Why Training Is Critical for Pregnancy, Childbirth and Postpartum

I’ve worked with a lot of pregnant women over my 12 years as a trainer. And one thing is very clear to me: The right preparation (mental and physical) contributes to better experiences during pregnancy, childbirth and during recovery postpartum.

I’ve witnessed how consistent training impacted each of these women positively throughout their pregnancy and also on the other side of labour and delivery during their recovery. I can also speak to my own recent experience with this journey over the last 10 months.

Benefits of training for supporting a healthy pregnancy are:
- Better mood and ability to navigate the changes that occur to the body
- Stronger muscles to support the changes that occur to the body
- A healthier baby with a stronger immune system

Benefits of training for supporting a positive childbirth are:
- Stronger core and connection to pelvic floor muscles to be able to contract or relax voluntarily
- Better endurance for a possible long labour
- Confidence in physical ability to give birth

Benefits of training for supporting a positive postpartum experience are:
- The ability for the body to recover more quickly as a result of being in better physical condition
- Maintaining strength in muscle groups that are needed to hold and care for a baby (ie. core for sitting up without the use of hands; upper back for combatting the breastfeeding posture; legs and arms for lifting the baby many times a day)
- Decreased chance of postpartum depression (alongside supportive human connections, a nutritious diet and nutrient supplementation)

We have developed a training program specifically for all trimesters of pregnancy that can be found on our training app. A postpartum program will be added soon. It is recommended to begin training ideally well before pregnancy with our strength programs; however, the pregnancy programs can be started any time during pregnancy.