I’ve now entered the “less than 2 months until due date” stage of pregnancy, which before I was pregnant myself, I’d characterize to clients as the “freak-out zone.” Right on schedule, I’m suddenly feeling like “ooooh, it’s GO time.”  Before I was pregnant, I’d tell clients that the highest anxiety point of pregnancy is usually around 32-33 weeks (this is often when moms have nightmares about labor and delivery, and spend whole days thinking “this baby is going to get bigger? And it’s going to come out HOW?”), and, now,  I’m no exception! While we’ve likely got plenty of time, part of the anxiety and push to get things done comes from the fact that I’m already feeling so big and often uncomfortable- and know that this little guy is supposed to double in weight between now and his due date. So I am in “go” mode:  nursery, work, Christmas shopping…it’s time to get things taken care of!

While I haven’t had much anxiety about birth (knock wood), I did have some about the baby’s growth. After the comments about my size that I shared on the vlog, I’ve been worried that maybe he was small, or that there was some growth restriction happening. I’m still (STILL, guys) experiencing some pretty tough nausea most days, and I haven’t been able to eat as much as my doctors or I would like.  Good news is that my doctor scheduled a growth ultrasound and everything looks perfect. Having had a number of clients experience IUGR – “Intrauterine Growth Restriction” (and usually the mandated bed rest), I feel so relieved and lucky that things are progressing as they are, and that I’m able to keep exercising.  After receiving the news from the ultrasound I feel much better about this stage of pregnancy.

Speaking of exercise, throughout my pregnancy I’ve been able to keep up with all of the Oh Baby classes. I’ve been teaching or taking all four of our class types- yoga, Pilates, Prenatal Toning, Fitness and Yoga Combo (aerobics, toning and weights) and water aerobics. I’ve also been going to the gym on my own to do weight training. Walking is still by far the MOST uncomfortable exercise for me due to round ligament pain—which I find so funny, since it’s the most recommended low-impact exercise.

As I feel heavier and more…lumbering (you moms know what I’m talking about), I’m especially loving my Oh Baby! yoga and water aerobics classes. It’s so interesting how I often feel lightest and least cumbersome when I’m exercising- it’s the closest I get to physically feeling like my pre-pregnant self. I think the urge is to rest or hole up on the couch when feeling uncomfortable during pregnancy, but I’ve found that actually makes it worse…. the best I feel during the day is during exercise.

In case you aren’t in an area where there are Oh Baby! classes, I wanted to share two of my favorite workouts that I’m doing at the gym. These are great as they focus on building the back body muscles—the ones that are often stretched and weakened by the increased weight on the front of the body. These are good for any stage of pregnancy, but especially helpful in the third trimester.

Third Trimester workout- The 250

Cardio Warm up (I like 20 minutes on either the stair stepper or bike)

50 wall balls

50 pushups

50 dead lifts (I used a 30# barbell)

50 assisted pull ups

50 step ups

Third Trimester workout- Tabata

Download a free Tabata timer app. Tabata is an interval timing protocol where you do an exercise for 20 seconds as fast as you can, and then rest 10 seconds. You do this for 8 rounds, or 4 minutes total before moving on to the next exercise

Squats

Lunges (Walking or straight up and down)

Plank hold

Bridging

What exercise did you like in your third trimester? Did you find you mentally started to get nervous around 32/33 weeks? Any tips for me as I tackle the last two months of pregnancy?

- Kathleen Donahoe, Co-owner and Senior Oh Baby! Fitness Instructor

We get asked all the time how quickly women can return to exercise postpartum. While you don’t want to vigorously exercise until cleared by your doctor (usually at your 6 week postpartum visit), there are some simple exercises you can do before then to help get your body recovered and rehabbed from pregnancy and delivery. The video below shows three exercises you can do in those first six weeks—starting in the hospital! Check them out to find out how to get your body ready to get back to exercise as soon as your doctor clears you.

Check out pregnant co-owner Kathleen Donahoe on Headline News Weekend Express — she shares great advice about working out while pregnant and healthy postpartum weight loss!

A really exciting study was released this week that shows women who exercise deliver babies with “more mature” brains—basically, exercising while pregnant gives your baby’s brain a huge boost! Having a smarter baby is something every mom wants and now you know you’re helping make that happen just by exercising.

The natural next question is WHY this is the case. We aren’t scientists or researchers, but our best guess is it could be related to increased placental function during pregnancy in woman who exercise. So, you might be asking, what’s placental function?

Even with new studies being released all the time about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy, women are often concerned about the effect of exercise on their unborn baby. A main concern is if the baby is receiving enough oxygen during exercise, as blood is redirected from the placenta to the mother’s other working muscles. However, just as organs like the heart and lungs become stronger when stressed by exercise, the placenta becomes stronger when placed under stress. This is proven by the fact that the placentas in exercising women are larger than those in non-exercisers. This larger organ is therefore better at supplying oxygen and nutrients to the baby.  The really neat part- even if the placenta is taxed during one hour of exercise, for example, it continues to perform its functions more efficiently during the other 23 hours of the day.

To put the process into really simple terms– placental function means that as you exercise, your body moves some blood away from the baby. However, the baby will then start to fight harder for blood and nutrients, which makes your placenta bigger and stronger. During that hour of exercise, your baby may be getting less oxygen, but during the other 23 hours, your placenta is working better and is getting bigger. So even when you are not exercising, your placenta is giving your baby more nutrients because it has been trained to do so.  And more nutrients= smarter babies, which everyone loves!

Prior to being pregnant, I’d attended maybe ten yoga classes in my whole life. I’ve spent years with CrossFit, kickboxing, weight lifting, and other group exercise classes, but yoga never really did it for me. Sweating, loud music, and the kind of exercise that made my brain “turn off” were my thing. Until I got pregnant.

While pregnant I’ve been attending a Wednesday night Oh Baby! Fitness yoga class taught by one of our best instructors, Veronica. Veronica has a personal training background, so she “gets” the kind of workout I’m used to, but make no mistake, this is a true yoga class. There’s lots of breathing, chanting (guys, I never pictured myself sitting chanting with a bunch of other pregnant ladies….like, ever), and we even put one hand on our heart and one hand on our pregnant bellies at the end of class

And much to my surprise, I LOVE it.

While there is breathing, chanting and visualizations, there is also a portion of each class where Veronica pushes us to our edge. This section often includes many minutes in goddess pose (uh, OUCH!!), and then she coaches us to embrace or welcome the discomfort. It’s a mental exercise as much as a physical one- and one that I think will serve me well not only labor, but also in the demanding first months of motherhood. Knowing something is going to be hard, and welcoming it anyway, is a process that I want to lean into and practice when pregnant, and yoga has become my way to do that.

Don’t get me wrong though; there are lots of times in each class where I have the opposite of the above experience. We will come into a pose or posture and at first I think, “huh, okay, whatever, this looks funny” and about fifteen seconds into holding the pose I suddenly feel “oooooooh, this feels good. Like, REALLY good.” Hip opening exercises and side body stretching are a whole new level of pregnant lady paradise.

And as for the breathing, chanting and visualizations? I don’t know that I understand fully why they are working, but my experience is that they are. They make perfect sense in this class, and rather than feeling silly they feel totally natural.

I’m obviously a total beginner, but I’m so glad that my pregnancy has introduced me to such a different way of exercising, and so thankful to Veronica for teaching such a solid class week in and out. I don’t know yet what kind of exercise I’ll be into once the baby arrives (do all pregnant women day dream about postpartum exercise? to be able to exercise without the belly?), but I’ve been looking at yoga with a new, grateful set of eyes.

-Kathleen Donahoe, Co-owner Oh Baby! Fitness

34 week photos by Stacey Bode Photography.

Act fast, our Pregnancy Weekly Workout App on iTunes is on sale for $3.99 from Nov. 27 – Dec. 2. This is a great opportunity to have a personal exercise app to use over the holidays. The Oh Baby! Fitness app gives you a specific exercise and demo video for each week of pregnancy. First 4 weeks are FREE, open the rest of the videos (up to 40 weeks of pregnancy) for only $3.99. Please consider reviewing our app on iTunes too!

DOWNLOAD OUR  PREGNANCY WEEKLY WORKOUT NOW FOR ONLY $3.99!

The Oh Baby! Fitness Pregnancy Weekly Workout shares everything we’ve learned from training nearly 30,000 women in prenatal and postnatal fitness.

Our app offers a specific exercise for EVERY week of pregnancy. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. For this app: Weeks 6 – 10 are FREE… Unlock the remaining 30 weeks of videos for only $3.99.

Each week’s video will help you strengthen and tone muscles needed for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Each exercise is designed to provide you with the most appropriate workout for your week of pregnancy using Pilates, Yoga and strength training exercises you can do at home with no additional equipment. Short videos and descriptions will show you exactly how to do the exercise and will explain how the exercise will help you build muscle or relieve stress.

String exercises together to make your own personalized, SAFE pregnancy workout. You can also track your workout each day, and note how you liked the exercise and if it was challenging, etc.

Hi guys!

I decided to do a video blog this week after so many people asked for photos of my belly. You’ll hear in this video why I’ve been hesitant to share belly photos (though I promise I’ll take and post some come November), and I’ll also show you just how important and noticeable correct pregnancy posture is.

Please send me your questions about my pregnancy or prenatal exercise and I’ll be sure to answer them in a future post!

-Kathleen Donahoe, Co-owner and Senior Instructor, Oh Baby! Fitness

Check out our video on how to perform a self-check to see if you have any abdominal muscle separation (Diastasis Recti) during your pregnancy. It’s good to know it you have a split, so you can know what exercises to do to repair it after your baby is born. Weak/split stomach muscles can cause back pain if not corrected.

If you have other questions about pregnancy and mom & baby exercise, go to our website at www.ohbabyfitness.com or check our blog at blog.ohbabyfitness.com

One of the most important things we teach our clients about is DIASTASIS RECTI (abdominal separation) – a common pre/postnatal condition. It’s important to know what it is, as safe exercise can help control it but some types of exercise actually make it worse. Here’s what you need to know:

What is diastasis recti?

Diastasis Recti is a scary sounding phrase for a rather common pregnancy condition- the splitting of the rectus abdominals (the muscles that make up “six pack abs”). This happens as the baby grows and presses “out” against the mom’s abdominal muscles. Most moms don’t feel it happening- it’s not painful- but it can lead to back pain, pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction if not addressed.

It happens in about 50% of pregnancies, usually in the third trimester. The good news is that abdominal separation can almost always be rehabbed after birth.  Also, recent studies conducted by physical therapists have shown that exercise during pregnancy actually DECREASES the occurrence and width of diastasis recti .

Most moms don’t know abdominal separation can occur in pregnancy, so they don’t check for it or know how to fix it.  It’s important to be educated- so you know what exercises can help manage Diastasis Recti during pregnancy and so you can correct it fully after your baby is born.

How do you check for it?

The first step in getting educated is checking to see if you are experiencing any separation. Most moms’ abs begin to “split” sometime in the third trimester. Taller women are less likely to show any separation because there’s more room for the baby to grow. Shorter women and moms having multiples will start to “split” sooner and are more likely to have some abdominal separation.

Watch this video on how to check yourself during pregnancy for diastasis recti.

(Note: – It can be hard to check yourself late in pregnancy as the pressure of the baby makes it difficult to feel what’s going on. If you think you have separation and can’t tell for sure, ask your doctor to check you.)

How to check yourself for Diastasis Recti:

Begin by lying on the floor in a traditional sit-up position, knees bent, with your feet flat on floor.

Perform a small crunch; this will engage the rectus abdominals.

Run your fingers laterally across your stomach, feeling for a ditch running vertically down the middle of their stomach. Check both above and below the belly button.

Feel for a ditch that will feel soft, with hard (engaged) abdominals on either side. You will want to see how many fingertips you can fit laterally into the ditch.

1-2 fingertips is considered normal, 3+ should be referred to a doctor or physical therapist postpartum.

What do you do when pregnant?

So now that you’ve checked yourself, what if you are pregnant and experiencing diastasis? Your body is likely going to “do what it’s going to do”—meaning it’ll split if it’s going to– but there are three big things you can do when pregnant to help:

1- Get educated on diastasis and how to check yourself.

Use the video above to check yourself for diastasis. Know that most women’s abs don’t split until sometime in the third trimester.

2- Work your transverse/inner abs

Whether or not you believe you have diastasis, transverse abdominal work is the most helpful exercise to do while pregnant. Gently hugging your baby with your ab muscles builds the inner layer of ab muscles while also putting less stress on the rectus abs, which can help lessen the split.

Watch this video to see how to on how to “hug” your baby with your abdominal muscles.

3- Avoid oblique work

Because oblique work puts more pull on the sides of the rectus abdominals at its weakened points, excessive, repetitive oblique exercises should be avoided. You will want to avoid exercises that repetitively twist, or shorten from hip to shoulder (like a traditional bicycle ab crunch). Instead abdominal stabilizing exercises, like those found in Pilates-based movements, should be used. Rolling like a ball and modified roll ups are great exercises to do instead of oblique work.

What do you do postpartum?

After birth, you’ll have a lot on your plate (that’s putting it mildly!) but many women who find out during pregnancy that they have diastasis recti are anxious to get it corrected postpartum. Here’s what you can do:

As soon as possible after birth, return to a regular practice of Kegels and transverse strengthening.  Do these exercises early and often. It will go a long way to helping heal the diastasis. As we’ve shared before, the best three exercises to do after baby are

After a few weeks, check your diastasis using the guidelines above. We recommend doing this self-check before your 6 week postpartum ob visit so you can discuss your findings with your doctor. If you have a 3+ finger separation, mention it to your doctor and consider finding a physical therapist in your area.

If you have a less that 3 finger separation, begin to repair the interior abdominals  through Kegels and add in transverse abdominal work.  The Kegels help strengthen the pelvic floor and a technique called “hollowing” can strengthen the transverse abdominals.

Watch this video to see the “hollowing” technique:

If you’d like, you can also wear a postpartum belly wrap – many women find this helps pull their rectus abs back together (and is very similar to “splinting”, a technique many physical therapists use to repair diastais) especially when worn in combination with safe abdominal work. Watch this video to see how splinting works and use this technique as you return to abdominal work after baby.

Also, oblique work is generally to be avoided prior to six months postpartum as it can work against pulling the rectus abs back together.  Focus first on the transverse abs, then the rectus and leave the twisting movements until after your baby is 6 months old.

The bottom line on Diastais Recti/Abdominal Separation:

The splitting of the rectus abdominals during pregnancy is normal, and exercise  during and after pregnancy can help both manage and repair the condition.

Often clients will take one or two Oh Baby! Fitness classes a week, but ask what they can be doing in between classes to stay in shape. I’ve been teaching a mom and baby fitness class for the last few weeks and decided to offer “homework” to the class. It was completely optional, but a number of moms have taken me up on it and have said they can see and feel a real difference in their fitness level. I thought I’d share the homework in case you are looking for exercises to do at home with your baby. I also created a pregnancy version as well. I know there were many days back when I was pregnant where leaving the house to workout felt impossible, but doing some exercises in the living room felt great.

The secret to these workouts is that they are cumulative, and you have the whole week to perform them. Over four weeks, work up to completing the entire series (note that you have the entire WEEK to do the exercises). Here’s how it works: during the first week, do one exercise (ie, just the pushups). During the second week add in a second exercise (ie, do the pushups and sit ups). Add an exercise each week until the fourth week, when you’ll be doing the whole series.

MOM AND BABY SERIES

50 Plank Jumps (see photo above- Jump your feet forward then back to plank)

100 Pushups

200 sit ups

300 walking lunges

PREGNANCY SERIES

5 minutes of wall sits

5 minutes of plank

500 walking lunges

500 squats

Looking for more exercises to do at home? Check out the Oh Baby! Fitness Pregnancy Weekly Workout app and Mom and Baby Weekly Workout app! Both can be downloaded on iTunes. Each app gives a specific exercise for each week of the prenatal or postpartum period. String them together to create your own personalized workout that meets exactly where you are in pregnancy or postpartum.

**This is an ongoing series where women email perintatal fitness expert Kathleen Donahoe their questions about pre and postnatal exercise. Have a question about working out during your pregnancy or as a new mom? Email your questions to Kathleen@ohbabyfitness.com**

QUESTION: “Before I got pregnant, I was in a pretty active rhythm, incorporating a combination of strength training, warm yoga fusion, and Pilates classes into each week. I was able to maintain most of that routine for the first trimester, but I’m starting to hit some walls recently. I get fatigued more easily, recovery takes longer, and a lot of different kinds of movement are becoming uncomfortable or even impossible for me to perform. So I have two questions: (a) at this point, and going forward, what are the types of movement that are NOT safe for me and the baby? And (b), what are some effective exercises to replace the things that are no longer safe? I would love to continue with a combination of strength/endurance training and stretching/flexibility work, but as elements of my regular workouts become unworkable, I’m not sure what to replace them with!” – Miriel, 21 weeks pregnant

Miriel-

Congratulations! On both the baby (yay for babies) and for the great foundation of exercise you built before you were pregnant. There are new studies coming out all the time that being active before you get pregnant is so helpful for both your body and your baby as they grow. You are in a great place.

You’re also in place I see often in active women—you had a regular exercise routine that now just….doesn’t feel good. It’s especially hard as I bet exercise is not just a physical outlet but a mental release as well. If you are anything like I was, pregnancy is a mental minefield, and any tool to help navigate that, like exercise, is so great. Let’s dive in.

Here’s the thing- ACOG says that any exercise you were doing before you were pregnant, you can keep doing. It’s so easy to think, “Is this safe? Is this okay?” Basically, if you were doing it before, you can keep doing it. And yes- I include running, Pilates, biking, weight lifting in this list. You know what isn’t safe?? Things that don’t FEEL good. This is kind of a squishy answer, but it’s the truth, and people who were active before pregnancy are the best at judging this.  It sounds like you are running into some of this—parts of your pre-pregnancy routine no longer feel comfortable, which is a sign it’s time to replace them with some new things.

The answer to your second question is more specific, and I think a better way to think about exercise during pregnancy (and if I’m honest, all the time)— don’t think about what you can’t/should do, think about what feels good and what is most helpful. Here’s a secret: exercise is one of the only things that can help with the symptoms (aka aches and pains) of pregnancy. Lower back pain, round ligament pain, sleeplessness, constipation, swelling…while people will say “cherish every moment!” I say, get moving! It’ll help those things. A ton.

So here’s what will help:

Transverse abdominal work. The act of engaging your transverse abs is one of the most helpful things you can do both for your pregnancy and for the postpartum period. Watch this video to see how and why it works. Pilates and Barre3 are both great at training his important muscle.

Get in the pool. The pool is a pregnant woman’s best friend (except for the getting in and out of a bathing suit, which is a pregnant woman’s greatest enemy, but I promise it’s worth it.) Take a water aerobics class, swim some laps, or just get in a pool and jog the length of it ten times—that alone will feel amazing. Pool work is a great replacement for that class or workout that no longer feels good.

Work out every day, with a variety of exercises.  ACOG recommends pregnant women workout for 30 minutes on most, if not ALL days of the week. I think this is a serious point—how many non-pregnant people do you know who workout every day? When I was pregnant, I included exercise on my to-do list every day. I thought it was that important and that helpful. But you don’t need to be rigid about it.  I think it’s useful to have a few different options that you know feel good (yoga, walking, Pilates, a DVD, our Pregnancy Weekly Workout App) and pick what feels good that day. The list will change as your go through your pregnancy- you might start swimming more, or find that walking is no longer comfortable. As long as you are moving, you are doing great.

Like I said, I think you are in a great place- you’ve got a great foundation of exercise, and you are sensitive to what feels good (and what doesn’t). Trust those feelings, and then get curious and see what does feel great— you’ll know when you’ve found it as you’ll end a workout and discover you feel better than you did when you started. Hold on to those types of workouts, and do them often. Good luck!!

Note from Co-Owner Kathleen Donahoe:  So I’ve got a confession to make—we’ve been keeping a secret here in our Oh Baby! Fitness Atlanta classes. For the last 5 years, we’ve been teaching women something super simple, but super revolutionary. We’ve received so many emails from doctors and clients that what we’ve been teaching has CHANGED the way women give birth. Basically, we’ve been teaching women how to push out their babies.

For years, I heard over and over again that what we were teaching, this technique, worked amazingly well, but I couldn’t personally verify it. So once I was pregnant, I was nervous and excited to get to “try out” what I had been teaching to a few thousand women over the last 5 years. And honestly, not only did it work, it worked better than I ever expected. During Pete’s birth when it  got to be time to push, not only was I not scared, I felt ready. I knew exactly what to do, and it worked. Less than 30 minutes after I started pushing- Pete was born. What could have been a scary and a physically traumatic time was instead an empowering, wonderful experience, and I think it’s because of Coordinated Pushing.

We’ve got some exciting news- today we are releasing an app that will teach women all over the world the technique of Coordinated Pushing. Now women don’t have to be in Atlanta, or taking an Oh Baby! Fitness class to learn the super simple (it’s five steps), super effective (we get emails every day from clients about how successful it was) technique. I couldn’t be more excited, and honestly more proud to share this app with the world.

The app is called exactly what it is: How to Push Out Your Baby.  It’s five videos that take you through the technique step by step. We’ve found that clients who watch the videos more than one time, and then practice the technique are especially successful. Coordinated Pushing is not an airy-fairy, metaphorical approach—it’s going to teach you a muscle-based method- the true physiology of pushing. You’ll know what muscles to use, what muscles to relax, how to breathe and how to get your baby OUT (and if you are anything like me you’ll be thinking “GET OUT BABY” as you use it!) in the most efficient, effective way.

Please spread the word. You can download that app here—I can’t wait to hear how this technique works for you.

Check out our other Oh Baby apps on iTunes too:

Pregnancy Weekly Workout (a specific exercise for every week of pregnancy up to 40 weeks!)

Mom & Baby Weekly Workout (a specific exercise for every week after you’ve had your baby.. up to 6 months!)

Oh Baby! Fitness has three great exercise apps available on iTunes that you can download to start working out now!

We’ve designed 3 mobile apps to help Moms get in shape during pregnancy and after and also to teach you how to push your baby out easily and effectively with NO FEAR!

Download today!

 HOW TO PUSH OUT YOUR BABY

A pregnant woman’s best friend– this app will teach you the most effective and efficient way to push out your baby! Over the course of five short videos, our app details a specific, simple and effective technique called Coordinated Pushing. Moms learn what muscles to use, how to breathe and how to focus their physical energy to have a successful delivery. Thousands of women have been taught this technique and have had great success, now Oh Baby! Fitness shares the secrets to Coordinated Pushing with pregnant women around the world. (Download Now!)

PREGNANCY WEEKLY WORKOUT

Our app offers a specific exercise for EVERY week of pregnancy. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks. For this app: Weeks 6 – 10 are FREE… Unlock the remaining 30 weeks of videos for only $4.99. (Download Now!)

MOM & BABY WEEKLY WORKOUT

Our app offers a specific exercise for EVERY week after the birth of your baby.. all the way to 6 months postpartum!
The Oh Baby! Fitness Mom & Baby Weekly Workout shares everything we’ve learned from training nearly 30,000 women in prenatal and postnatal fitness. (Download Now!)

Sciatic pain is a common occurrence during pregnancy- but that doesn’t mean you should have to suffer through it! We’ve had clients (and instructors) who had to be put on bed rest while pregnant because the pain was so excruciating that they were unable to walk. It’s no joke! We’ve posted before about why sciatica presents during pregnancy, but I wanted to share some things you can try to help alleviate the pain.

One of the frustrating things about sciatic pain is that it can be caused by a few different things, and it’s hard to know the root cause without talking with the pregnant mom directly. That said, if you are experiencing sciatica (and you will know if you are—it feels like a sharp pain right in the middle of your butt/glute muscle, usually only on one side) go ahead and try the following exercises:

•  Get in the water. If swelling and/or baby placement are one of the causes, a pool will help. 10 minutes of activity (think- jogging up and down a lane) in water up to you shoulders will help.

• Pilates, specifically side series exercises like the video above and the Pilates exercise “the Clam” will help with SI joint stabilization, which can help decrease incidences of sciatic pain.

• Yoga, specifically the  cat/cow exercise in the video above, is golden for any woman experiencing sciatica! This exercise will encourage baby to move off of the nerve which can get you some relief.

• If you are still experiencing pain, you don’t have to suffer through! Ask your doctor about seeing a physical therapist or chiropractor,  both have been known to help relieve the pain.

Oh Baby! Fitness is thrilled to announce our newest class offering: the Pushing Partner Workshop: How to Push Out Your Baby. Based on our bestselling app, this pelvic floor, yoga and abs class will prepare women for the most difficult stage of childbirth: pushing!

This 90 minute workshop teaches pregnant women and their partners the Oh Baby! Fitness Coordinated Pushing technique, as well as basic breathing and labor positions. Participants will be empowered as they learn the physiology of pushing and will be able to practice a way to efficiently push out their baby.

This is NOT a childbirth class. It’s a “How to Push Out Your Baby” class with the added bonus of additional exercises to do to prepare for labor and a few for during labor.

Many pregnant women take childbirth classes where they learn various poses and breathing sequences they can use during labor. However, very few childbirth classes teach women how they will push the baby out. As you learn about your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, you’ll also gain the muscle awareness that will assist you during the pushing stage of labor. You’ll come away knowing belly breathing and coordinated pushing- a proven physiological approach to the most difficult stage of labor.

Sign up for upcoming workshops in Dallas on June 14th and Atlanta on August 2nd. Both workshops will be taught by Oh Baby! Fitness co-owner and senior instructor Kathleen Donahoe. The workshop is $50 to attend (price is for pregnant mom and partner).

Oh Baby! Fitness Founder and CEO talks to Dr. Daria Gillespie of ShareCare Radio on how to stay fit during pregnancy.

Listen to the podcast.

CNN profiled an Oh Baby! Fitness Pregnancy Aqua class in a story airing on local news stations across the country and in US doctor’s offices too.

Watch: Benefits of Water Aerobics for Pregnant Women

Our “How to Push Out Your Baby” app was featured in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine‘s July issue.  Pick up a copy of the magazine and also download our app. “In case it isn’t obvious, this straightforward app is all about the exit strategy for your baby on the way. In a series of five short videos, (between one and three minutes each) you’ll learn all about the simple but effective coordinated pushing technique, which promises to efficiently help you evict your “wombmate” on the big day. Download it before your due date so you can practice ahead of time. $8 for iOS.”

Download app today.

Pregnant women should get moving! That’s the clear message in the newest guidelines released by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a group that advises doctors what to tell their patients when it comes to pregnancy and health.

“Women with uncomplicated pregnancies should be encouraged to engage in aerobic and strength-conditioning exercises before, during, and after pregnancy.”

–ACOG December, 2015 Guidelines

ACOG’s previous statement came out in 2002, so this update encapsulates a decade of newer research on perinatal exercise. All Oh Baby! Fitness classes use the ACOG guidelines as our standard – so this is an exciting day in the world of pregnancy exercise! It validates what we’ve been doing all along in our pregnancy and mom & baby exercise classes and confirms that doctors agree, it’s safe AND good for pregnant women to work out.

The doctors’ group also says exercise can help with weight control and reducing the risk of gestational diabetes, as well as improving a mom’s psychological well-being. Making exercise part of your daily life is key:

“An exercise program that leads to an eventual goal of moderate-intensity exercise for at least 20–30 minutes per day on most or all days of the week.” 

Moms should get the OK from their doctor before starting an exercise program. Pregnant women who haven’t exercised before should start gradually, while women who were regular exercisers before pregnancy and who have uncomplicated, healthy pregnancies should be able to engage in high-intensity exercise programs, such as jogging and aerobics, with no negative effects.

Walking, swimming, stationary cycling and low-impact aerobics were recommended as safe workouts. New to the list is strength training, modified yoga and Pilates which reflects our belief at Oh Baby! Fitness about the importance of safe and targeted abdominal work during pregnancy.  Jogging or running is also recommended, a question we often get from Moms in Oh Baby! Fitness classes.

(Click box to make larger).

Specific to note here is that “Hot Yoga” SHOULD BE AVOIDED during pregnancy, along with contact sports like basketball, boxing or soccer.. and any activity that has a high risk of falling like horseback riding or skiing.

ACOG recommends you should immediately discontinue exercise if you experience any of the following: vaginal bleeding, regular painful contractions, amniotic fluid leakage, dizziness, labored breathing before exercise, headache, chest pain, muscle weakness that affects balance and calf pain or swelling.

One more exciting thing to note about the guidelines is that they call for MORE research into the benefits of perinatal exercise:

“Additional research is needed to study the effects of exercise on pregnancy-specific conditions and outcomes, and to further clarify effective behavioral counseling methods and optimal type, frequency, and intensity of exercise. Similar research is needed to improve evidence-based information concerning the effects of occupational physical activity on maternal–fetal health.”

We couldn’t agree with this recommendation more— the last decade’s research has only made it clear how beneficial perinatal exercise is, but there’s more work to be done.

We encourage all pregnant women and pre/postnatal fitness providers to check out ACOG’s new recommendations, and join an Oh Baby! Fitness class for safe and effective exercise that follows ACOG’s guidelines. Looking to learn more about how to train pregnant women and new moms? Check out our online Oh Baby! Fitness Perinatal Fitness Certification.

Pregnancy and abdominals is easily the topic our clients ask us about the most. This area has changed a lot in the ten years Oh Baby! Fitness has been open- a decade ago women thought ALL ab work during pregnancy was “bad.” Thankfully the tide has turned a bit and pregnant women generally understand now that they probably should be doing ab work during pregnancy. That said, they often don’t know what they should do (and what to avoid). The good news is, it’s not rocket science! Here are the five basic rules of pregnancy abdominal work:

1- Transverse ab work is the most important

The best thing you can do for your core muscles (and to keep your back protected during pregnancy!) is engage your transverse abdominals or your “inner abdominals”.  We use the phrase “hold the baby high and tight” or “hug your baby with your abs”— but however you describe it, the sensation is of pulling your baby up and in. There’s a trend in ALL exercise right now (not just pre/postnatal) to train the transverse abdominals, which is great as it means many of our clients already know this muscle. If you do no other ab work during pregnancy, at least do this.

2- Some modified rectus ab work is good

Once you’ve found your transverse abdominals, feel free to do some modified rectus abdominal work. These are the exercises that most people default to when they think of abs- crunches, etc. Working your rectus abs during pregnancy is good, but not as important as the transverse work. Here’s an example of a great prenatal rectus ab exercise.

3- Avoid oblique exercises

Generally speaking, during pregnancy you want to avoid oblique exercises. These are twisting exercises (like bicycle sit-ups/crunches). It’s especially important to avoid weighted, repeated oblique exercises, as it’s been found they make diastasis recti (abdominal separation) worse.

4- Be aware of diastasis recti (abdominal separation) and know how to check for it

Speaking of, you want to know what diastasis recti is! Here’s a great introduction. Beyond following the guidelines listed above, there’s not much you can do to control how far your abs split during pregnancy, but you definitely want to be aware of it so you can rehab your split postpartum.

5- Your pelvic floor is part of healthy core box

Finally, it’s important to think of your core as more than just your abs- it’s also your pelvic floor too! Squats and kegels are a key part of a healthy core, and just as important as ab work.

One last note: Finding a pregnancy exercise class or a trainer who specializes in pre/postnatal exercise is a great way to know you are doing not only safe ab work, but effective ab work too! Abs are a huge part of pushing out a baby, so it’s important to keep them strong during pregnancy.