Here is the link to the story and the subtitle:

http://branford.patch.com/articles/ann-cowlin-a-prenatal-fitness-pioneer-celebrates-30-years-of-work

What started as a “fledgling experiment” has become one Branford woman’s life work.

Thank you for taking a look!

Still looking for new ways to develop core strength & coordination for new moms…start with the posture on the left (inhale) and move to the one on the right (exhale). Keep the transverse abdominal sucked in. Repeat.…

There are three sections to this post: 1) moms-to-be, 2) pregnancy fitness teachers and personal trainers and 3) some specific contraindicated and adapted exercises. All information presented is based on peer-review research and evidence collected over a 30 year period of working with this population. More information on safety can be found on this site on the page Benefits, Safety & Guidelines.

1) Safety & Exercise Guidelines for Moms-To-Be

First and foremost, be safe. Trust your body. Make sure your teacher or trainer is certified by an established organization that specializes in pre/postnatal exercise, has worked under master teachers during her preparation, and can answer or get answers to your questions.

These are the safety principles that we suggest to our participants:

• get proper screen­ing from your health care provider
• pro­tect yourself
• do not over­reach your abilities
• you are respon­si­ble for your body (and its contents)

Squatting is an example of a standard pregnancy exercise used for childbirth preparation that must be adapted by each individual based on body proportions, flexibility, strength and comfort.

Don’t assume that because your teacher and some participants can do a certain movement or position that you should be able to do it just like they do. If your teacher is well trained, she will be able to help you select variations that are appropriate for your body.

When you are exercising, make sure you are getting the most from your activity. Keep these findings in mind when choosing your workout routine:

• Aerobics and strength training provide the greatest health benefits, reduce the risk for some interventions in labor, help shorten labor, and reduce recovery time
• Cen­ter­ing helps to prevent injury; relaxation and deep breathing reduce stress; and mild stretching can relieve some discomforts
• Avoid fatigue and over-training; do reg­u­lar exer­cise 3 — 5 times a week
• Eat small meals many times a day (200–300 calo­ries every 2–3 hours
• Drink at least 8 cups of water every day
• Avoid hot, humid places
• Wear good shoes dur­ing aer­o­bic activities
• BE CAREFUL! LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

If you experience any of the following symptoms, stop exercising and call your health care provider:

• Sudden pelvic or vaginal pain
• Excessive fatigue
• Dizziness or shortness of breath
• Leaking fluid or bleeding from the vagina
• Regular contractions, 4 or more per hour
• Increased heartbeat while resting
• Sudden abnormal decrease in fetal movement (note: it is completely normal for baby’s movements to decrease slightly during exercise)

2) Safety & Exercise Guidelines for Teachers & Trainers

A principle of practice that increases in importance for fitness professionals working with pregnant women is having the knowledge and skills to articulate the rationale and safety guidelines for every movement she asks clients to perform.

This goal requires adherence to safety as the number one priority. Here is how we delineate safety and the procedures we require of our instructors for achieving safety in practice:

First priority: safety [First, do no harm]

• sometimes medical conditions preclude exercise
• find an appropriate starting point for each individual
• individual tolerances affect modification
• general safety guidelines are physical
• pregnant women also need psychological safety

Mind-Body Safety Procedures

• Centering enhances movement efficiency and safety.
• Always begin with centering.

Strength Training Cautions

• avoid Valsalva maneuver
• avoid free weights after mid pregnancy (open chain; control issue)
• avoid supine after 1st trimester
• avoid semi-recumbent 3rd trimester
• keep in mind the common joint displacements, and nerve and blood vessel entrapment when designing specific exercises

Aerobics or Cardiovascular Conditioning Procedures

• Monitor for safety
• Instructional style needs to be appropriate.
• Walking steps with natural gestures can be done throughout pregnancy
• Vigorous steps with large gestures are more intense, appropriate as fitness increases
• The ability to create movement that will be safe and work for various levels of fitness and at different points in pregnancy is one of the most critical skills for pregnancy fitness instructors.

Venue Safety

• Setting should provide physical and emotional safety
  Equipment must be well-maintained

3) Contraindicated and adapted exercises

Exercises for which case studies and research have shown that there are serious medical issues include the “down dog” position, resting on the back after the 4th month, and abdominal crunches and oblique exercises. Here is more information and adaptation suggestions:

Contraindicated: “Down Dog” requires that the pelvic floor and vaginal area are quite stretched, bringing porous blood vessels at the surface of the vagina close to air. There are records of air entering the vaginal blood vessels in this position and moving to the heart as a fatal air embolism.

Adaptation: Use the child’s pose, with the seat down resting on the heels and the elbows on the ground, hands one on top of the other, and forehead resting on the hands. Keep the heart above the pelvis.

_________

Contraindicated: Resting on the back during relaxation.

Adaptation: Rest in the side-lying position. About 75% prefer the left side, 25% prefer the right side.

_________

Contraindicated: Abdominal crunches and oblique exercises can contribute to diastasis recti in some women. The transverse abdominal muscle is not always able to maintain vertical integrity at the linea alba, and thus there is tearing and/or plasticity of that central connective tissue.

Adaptation: Splinting with curl-downs, see positions below. By pressing the sides of the abdomen toward the center, women can continue to strengthen the transverse abdominals without the shearing forces that place lateral pressure on the linea alba.

Curl-downs are generally the safest and most effective abdominal strenthening exercise.

Splint by crossing arms and pulling toward center (L)

Or, splint by placing hands at sides and pressing toward center ®

Recent CDC Guidelines on Exercise for the general population include pregnant and postpartum women. Specific information for pregnant women is included at this URL:

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/pregnancy.html

James Pivarnik, PhD, president of the American College of Sports Medicine has released a Medscape video for health care providers encouraging them to be aware of the fact that the CDC considers a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous activity for athletic women, or a combination of intensity for fit women) to be important for pregnant women, along with the general population.

DTP’s Total Pregnancy Fitness instructors learn how to combine activities so that women receive an adequate amount of exercise each week during their pregnancy. To find out about becoming a teacher, click on Become a Teacher above.

1. Women who return to vigorous (vigorous, as in jogging or aerobic dance) prior to six weeks postpartum…

• have less weight to lose
• experience a more joyful state of mind
• do better on the Lederman Maternal Adaptation scales (how well they adapt to motherhood)

…than women who are sedentary during this period (Sampselle, 1999…this is not new information)

2. Postpartum obesity is a dangerous short and long term health risk (Leddy, 2008).

Who should exercise and when, following birth?

Day 1: If you have a vaginal birth, begin your “body scan” the first chance you get. Within the first day, the first chance you get to focus on yourself, take a mental trip through your body. See if you can squeeze the kegel muscles. Try exhaling and sucking in your deep abdominal muscles. Note if your shoulders need to relax. Take some deep breathes and begin to help your body recover.

If you had a cesarean: Wait a few days to 2 weeks at most to work on this.

After that: As soon as you can, get up and walk around. Start walking in 5 or 10 minute strolls several times a day (ask someone to hold or watch baby so you can allow your body to recover a non-pregnant upright). If you had a cesarean, hold a pillow to your abdomen until you have control of your abdominal muscles and stand tall.

How can you get more information on this?

Go to our website:

http://dancingthrupregnancy.com/take-a-class/postpartum-exercise/

Find a class. If you had a typical birth and your baby has been slowly and safely exposed to new people, by four to six weeks you and baby should be ready for a structured activity session that includes baby. It will also provide focus and adult interaction during the week.

How do you know if you did too much?

Your lochia, or the bleeding/discharge from the placental site, will increase if you have been too vigorous. If you are healthy and have no anemia issues, your lochia will likely cease by three to four weeks, six at most.

What are safety issues?

Don’t exercise if you have a fever, a warm red spot on your leg that may be painful (or not), or sore nipples that need attention. Call your care provider. If you or your baby are sick, it is best not to go into a group setting. If your baby is not well or just doesn’t seem right, call your pediatrician.

The most important reason to join a mom-baby fitness program may be that it will help keep you sane.

December 5 at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Teachers learn hands-on skills for improving posture and mechanics.

Instructors all over the globe have participated in our training programs and offer a variety of classes or personal training at their own locations. The Take A Class tab will help you find instructors nearest to you. Even if they are not close enough for you to attend their programs, they may be able to help you find someone local who has experience in the field.

Qualified individuals wishing to run their own programs, obtain further education in the field, or even offer our Total Pregnancy Fitness™ or Dancing Thru Pregnancy® programs, are encouraged to apply to become a teacher or licensee. We can help you determine if this is field is a good fit for you, train you to offer our programs, or help you develop your own.

All teacher training is under the direction of Ann Cowlin, DTP’s founder with more than 30 years experience as a pre/postnatal fitness instructor, trainer, researcher and international presenter in the field. She is the author of “Women and Exercise” in Varney’s Midwifery, the major nursing textbook for midwives, as well as her own textbook, Women’s Fitness Program Development. Cowlin is assisted by several DTP master teachers who have been with the program for ten or twenty years.

Instructors learn why and how to incorporate effective mind/body skills such as breathing and relaxation, along with strength and flexibility exercises into a total fitness package. Aerobics is definitely the biggest bang for the buck. Cardiovascular fitness is the key to almost every benefit of pre/postnatal exercise that has been found through well-designed research. Instructors develop their own individual style of aerobic dance or fitness activities as part of our training program, but follow best practice guidelines. As the contemporary world puts more and more demands on our time, getting the most from your pre/postnatal program is a smart approach.

Practicums focus on teaching these skills for necessary and essential components of exercise that have been shown to have a beneficial impact on pregnancy, birth and recovery. In the photo above, for example, trainees are learning how to teach intercostal breathing in conjunction with diaphramatic breathing, an essential skill in pregnancy to increase oxygen consumption during exercise. Other skills taught include essential strength training exercises, leading effective relaxation sessions, analyzing music for aerobic choreography, and effort/shape analysis to prevent injury.

Prior to attending a practicum, teachers must first pass the Basic study course exam. Potential teachers are given 6 weeks to take the study course and exam. Those interested in becoming pre/postnatal fitness teachers need to register for their course around 2 months prior to their preferred practicum. Click on this link practicums for upcoming dates and locations.

It’s You Babe creates awesome support garments for pregnancy, including the Prenatal Cradle!

Find a Prenatal Dance Video here.

View the DTP YouTube TV News Story!  Buy the Book!

Our new Zazzle page has a variety of tote bags and shirts!

If you are a Physical Therapist, we are a preferred vendor and CEU provider for Physiquality/PTPN.

DTP is the original provider of pregnancy exercise, postpartum exercise, teacher training and program development. We use evidence-based best practices to help ensure our moms have a healthy pregnancy, are strong in labor and birth, and recovery quickly. Sign up for the DTP E-news here.