Babytime and the never ending education mission!

So I survived another weekend of Babytime Show craziness! And by survival, I mean long hours, LOTS of talking and even more energy trying to convince moms of the importance of exercising during pregnancy!

I continue to be amazed about how many women I met, clearly pregnant, that were not exercising. Some of them not even walking on a daily basis! Now in all fairness, I understand that for some it’s just a case of being uneducated, but even in my attempts to explain the many benefits for both mom and baby, I got dirty looks, rolling eyes and a wave of the hand as they walked away.

If only they knew that walking for 30 minutes every day meets the minimum requirements of exercise during pregnancy. Hence why pregnant dog owners apparently are able to maintain healthier weight gain (see my post here: You own a dog…) Add some weight training on top, and that’s gravy!! Alas…some would rather come back with “I’m too tired, my back hurts” and “I’m just too busy”. Sorry…it doesn’t fly. Maybe if you moved more regularly, you would have more energy (endorphins), less pain (muscle balance) and if you think you’re busy now…..well that’s a whole new conversation!

But what seemed to hit a cord was the direct benefit baby gets from exercise in utero. When you exercise, baby gets slightly deprived of oxygen while it goes to the working muscles as well as the heart rate increasing and blood pressure changing. Well, what do you think happens during labour and delivery? Now THAT’S a workout if I ever saw one! There are major physiological changes that occur while that baby is trying to squeeze itself out what seems like a tube of toothpaste! Training yourself AND baby has shown that babies are way less stressed when they are born from exercising mothers. Would you run a marathon without putting the work in first?

I think (no, I know) that moms, especially first timers, are worried that they will do something wrong if they exercise while pregnant, so then it must be safer just to do nothing at all. Wrong!! Sitting back and “protecting” that baby will only leave you feeling sluggish, heavy, swollen and sore. If you’re not sure what to do, get professional help from a certified pre and postnatal trainer but if that’s not in your budget, I implore you to get outside and walk walk WALK. This way, you will have the stamina to last a (hopefully) speedy, pain free labour and delivery.

I mean a girl can dream, can’t she?

Special thanks to Ford Canada for loaning me a 2012 Ford Flex to help me at the Spring Baby Time Show this past weekend. I couldn’t have done it with you!

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