As your baby grows inside, your center of gravity shifts, affecting coordination and balance. As a woman's posture changes during pregnancy many women experience back pain. As the baby moves your center of gravity forwards, your low back experiences additional sway. In addition, the extra weight of larger breasts may cause your shoulders to round forward, putting strain on your neck, shoulders, and upper back.
In our Pilates Program, you will learn how to release tension in these areas, while gaining enhanced coordination and balance by strengthening and toning the core muscles in relationship to how your whole body functions. In turn, this will allow your mind to release its natural tendency to go into protection mode, which can cause even more stress. A calm woman, who can let go of her physical tension and mental anxiety, will handle labor pains more easily.
Moreover, the upper body strength and internal support that you'll develop in your Pilates Pregnancy program will prove invaluable in meeting the physical demands of lifting and carrying your newborn. As hard as it is to fathom, many doctors do not even check the abdominal muscles postpartum, nor do they explain to their patients about diastasis recti (abdominal separation). This is why it is so vital for mothers throughout their pregnancy, and after their baby is delivered, to be with a professional who will coach and guide them in ways that will allow them to fully rejuvenate. Be sure to consult with your doctor about this and let him know if you are considering a Pilates program to assist in preventing this from happening.