Oh Baby! Fitness Blog

Does your fitness instructor remind you how to breathe properly?  Isn’t it the most awkward feeling to be told how to breathe, when normally, you just breathe without thinking about it?  “In through your nose, out through your mouth, pull your belly in on your exhale, release on your inhale, exhale with the work, inhale when relaxing….”  Like there isn’t enough to focus on, right?

Well, your instructor is right. Breathing correctly is extremely important and beneficial for both mother and baby during prenatal exercise.  When first starting a program, Yoga is a nice way to learn because the pace is slower and therefore easier to focus on your breathing techniques.

What benefits can you gain from this slow and focused breathing? Well, first of all, breathing is essential for living and healing, so effective breathing provides adequate oxygen for optimal health in both mothers and babies.  Properly breathing also allows a deeper relaxation to follow when taking it slow and easy- another benefit.

Practicing slow breathing techniques allows you to utilize and build more complete lung capacity rather than superficially breathing which we all generally do.  The oxygen provided from deep breathing is healing and reaches every part of the body at a cellular level.

Release and let go!  What are the benefits of the exhale?  Releasing stale air and noxious gases like carbon dioxide is another essential part of healing and becoming more fit.  Expelling stale air fully, again at a deeper and more focused level,  allows your next inhale of fresh air to also be more complete.

Practicing daily allows you to let go of poor breathing patterns and utilize greater lung capacity rather than the one sixth of your lung capacity generally used.

How do I begin?  Follow the steps below to get started and slowly introduce this new breathing technique into your daily routine as well as any exercise routine you may follow.

1. Get into a comfortable position, one where you feel safe and can relax more easily.

2. Gently close your eyes, not forcing them shut, but allowing your eyelids to gently meet.

3. Place one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly.  As you breathe slowly and deeply, feel the connection as your chest and belly lift and drop with each breath.

4. As you inhale deeply into your nose, visualize a sweet smell you want to fully breathe in, allow your belly to expand away from your body as if there is a balloon in your abdomen filled by the air you breathe in.

5.  As you exhale slowly and deeply out of your mouth/nose, visualize a small pinhole in your balloon and very slowly let your breath go while pulling your belly button as far back towards your spine (hugging your baby) as possible.

This abdominal breathing also allows you to gain control and strength in the transverse abdominal muscles (deepest abdominal muscles and most difficult to strengthen through other forms of exercise) as well as the pelvic floor muscles.  All of the muscles involved receive adequate oxygen and gain strength, which assists in the labor, birth and recovery process.

Try this breathing technique today and use it in your Oh Baby! Fitness classes when your instructor says, “remember to breathe!”

Congratulations to Allison and Steven for stepping it up a level with induction after trying all the other natural induction methods:  Castor oil, acupuncture, eggplant parmesean recipe……

Allison birthed a 9 lb 10 oz baby girl at 7:09 pm last night, standing up!  You go girl!!  Allison’s midwife told her to:  “Walk her baby out.” Watch Allison’s new and inventive way of inducing labor. It’s the greatest video ever!!

For all of you Oh Baby moms, our instructor Corrinna Edwards was Allison’s doula!

Here’s the real deal: you will either feel like you’ve gained not enough or too much weight. Your weight gain will not be a steady line—you will have a month where you gain 9 lbs and freak out. You will have a stranger ask you if you are having twins. You will look at other pregnant women and feel like you look wrong- too big, too small, too high, too wide. You will eat like you always have and still gain weight. You will spend a week or two eating lots of ice cream and cookies without gaining any weight. You will suddenly revisit your entire body issues history- the stuff you thought you were over at 13 or 18 years old will come back and you will suddenly hate your arms or hair or height… You will feel enormous. You will worry you aren’t big enough.

Here’s the really real deal: How much weight you gain, when you gain it and how pregnant you look are things you have very little control over. This is why exercising during pregnancy is so helpful– it lets you exert some control over your body when nearly everything is out of control. Beyond eating a healthy diet,  you really can’t control how much weight you gain, but you can control how strong, and flexible, and in shape you are. If you’re exercising, you’re going to feel more in charge of your changing body.. and that is a really good thing.  At least that’s what 8,000 moms have said.

Now there’s one more reason to exercise during pregnancy. We all know the benefits of a workout for mom: better sleep, boosts energy, faster and easier labor, quicker return to pre-pregnancy shape and stress reduction. New research shows that prenatal exercise is good for your baby too!

A baby in the womb gets a similar workout to mom and will benefit by making it through labor more easily, by enduring contractions better. Babies of mothers who exercise are less stressed during labor and have more access to oxygen, and babies of fit moms are more likely to be born leaner and lighter… giving them a healthier start and less chance of being overweight as they grow up.

Maternal exercise during pregnancy has real cardiovascular benefits for the developing baby. In a recent small study, researchers measured the fetal heart rate and heart rate variability at various stages of pregnancy of 10 women — five of whom exercised, five of whom did not.

The fetuses exposed to maternal exercise had significantly lower heart rates than fetuses not exposed to exercise. In other words, when a mom exercises during pregnancy, the unborn baby gets the same type of training effect benefit that you would see in an adult.

Research has also proven that babies of exercising mothers are less stressed and are able to endure contractions better during labor in comparison to the babies of sedentary mothers. When babies are able to deal with the mild stress of normal labor, there is often no Meconium (bowel movement by fetus often due to higher stress levels).

Exercising mothers are shown to have a smaller percentage of red-blood cells, therefore displaying that minimal or no stress is present in the babies. Additionally, the hormone erythropoietin, shows up in cord blood samples minimally due to the sufficient oxygen.  Oxygen is more available in exercising mothers who are also noted to perceive and handle the pain of labor in a more relaxed way.

Women who exercise during pregnancy often relieve common pregnancy discomforts and feel better overall.  The less anxiety a mother has during pregnancy, the less stressed her baby is.  Overall birth outcomes are better because the mothers are more relaxed and are encouraged to take care of themselves.

Prenatal exercise is offered through Oh Baby! Fitness at several locations in Metro Atlanta.  The classes offered follow  ACOG guidelines as well as other evidence-based knowledge.  All of the instructors with Oh Baby! Fitness are experienced and certified in Prenatal and Postnatal Fitness.

Last week, I wrote about some of the best advice I’ve heard from Oh Baby! Fitness Moms about preparing for the first few weeks after labor. I’ve also been given a lot of advice on how to remain (relatively) comfortable during the last few weeks of pregnancy.

The last weeks of pregnancy can actually be some of the best for pregnant women. In many cases, moms have reached a bit of a zen state. They may be more physically uncomfortable then other stages of pregnancy, but they are also pretty mentally ready.

That being said, there are a lot of things that moms have said that helped them feel more calm and happy during those last few weeks. Here is their advice:

1-    Work as long as you can. Nearly all of our clients say that working right up until delivery really helps with stress and anxiety—sometimes having a lot to do can be a great distraction from worrying about the big events ahead. Of course, some moms have pregnancy conditions (sciatica, early contractions) that keep them from working. Generally though, we’ve heard again and again that if you can work, do.

2-    Keep moving and exercising. This can seem really counter intuitive– many people will be saying to rest, put your feet up, eat and sleep. What they don’t know though is that exercise is one of the best ways to combat some of the most uncomfortable and irritating parts of the last few weeks of pregnancy. Exercise (particularly yoga and water aerobics) will help with swelling, back pain and sleeplessness.

3-    Sleep however and where ever you can. Couch? Desk? Middle of the day? La-Z-Boy? Surrounded by 12 pillows? Backseat of your car at lunch? We’ve heard it all. Do what works. Between peeing every 30 minutes, hip pain and your brain spinning –  thinking about the upcoming birth, it’s going to be hard enough to get ANY sleep. Get it however and where ever you can.

4-    Think about an easy birth. But not too much. There will be days where everyone around you is asking “Is it time? is it time? are you scared? Are you contracting? Is it time??” As much as you can, leave the worrying to them. Enjoy the last few weeks with your baby literally connected to you, and try not to focus too much on the mechanics of how the baby will be born. Easier said than done, but it makes a huge difference in terms of your stress levels the last few weeks of pregnancy.

What do you think? What do you wish you had done differently in the last few weeks of pregnancy? Is there anything that can make this time peaceful and comfortable? Please share below.

Best-

Kathleen

From the Herald Sun:  “FORGET pills and potions – morning sickness may just be something pregnant women have to live with, research suggests.

Irish scientists have concluded there is no cure for the condition that can make early pregnancy miserable.

The researchers reviewed studies of more than 4000 women who were up to 20 weeks’ pregnant.

All were given common treatments for their nausea, but when the women were asked how they felt, it appeared most treatments had little effect.”  See full story.

Has any treatment worked for you?

Most doctors believe that the increase in the hormone HCG is what causes morning sickness. Also, remember that morning sickness, more often then not, is actually “all day” sickness. HCG levels decrease around 14 weeks of pregnancy, so women  should begin to feel better around that point. The most common way to combat morning sickness is to eat at regularly spaced intervals (every 2 – 4 hours).

Another cause of morning sickness you may not know about  is a circulatory system issue called “underfill.”

In the first trimester, the circulatory system expands so quickly the blood supply has a hard time keeping up.  The increased size of the blood vessels with the same amount of blood running through them can cause “UNDER-FILL” – suddenly there is not enough blood to fill up the heart, arteries and veins. The amount of blood the heart pumps out decreases, and the amount of blood returning to the heart decreases. Blood pressure changes during this time can be drastic – leading to feelings of nausea, dizziness or lightheadedness.  Many of the symptoms of morning sickness can be attributed to this under-fill issue.

A good way to explain the effects of under-fill on the body is the straw/garden hose analogy. Imagine the blood vessels in the non-pregnant body to be a system of drinking straws filled with a set amount of blood.  As the circulatory system expands, the drinking straws expand to the size of garden hoses, but with the same amount of blood running through them. The increased size of the blood vessels with the same amount of blood running through them can cause “UNDER-FILL”

By the end of the first trimester the body will increase its blood volume 30-50% to counterbalance the under-fill issue.  That’s a lot of blood! The imbalance in blood volume in the first trimester can cause drastic changes in blood pressure.

Exercise increases circulation, and  it can actually help alleviate some of the feelings of morning sickness. Pregnant woman should change positions slowly and carefully, especially in inverted positions when the head is below the heart. Also, avoid standing still for too long during your first trimester.  Lower blood volume (under-fill), coupled with standing still, can lead to fainting.

As the senior instructor for Oh Baby! Fitness, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can best physically and mentally prepare women for the experience of motherhood- not just labor and delivery, but also the first few weeks and months that go by in a blur of joy and fear and sleeplessness. I think it’s easy when pregnant to just focus on how difficult labor can be physically, with little thought that the hard part is actually what happens AFTER delivery.

I’ve been lucky enough to work directly with thousands of pregnant women and new moms, and they’ve taught me a lot about how to prepare for those first few weeks after delivery. Here is some of their best advice about things to do when pregnant to prepare for the first two months postpartum:

1- Work your arms and upper back. As a new mom, you’ll spend a lot of leaning forward over your baby- feeding, changing diapers, and bathing. A strong upper back will keep you from getting that hunched over new mom look. Also, car seats are heavy, and your little 8lb baby is going to feel REALLY heavy on that 4th nighttime feeding. Work your biceps when pregnant- you’ll be glad you did.

2- Fill your freezer with small, microwaveable meals. Think of things you can heat up and eat in just a few minutes- there will be days where it’s too hard to cook the frozen lasagna, but you might be able to warm up that single serving of soup.

3- Be choosy about who is around. Some moms want lots of visitors, some want none, and some REALLY don’t want to have to deal with their mother-in-law right away. Trust your gut on this one—you will need help, but that doesn’t mean you have to take help from just anyone. Put someone, maybe your husband or partner, in charge of communicating these choices, and don’t feel guilty about them.

4- Know, ahead of time, who to call when things get hard. This could be your best friend, your mom, your therapist or your sister. Let this person know that you’ll need them— I guarantee they’ll be happy and honored. Pick someone you know you can call in the middle of the night, and someone who is good at making you feel calm and confident.

Those first few weeks are hard, but knowing how to prepare can really help. What do you wish you’d done when pregnant to prepare for the first few weeks? Let us know in the comments.

Best-
Kathleen

Hello and thanks for checking out our Oh Baby! Fitness blog! We’re unveiling our new blog on a very auspicious day… it’s Oh Baby! Fitness’ FIFTH birthday! We started our first pregnancy and mom & baby exercise classes back in September 2005.

First Oh Baby Class in 2005

In the beginning, we offered only 5 classes. Now, we have more than 75 classes offered at 25 metro Atlanta locations. We also offer the widest variety of pregnancy and mom & baby exercise classes in the country! Pilates, Yoga, Toning and Water Aerobics… and Stroller Workout! All of our instructors are specially trained in pre/postnatal fitness, so exercise is safe AND fun.

Oh Baby! Fitness has partnered with seven hospitals, two universities and a great number of fitness centers, city parks and churches. We’ve brought together over 8,000 moms and 2,500 babies in five years. Some Moms have had THREE babies with Oh Baby! Fitness, so far. We’re very proud of the quality business and community for mothers we’ve created.

We hope our new blog will help make the Oh Baby community stronger. Please check us out on a regular basis. We plan to post pregnancy and mom & baby exercise tips, videos of exercise demonstrations and health tips. We’ll also share all the gems we learn from our Moms in classes. Like what are the 10 things you really MUST purchase or get before you have a baby??? Where are Moms favorite parks.. ?? Which strollers do Moms prefer?? We’ll definitely have a lot to share. PLUS, we’ll post DEALS that are exclusively for Oh Baby! Fitness clients. We hope to save you some $$$$$.

If you want to have a taste of what our classes look like, check out our 30 second

Oh Baby! Fitness Commercial

Also check out what other Moms are saying about Oh Baby exercise classes:

Oh Baby! Fitness Testimonials Video

We’re excited to finally have our own blog and place to share what we know about prenatal and postnatal fitness. I hope you’ll join the conversation, ask questions and post your own comments too. Together we can help more women get fit, bond with their babies and make new friends!

In health,

Clare Schexnyder
Founding Mom and Owner
Oh Baby! Fitness