Number 1 Pregnancy Pet Peeve (as there may be a few ): when people ask me if I should be lifting “that”. Now I know that these people’s hearts are in the right place and I do not disagree with pregnant women being given a hand every now and then as we are typically tired and have our hands full with other children or just the stress and anxiety over bringing a new life into this crazy world, BUT its these comments that perpetuate the stereotype that resistance training is “bad” for pregnant women.
On the contrary, new research is finding that strength training may actually be preventative for post-partum stress incontinence and prolapse and those that consistently perform resistance training as part of their exercise routine are more equipped to deal with demands that typically elicit stress incontinence and prolapse symptoms. Maybe the years of unsolicited advice to stop all lifting during pregnancy has actually been deconditioning women’s bodies to the point where they are no longer strong enough to meet the physical demands of motherhood. Think about all physical demands of new motherhood. Carrying a diaper bag (that is usually way too full because you just never know what you’re going to need), lifting an infant in/out of a car seat, lifting an infant + car seat in/out of the car, moving baby equipment around your home so you can get anything done while the baby rests in a safe place, lifting groceries or a bag of take out because it turns out your family still needs to eat, lifting laundry in/out of the machine because new motherhood can get messy, picking up your older children because they too have been thrown into a new transition and need a little extra love and attention, and MANY, MANY more.
If you have been avoiding exercise, strength training, and conditioning for the nine months of your pregnancy, I guarantee your body will have difficulty with the physical demands of motherhood that may manifest as pain, prolapse symptoms, incontinence, etc. Now your body may have to put in maximal effort to complete what may have once seemed like a simple task. Now lifting a 25 lb car seat from the floor to chest height may be equivalent for your body to performing your maximal weighted barbell deadlift. Your body will not be prepared but often times it will still figure out how to accomplish the task by holding your breath, increasing your intra-abdominal pressure, and pushing through. Unfortunately, this “pushing through” can lead to longer-term problems like diastasis recti issues, pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, back pain, disc herniation, etc.
So my plea to all of you women seeking to get pregnant, already pregnant, post-partum, or well into your motherhood journey, please continue to train during these transition times and do so safely with the assistance of your Doctor of Physical Therapy. Although I never recommend my patients jump into a new, unsupervised strength training routine, it is NEVER too late to start somewhere as long as you allow your body to start where it is at and progress safely from there. Life Changes Physical Therapy is proud to offer wellness visits for women or mothers-to-be wanting to know where to start and how to safely progress.
Please help us stop the spread of this detrimental and frankly irresponsible stereotype that pregnant women should not train their bodies and allow me to help you feel prepared, confident, and strong for the demands that lie ahead!