'm known as Vagina Rehab Doctor.
23:45
Speaker 3: She's a pelvic floor physical therapist who works primarily with
23:48
Speaker 3: women who are struggling with pelvic pain and painful intimacy.
23:51
Speaker 6: Which is really common during and after pregnancy.
23:54
Speaker 3: Actually, she says, in the third trimester, your focus is
23:57
Speaker 3: less on exercising for pain relief and more on movement
24:01
Speaker 3: to help you have a successful delivery. That's no small thing.
24:05
Speaker 8: You know.
24:05
Speaker 6: Giving birth is the Olympics for the pelvic floor. We
24:08
Speaker 6: use our peblc floor all the time, we don't use
24:11
Speaker 6: it to that extent when we are pregnant and giving birth.
24:17
Speaker 3: Last up, takeaway four, Pregnancy and birth are the pelvic
24:21
Speaker 3: floor Olympics train. Accordingly, all right, we've made it. We're
24:27
Speaker 3: knocking on your delivery dates door. Time to prepare that
24:31
Speaker 3: pelvic floor. Now. I know we've talked about this a
24:34
Speaker 3: few times on the show before, but Janelle, please remind
24:37
Speaker 3: me what exactly is the pelvic floor again.
24:40
Speaker 6: Say, group of muscles that sits at the base of
24:43
Speaker 6: your pelvis. And so these are the muscles that open
24:46
Speaker 6: and relax when you're ready to pee and poop. They're
24:49
Speaker 6: the muscles that need to open and get out of
24:51
Speaker 6: the way when it's time for the baby to come
24:52
Speaker 6: through that birth canal. And so the pelvic floor is
24:55
Speaker 6: crucial to your overall confidence, your daily activity, and especially
25:00
Speaker 6: ignancy and postpartum managing that period well.
25:03
Speaker 3: So clearly, your pelvic floor is the star of this show.
25:07
Speaker 3: Let's make sure you can treat yours right, Janelle says.
25:10
Speaker 3: People often assume these muscles are weak, when in reality.
25:15
Speaker 6: And they're really just carrying too much in their bodies.
25:18
Speaker 6: Like if you feel tense during the day, your vagina's
25:21
Speaker 6: probably tense too.
25:22
Speaker 3: Our top recommendation here find a pelvic floor PTE of
25:26
Speaker 3: your own to get evaluated at any point in your
25:29
Speaker 3: pregnancy or even preconception. It's a good idea in general
25:34
Speaker 3: for your reproductive health. One in four women will experience
25:37
Speaker 3: a pelvic floor disorder in her lifetime. But if you
25:40
Speaker 3: don't have access to a PTS yet, there are a
25:43
Speaker 3: lot of simple exercises you can start with.
25:45
Speaker 6: So pelic'slore stretches are things like happy Baby, Child's pose,
25:50
Speaker 6: cat cow diaframatic breathing.
25:53
Speaker 3: From there, Janelle has an exercise she recommends that isn't
25:57
Speaker 3: strictly speaking workout by that is most definitely a stretch.
26:02
Speaker 3: In the most literal sense of the.
26:03
Speaker 6: Word, it's called perennial stretching.
26:07
Speaker 3: The perineum, for anyone unfamiliar, is a small section of
26:11
Speaker 3: skin and tissue between the vagina and the anus, and.
26:15
Speaker 6: When you give birth, the muscle that generally tears is
26:18
Speaker 6: this muscle right here.
26:19
Speaker 3: See if you deliver vaginally, this area can stretch by
26:22
Speaker 3: up to three hundred percent its normal size, which sometimes,
26:28
Speaker 3: like roughly fifty to eighty percent of the time, according
26:31
Speaker 3: to the most recent research, can cause the skin to
26:34
Speaker 3: tear to varying degrees. I know that sounds scary. The
26:38
Speaker 3: good news the perineum contains muscles.
26:41
Speaker 6: Just like any other muscle. You can strengthen it, you
26:43
Speaker 6: can stretch it, you can train it.
26:45
Speaker 3: So in your last trimester, Janelle suggests a regular practice
26:49
Speaker 3: of perennial stretching in addition to pelvic flour stretches to
26:53
Speaker 3: best prep for the big day.
26:54
Speaker 6: That's a perfect time to start training those muscles to
26:57
Speaker 6: stretch and accommodate the size of the baby's head. We
27:00
Speaker 6: don't want to have a prolonged stage of labor where
27:03
Speaker 6: we're pushing for so long. That's a lot of strain
27:06
Speaker 6: on the pelvic floor, and then we want to try
27:08
Speaker 6: and limit our chances of tearing. If we can't limit
27:11
Speaker 6: it completely, maybe we can limit a gray three and
27:13
Speaker 6: gray four tear and have a low grade tear which
27:16
Speaker 6: heels way quicker and there's less pain and all that involved.
27:20
Speaker 3: Now, to be clear, this practice isn't a guarantee, and
27:24
Speaker 3: actually the science is a bit mixed on effectiveness, but
27:27
Speaker 3: it's not likely to do any harm and it's kind
27:30
Speaker 3: of the only exercise out there that may be able
27:32
Speaker 3: to offer you some relief from this. And it's really
27:36
Speaker 3: simple to do. First, you want to be in a
27:39
Speaker 3: seated position or line down with backsport, legs wide and
27:43
Speaker 3: knees bent.
27:44
Speaker 6: You can use your finger and literally with some lubricant,
27:48
Speaker 6: of course, wash your hands, cut your nails, stretch it out.
27:52
Speaker 3: There's no one agreed upon method for this, but Janelle's
27:55
Speaker 3: recommendation is to gently insert one thumb into your vagina
27:59
Speaker 3: about an inch or an inch and a half deep,
28:02
Speaker 3: that's about your first knuckle, and then press and hold
28:06
Speaker 3: on the back wall of your vagina towards your anus
28:09
Speaker 3: with moderate.
28:10
Speaker 6: Pressure because it needs to stretch downward. You're trying to
28:13
Speaker 6: actually open the tissue more.
28:16
Speaker 3: Practice this one to two times a week, working up
28:18
Speaker 3: to five minutes at a time. But again, there are
28:21
Speaker 3: lots of other ways to do this online tools you
28:24
Speaker 3: can use variations and duration and hand placement, even instructions
28:28
Speaker 3: for including a partner. Whichever method you choose when the
28:33
Speaker 3: time comes, don't forget a cool down period is a
28:36
Speaker 3: necessary part of any good exercise regimen.
28:39
Speaker 6: Go slow and understanding with your body. You're recovering from
28:42
Speaker 6: the public floor Olympics, and get back to your activity,
28:47
Speaker 6: and even think about, like, what type of support do
28:50
Speaker 6: you need. Is it someone to help you with your diet,
28:53
Speaker 6: Is it someone to help you with your mental health?
28:56
Speaker 6: Public floor therapy after giving birth I think should be mandatory.
29:01
Speaker 3: Actually, now there's a lot more we can say on
29:06
Speaker 3: this topic, but we've already run down the clock, so
29:10
Speaker 3: I'll leave you with some interesting research from Margie about
29:12
Speaker 3: exercise after giving birth.
29:15
Speaker 5: We actually found that, contrary to what sort of our
29:19
Speaker 5: general idea has been to you know, rest, relax, take
29:23
Speaker 5: it easy, especially after a cesarean section, that early movements
29:28
Speaker 5: and mobilization is actually quite beneficial for recovery and healing.
29:33
Speaker 3: We should say here, mobilization is a relative term. We're
29:37
Speaker 3: talking about a slow shuffle, maybe three thousand steps in
29:40
Speaker 3: those earliest days. So start low, go slow. Still very
29:45
Speaker 3: much applies to postpartum. You want to rebuild those foundations.
29:49
Speaker 3: But don't be scared to continue to embrace movement as medicine,
29:54
Speaker 3: especially if you're having a hard time.
29:55
Speaker 5: There's people who they are just like, really struggling with
30:00
Speaker 5: the transition from pregnancy to postpartum, and going out for
30:04
Speaker 5: a walk or going at for runt is actually what
30:06
Speaker 5: helps them to maintain their identity and feel a bit
30:09
Speaker 5: more like themselves.
30:19
Speaker 3: Okay, team, let's recap. Take Away one, it's worth it
30:23
Speaker 3: to exercise regularly during pregnancy, or at least to try.
30:28
Speaker 3: Start low, go slow, but keep at it. Take Away two,
30:33
Speaker 3: it's possible to prevent or alleviate some pregnancy pain and discomfort.
30:37
Speaker 3: You just have to be strategic with your workouts. Take
30:40
Speaker 3: Away three stick to strength training. You and your little
30:44
Speaker 3: one will thank you for it later. And take Away four,
30:48
Speaker 3: pay close attention to your public floor for the healthiest
30:50
Speaker 3: delivery and postpartum possible.
30:55
Speaker 2: That was reporter Andy Tagle, and that's our show. This
30:59
Speaker 2: episode of Life It was produced by Margaret Serino. Our
31:02
Speaker 2: digital editor is Malica garib and our visuals editor is c. J. Rikolon.
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Speaker 2: Megan Kane is our senior supervising editor, and Lauren Gonzalez
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Speaker 2: is our executive producer. Our production team also includes Claire
31:13
Speaker 2: Marie Schneider and Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support comes from Jimmy Keely,
31:17
Speaker 2: fact checking by Andrea Lopez Crusado. I'm Mariel Sigarra. Thanks
31:22
Speaker 2: for listening.
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