New Women’s Corrective Health: Pre & Post Natal and courses & workshops

Post Natal and Mums and Babies Class

As a follow on from our Pre-Natal Class and as part of our corrective Health Programme, we are starting our first Pre-Natal class and Mums and Babies class. We will start with Wednesday evening and Saturday morning and will add to them and as always, we will be led by you. Check the timetable for classes here!

The first of our specialist workshops will take place in early January, and will be hosted by Midwife and IBCLC Liselotte Hill. It will be an ante-natal workshop; spaces will be limited, so please email me to reserve a spot as soon as possible at annesextonpilates@gmail.com

Why do a Post Natal class/Mums and Babies class?

There are many reasons to take part in this class; the body has been through very significant changes over a 40-week period, and lots things happen over this time. It is a natural and very special time in a woman’s life.  But how we take care of ourselves in the aftermath of pregnancy can have implications for our bodies long into the future.

These are some of the things that happen to our bodies as our babies grow:

• Our organs get squashed and displaced.
• The diaphragm, which is instrumental in breathing, is pushed up, compromised, and makes full-functioning thoracic breathing much more difficult.
• Ribs spread to make space for the growing baby. The weight of the growing baby puts huge pressure on the pelvic floor and also affects the function of the diaphragm in breathing.
• The abdominal muscles are stretched to capacity and as baby grows and the poor abdominal muscles are stretched out front, the back muscles have to overwork to counteract this which makes them tight and unhappy.
• The many changes that are taking place in the body with the growing baby, the growth of the chest area in preparation for feeding, and the laxity caused by the pregnancy hormones, can all then become more problematic when nursing, holding our babies on our hips, etc.

There is one very important thing to remember: it took 40 weeks to grow this bundle of joy! Give your body approximately the same amount of time to recover, and slightly longer if feeding. Be patient with yourself!

In our classes your health and optimal recovery is our aim. You may feel ready and fit to jump straight back into all the activities that you did pre-baby, and you will! But firstly, please give your body time and space to recuperate and regain all of its function:  We will focus on proper diaphragmatic breathing, on getting the core cylinder working, the diaphragm and the pelvic floor relaxing and contracting, and the 360 degree expansion of our ribs as the lungs fill.  It is so important to reclaim our posture and get the core functioning so we can strengthen the abdominals, stretch the back, get our glutes working, and get our hips working. And of course, to get our feet, which are our foundations, working. The cost of not doing this properly is too great for our bodies down the road; we can worsen diastases, cause or worsen prolapse, and cause leakage. All the things can be made better or repaired with proper timing and execution of post-partum exercise.

To find our more please come and join one of our classes.

baby Rose: early bonding with the Reformer!