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There are lots of myths about exercising while pregnant that are not supported by evidence. Today, Dr. Mae Hughes is on the podcast to help debunk some of those myths. We also discuss the benefits of exercising while pregnant, along with what type of exercises are safe for pregnant and postpartum women.
Dr. Mae Hughes is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a mama to a new little girl, and a fitness fiend who’s passionate about helping women feel empowered during every part of their pregnancy and prepared for a healthy postpartum journey. Dr. Mae specializes in treatment of the pelvic floor for women who are pregnant or postpartum to help them stay pain-free (and leak-free!) while moving through motherhood.
She stands behind the philosophy that pelvic floor, core and most other full body issues during pregnancy and postpartum are absolutely treatable, even preventable, and with the right care women can regain the strength and control needed to perform any activity they desire. When she is not treating patients in Nashville, TN or creating digital courses for pelvic floor health, she is likely somewhere outside hiking with her husband, dog and now little girl, Ava.
Knowing which exercises are safe is yet another thing that can cause anxiety for women when they are pregnant, so hopefully this conversation can ease some of these anxieties and answer your burning questions!
In this episode we discuss:
- Benefits of working out, even minimally, while pregnant.
- What to know about lifting weights while pregnant.
- Urinary leakage during exercise and steps to take when this happens.
- Pelvic floor exercises during pregnancy.
- Weight training while pregnant and whether or not you should even lift weights.
- Exercises to start if you never exercised becoming pregnant.
- Investing in a pelvic floor physical trainer, and what he/she can help you with.
Resources:
- Movement Through Pregnancy Course (Use code ‘lynzy10’ for 10%)
- Effects of Aerobic Exercise during Pregnancy on 1-Month Infant Neuromotor Skills
- Maternal Exercise and Cognitive Functions of the Offspring
- Prospective associations between measures of gross and fine motor coordination in infants and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior in childhood
- Exercise during pregnancy enhances cerebral maturation in the newborn: A randomized controlled trial
- Exercises During Pregnancy: ACOG Pregnancy Exercise Guidelines
- ACOG Committee Opinion: Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
Connect with Dr. Mae Hughes:
Discount code from my sponsors:
- Navy Hair Care Shampoo + Conditioner: use code LYNZY for 30% off
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- Green Chef: use code ‘lynzy60’ to get 60% off + free shipping
Connect with Lynzy:
Instagram: @motherhoodmeetsmedicine
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Questions:
- In your research, have you come across anything that specifically talked about improvement with nausea during exercise while pregnant?
- Are there certain movements while weight lifting that you might want to avoid or be extra careful with, especially in the 2nd and 3rd trimester?
- Is it okay to do HIIT (high-intensity interval training) while pregnant? If so, how often should you be doing them?
- Is there anything that can be done when urinary leakage happens during exercises?
- What good resources do you have for people that walk through how to engage the pelvic floor the right way?
- Is there any specific research to help support specific exercises that are most beneficial throughout pregnancy?
- If someone was doing zero activity prior to being pregnant and wanted to start, where do they start?
- How can you engage your pelvic floor in the right way?
- Can you exercise while trying to conceive?
