Pregnancy is not an illness ladies!!!

Sometime’s I get caught up in my own little world and forget that not everyone else is a personal trainer! DUH. Or that’s probably the wrong wording. Not everyone thinks like me, has the same education or experiences – better.

Every once in a while (more like every week), someone says something or does something that reminds me why I do this job and why I chose to be a voice for women and moms and educate, educate, educate!!

Last week I was doing an assessment on someone who is 16 weeks pregnant and eager to get on top of the ab “situation” that left her with the baby pooch that she never got rid of from her first pregnancy. She was excited about keeping it under control during this pregnancy and not letting it get worse. Now although she was willing to do some modified abdominal exercises, I find out that there was no other exercise in her daily routine and nothing planned in the future. While I am looking at her health questionnaire, I read that the one and only reason she listed for why she should not exercsise, was her pregnancy. And when I asked her why she would write that down, she answered; “My doctor said that pregnancy was no time to start exercising”. Whaaaaaaaa??????? My head did a double take and I looked at her and asked why? Is she high risk? Is there something she’s not telling me?? No. That’s just what her GP said.

Hmph!! Is what I said. Actually, what I really said was; “pregnancy is NOT an illness!!”. Unless you have a condition that could put you or your baby at risk, there is absolutely NO REASON why you should not exercise for the remainder of your pregnancy!

So then of course I delve into what her first pregnancy was like. Did she exercise? No. Actually, instead she gained too much weight, developed high blood pressure and had such bad edema in her legs and feet by the end, she could barely walk. They had to induce her because they were concerned about her condition. Great. So you want to go through all that “fun” again?? (So glad she listened to her doctor the first time, eh?)

Guess what…it is now considered a risk factor to not exercise during pregnancy. That’s right. You know all the other risk factors i.e. gestational diabetes, high blood pressure (that can lead to preeclampsia), excessive weight gain etc?., Well inactivity is on there too. In hindsight, exercise helps to avoid all those other risk factors I just listed and many many more.

So instead I made a deal with her and a bit of a challenge for herself. Why not try and exercise during this pregnancy and see what happens? Start a regular exercise routine that she could realistically do atleast 3 days per week and walk on others. She just might be surprised on what a healthy pregnancy can feel like.

Oh. And i didn’t forget about the GP. I gave her a nice handout on the facts associated with exercise and pregnancy and benefits vs. risks. I told her to take it to her doctor the next time she sees her (she’s a woman too!) and see what she has to say for herself.

It’s too bad that I have to educate doctors when it comes to health, but again, these are the reminders that I need to keep me going every day.