By Jen Dugard
I
t’s been over a decade
now since I first decided
to turn my fitness business
into one that specialised in
working with mums.
Ten years ago there were very few
pre and postnatal courses, and very
few trainers actually realized that
they needed further education in
order to properly work with mums.
Times definitely feel like they are
changing – for the better, but
there is still so much we can and
we need to do. We get to choose
to acknowledge that we need to
understand more when we work
with what I call a very specialised
yet general population OR we get to
bury our heads in the sand and just
keep doing what we have always
been doing.
I know there is a better way and I
know that if we all choose that way
great and positive change can
occur.
OUR INDUSTRY:
LEADING THE WAY IN
WORKING WITH MUMS
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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2019
Statistics tell us that 85% of women
will become a mother. So if you are
sitting back thinking this doesn’t
apply to you, that all of your clients
are younger women think again
– in a few short years they may
transition into motherhood. And if
you work with older women, who
no longer have babies and you
no-longer view as ‘postnatal’ I’d
encourage you to also continue
reading. Consider the phrase “once
post-natal, always postnatal” and
the fact that many older women
are living with contraindications,
such as incontinence and prolapse,
that were a bi-product of carrying a
child and giving birth yet no one is
talking to them any more because
‘their baby has grown so they must
be okay’ – not so. These women,
even more so, are suffering in
silence. This needs to change
within our scope of practice and
recommend a trusted colleague
who we know can look after her.
She may or may not fully understand
what happened to her during her
birth process and may not be
completely aware of potential birth
injuries – this is not within our scope
of practice but if a woman is telling
you about a long or traumatic birth
it is absolutely a warning flag that
she may need more care than we
are qualified to offer.
It is not standard for her pelvic
floor or abdominals to be assessed
post-natal – not all 6-week check-
ups are the same. Her pelvic floor
is an internal muscle, which as
fitness professionals we cannot
see or feel. We need to educate
and support our women to seek
out further information about
where their body is at right now. I
believe seeing a Women’s Health
Physiotherapist should be standard
in our postpartum care.
Just because she looks fit on the
outside or can perform higher level
exercises it does not mean they are
suitable for her right now – I hope
I am wrong but I do feel we could
be heading for a situation in years
to come where women that look
super fit on the outside in their later
years are falling apart on the inside.
We are one of the first generations
where women are exercising to a
higher level and intensity as the
‘norm’; CrossFit, power lifting etc.
Could we see huge amounts of
these women in ten years time that
are suffering prolapse that we could
have prevented had we spent more
time re-building from the inside out
in the early post-natal phase?
So what CAN we do and why is it
so important?
What I do know from many years
of experience is that: 1
Her six-week check up does not
clear her to go back to the exercise
she was doing prior to falling
pregnant – as a profession we need
to understand this and choose
whether we educate ourselves
further to look after her OR we stick Whether you are pre/postnatal
trained or not if your client becomes
pregnant or you are asked to train a
postnatal client you must be brave
enough to begin conversations that
talk to them about their pregnancy,
conception, delivery and early
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2019
Be brave enough to start the
conversations
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