Mums and tums: how to keep fit while pregnant

Not so long ago, pregnancy was a time to put your feet up. Those early waves of nausea and exhaustion, coupled with the perennial advice not to overdo it, traditionally prompted many women to abandon their usual exercise routines and start enjoying an extra round of toast at breakfast.

Unsurprisingly, given our current fixation with fitness, that’s all looking rather old-fashioned.

Fitness classes designed for pregnant women are popping up at gyms all over the country, as modern mums seek ways to keep on working out throughout pregnancy and motherhood. Many now want more than gentle yoga and swimming, given that it’s considered safe – indeed, highly beneficial to mother and baby – to keep up exercising, under the right advice and supervision.

“The old advice was not to lift any weights and so on,” says Charlie Lauder, founder of Bumps and Burpees, which offers personal training to expectant and new mothers. “It used to be a real shocker to see a bump in a proper fitness class, but now you see pregnant women everywhere.”

She says the new appetite for fitness, illustrated by the explosion of spin studios on our high streets and bootcamps in our parks, means women don’t want to give up the burn – or their figures – just because they’re expecting a baby. The trend has also doubtless been fuelled by the sight of pregnant celebrities and sportswomen hitting the gym, such as Miranda Kerr, Pippa Middleton and Serena Williams, who won her 23rd grand slam at the Australian Open when eight weeks pregnant.

Experts also say the message about the benefits of staying active during pregnancy is finally getting through. Regular exercise at this time of great change is recommended by the NHS, and has been shown to reduce weight gain, depression and anxiety, protect against problems such as back pain and even lower the risk of needing a Caesarean.

“Exercise is such an important part of people’s lives now,” says Pip Black, founder of the Frame gym group, which runs Mumhood, a programme of dynamic pre- and post-natal fitness classes. “We try and create classes that are safe but push you so you feel you’re getting a workout. As long as your pregnancy is going well, there’s no reason why you can’t use weights, and do squats and lunges – they’re great for keeping your body and pelvic floor strong.”

And where antenatal classes and NCT courses were once the best way to meet other young mums living nearby, classes allow health-conscious, time-poor new mothers to socialise while keeping up their fitness regimes.

“NCT is suddenly feeling like a bit of an outdated organisation,” says Victoria Dunsdon, 39, a brand consultant and self confessed fitness fanatic who lives with her husband and two sons in Hackney, east London.“It’s quite expensive and I think for a lot of people the only real reason they do it is to meet parents in their local area – but there are so many other ways to do that now.”

When Victoria was pregnant with Axel, now 18 months, she signed up to Mumhood.

“When you’re working really hard it’s so important to keep fit, for both your body and mind. I loved the classes because I’d bump into the same women and we’d hang out afterwards. I’d rather do that than those endless laps of the park you see mums doing, or sit around eating cake.”

Many of the new fitness courses for mothers have strong online followings, allowing members to chat and share the ups and downs of pregnancy, birth and motherhood – and social media feeds with the inevitable inspirational advice.

“Our mums always tell us they love the workouts, but what makes them keep coming back is the chance to see their friends and share all the things they’re finding out,” says Jenny Drage, who runs MummyFit classes in premium health clubs such as Nuffield and David Lloyd across the north of England. “We always make sure our classes are in gyms with a nice cafe so they can stay on together afterwards, breastfeed once their babies are here. And they’re all interacting on our social media channels, even if they can’t make it and are stuck at home.”

Drage stresses that for women at this stage of life, it’s particularly vital to work out with a qualified trainer who has specialist knowledge of exercising safely pre- and post-birth.

“With the market continuing to grow, there are a lot of people out there who don’t have the right qualifications and are having mothers doing things that could cause them long-term damage.”

Pip Black at Frame agrees that this area is still rife with confusion and misinformation. On one hand, she says, too many women still give up exercise and do nothing as soon as they find out they’re pregnant, often because friends, family or even health professionals or trainers have put them off the idea.

“We get a lot of pregnant women coming to us who have been turned away by gyms or studios they go to for classes,” says Black, while the charity Tommy’s has said many women fear that exercising can cause miscarriage despite no evidence of a link.

At the other extreme, there is a pressure to overdo it after birth, with women wanting to ‘snap back’ to their original shape too quickly.

Black says social media, while a great source of advice and information for mothers, also sends out dangerous, unrealistic images and messages.

“There are accounts out there with women doing things like Cross Fit six weeks after birth,” she says. “That is just not normal. Not only are you still recovering from labour, but also high intensity exercise can play with your milk supply and you’re running the risk of being knackered late in the day. Everyone is different, and you have to do what’s right for your body.”

Victoria Dunsdon says it’s easy to overestimate how quickly you can recover and go back in too quickly, admitting she signed up to do a 10k run four weeks after her eldest son was born. “I realise now that was not healthy for me – I did manage it, but I should never have thought it was a sensible idea.

“That’s why doing something with other mums and a proper qualified trainer is great, because you know you’ll get the right advice and support.”

Did you keep up with your fitness regime during your pregnancy? Which forms of exercise did you find to be the most beneficial to your health and well-being? We want to hear from you in the comments section below and in the Telegraph Family Facebook Group.