Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Natural Movement: What We Learned as a Coach and a Mother

Coach

Growing and birthing a human takes work and will have an impact on the body from stretching all the core musculature, limiting diaphragm and lung function, increasing laxity in joints and musculature, altering center of gravity, altering movement patterns and potentially perineal tearing. This work takes skill, strength, and training appropriately can make a huge difference. Finding ways to incorporate natural movement for pregnant and birthing bodies is extremely valuable and the volume and intensity will look different for everyone. I’m going to walk you through several client scenarios and provide answers along the way. I’ll also include some important exercises that can be used prenatally or postpartum. As a reminder, some of them may not be appropriate depending on your situation. Consult your care team if you have questions. 

Prenatal Journey

Wooo Hooo you’re pregnant…. Now what? I have some questions for us to work through together.

• Have you been training/exercising prior to getting pregnant?
• Are you interested in starting a program with an emphasis on prenatal/postpartum movement?
• What concerns do you have regarding exercise during and after your pregnancy?
• Do you have access to a pelvic floor physical therapist?

These questions are a great place to start as each person’s journey is uniquely their own. Let’s assume there is one situation that leans more towards optimal. It may look something like this:

Client profile: novice to intermediate strength and conditioning background for 6mos-1year prior to getting pregnant. No complications during pregnancy.

Assuming all of this, I would encourage the client to keep up with their normal routine and emphasize core/floor exercises and full body strength movements. Jumping and climbing skills can be used early on but should be limited later in pregnancy. Education on pressure management will also be essential during this time. Helping find a pelvic floor physical therapist to aid in postpartum care will also be helpful during this time. A good rule of thumb is to keep your training intensity at or below your prenatal status. This could include a MovNat L1 certification.

“Remember, birthing a human is a feat like no other. Give yourself the time and space to heal.”

A case for breathing and strength work

Throughout my career one of the most common things I have worked with clients on is pressure management issues (prolapse, hernias etc). I’ve been fortunate to witness so many female clients improve pressure management issues with breathwork and progressive heavy lifting (deadlifts, squats and carries). 

A hernia is essentially a strain on the body too great for that body to handle combined with sub-optimal breathing and bracing mechanics. Pressure management can also be seen as load management. Let’s look at this more closely using two different people

Person 1 

Has decent breathing mechanics and can maximally deadlift 80lbs with no issues for multiple repetitions.

Person 2 

Has decent breathing mechanics and can maximally deadlift 160lbs with no issues for multiple repetitions.

If we now ask them to each lift 100lbs for multiple repetitions, the likelihood of injury for person 1 is now significantly increased. Whereas for person 2, 100lbs is in their capacity (but risk is always there). Let’s now add in 9 months of progressive stretching of the abdominal wall and squish organs out of the way, change center of gravity, limit diaphragm and lung volume and increase laxity in the joints etc. If we continue this story and the baby arrives and both persons have the exact same outcomes along with equal recovery times, person 2 will still be at lower risk for pressure management related issues. Because person 2 has built up greater absolute strength, they will have an easier time with load management which is related to pressure management. 

We now see physical therapy and strength training prescribed to patients prior to certain surgeries. Athletes train before competitions. I have trained many folks (athletes, moms and more) and I have supported my partner for two births. When I put those athletes side by side with moms, I would say pregnancy, birth and postpartum can be compared to training for fitness based competition. I have found that natural movement with a “from the ground up” approach has been positively impactful on all of my clients that have experienced pregnancy/postpartum issues. Getting up and down off the ground multiple times a day because it is part of your lifestyle will serve you so much better than a 30 minute dosing of exercise. If you can stack both, then watch out world!

Remember it’s never too late to start something and earn your progressions.  If you’re curious to learn more about training MovNat or attending a certification/workshop while pregnant or postpartum reach out to the Team.

“When I put those athletes side by side with moms, I would say pregnancy, birth and postpartum can be compared to training for fitness based competition”

A Mother’s Journey

I am the fortunate mother to a 4 year old and a 7 year old. I have been practicing natural movement for years simply because I have had the pleasure and luxury of living with a passionate natural movement coach.

As a working mom who has a hard time building in the time and space for my own fitness/movement, I find the MovNat approach to be very accessible and easy to fit in wherever I am, whether I’m with my kids or alone, and with minimal time. Any two year old (or kid for that matter) will find it endlessly entertaining to play with you if you are practicing get-ups or crawling!

In the first year of Rock opening up his gym (MovNat Madison, 2019/20), I got pregnant with kiddo #2. Since I had already been following the natural movement methodology, I continued to keep doing what I was used to doing – crawling, hanging, balancing, throwing, and even jumping. I just made sure to listen to my body and not try something I hadn’t done before. When Rock planned to host an L1 and L2 certification around my 7 month mark, I decided I could at least try for L1. I think one of the best parts of having that certification lined up is that it kept me moving during pregnancy (although chasing a 2 year old around also kept me moving!).

“As a working mom who has a hard time building in the time and space for my own fitness/movement, I find the MovNat approach to be very accessible and easy to fit in wherever I am, whether I’m with my kids or alone, and with minimal time.

By the time the L1 rolled around, I was quite large. For any ladies out there who have had more than one kid, you may have also experienced getting way larger way faster the 2nd time around. That was definitely me. I knew going into the certification that there were likely some L1 skills I couldn’t do – like foot pinches – but that most everything else – balancing, crawling, side swing traverse, and even jumping were skills I felt (mostly) comfortable and confident doing. I also knew that if I didn’t feel comfortable with something, or my body was giving me hints to stop, I could simply plan to tackle it postpartum and submit a video. I got through it! Inverted crawling was definitely tricky and uncomfortable at 7 months and I did not get the foot pinch. I was pretty wiped out once it was behind me and I gave myself lots of down time after that. That was my last hurrah before birth for sure! I was able to complete the L1 certification a few months postpartum when I had recovered and strengthened enough to do the foot pinch.

I strongly believe that practicing natural movement helped my body in so many ways before and after my first baby, as well as in preparation for baby two. I was lucky enough to have two uncomplicated pregnancies and births and I do attribute some of the ease of birthing I experienced to my MovNat practice as well as my family’s overall floor based lifestyle at home.

Our house at the time was set up for a lot of floor seating, including the dining table. Even our bed is a Japanese-style futon on the floor. I believe that our movement focused lifestyle ultimately helped my recovery, as I was accustomed to doing all those things before and throughout pregnancy. And once I was past the first few weeks postpartum, I was able to at least move around my house more easily. This helped since we also did all our diaper changes on the floor, and that never ends with a newborn. Believe me, there were many times that I would curse our setup and wish for a changing table or an elevated bed. But without really thinking about it, I had already rebuilt the strength and mobility to get up and down off the floor countless times a day, and I know my body is better for it.

“I strongly believe that practicing natural movement helped my body in so many ways before and after my first baby, as well as in preparation for baby two. I was lucky enough to have two uncomplicated pregnancies and births and I do attribute some of the ease of birthing I experienced to my MovNat practice as well as my family’s overall floor based lifestyle at home.”

I was also excited to return to a more formal movement practice that was gentle and supportive of my postpartum body. A great deal changes in our bodies when we do the remarkable work of growing and birthing babies, that we often need to sideline particular movement or fitness goals until we are fully recovered. While I hoped to return to short-distance sprinting and beating my fastest high school mile time, I started by focusing on my core and pelvic floor. As someone with a high tone pelvic floor (determined by a pelvic floor physical therapist), most of my pelvic floor and core work is centered around breathing mechanics and then practicing those mechanics with movement. I have found that MovNat’s emphasis on starting with breathing and ground-based movements is ideal for starting out postpartum – all of which I was able to incorporate into my daily life with a baby and a toddler.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rock Hancock

MovNat Team Instructor

• BS Kinesiology w/ concentration in Exercise Science
• MovNat Level 2 Trainer & MovNat Team Instructor
• Trauma Informed Weightlifting Course
• Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist

Rock has worked in various wellness and fitness roles across healthcare, the military, and corporate industries. He has enjoyed supporting individuals and groups in achieving their wellness goals. One of his professional goals is to always be in a place to help people age adventurously. He is also deeply committed to helping individuals utilize strength training along with play to move through life’s obstacles and past traumas. In addition, Rock facilitates men’s groups that incorporate rewilding principles and movement.

Annie Hancock

Level 1 MCT

Anne (Annie) Hancock was born and raised in Northern Virginia. She attended The College of William and Mary (’08), where she earned a B.A. in economics and environmental studies. She also has an M.A. from George Washington University in Organizational Management. She has worked in the non-profit as well as for-profit setting in Washington DC and Madison, WI holding a variety of roles from program coordination to project and program management. She is the mother to two boys, Bodhi and Forest, and currently lives in Madison, WI. She has a passion for connecting with people on a personal level and helping them improve their day-to-day lives with movement and conversational coaching. When time permits, she loves to run, hike, write poetry, and play – all while spending time with her family.

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