Did you know exercising during pregnancy helps us feel better physically as well as mentally because the body goes through such big changes? My goal to exercise while I'm pregnant is not to become muscular or lose weight but it's overall good health for me and my baby as well as a smooth and easy labour. Thank you Emma for her prenatal exercises classes, the exercise thought by Em has helped prepare me for my labour.

Prenatal exercise classes can help increase your fitness, flexibility, there are also techniques you can learn to reduce pain, and sometimes even have an easier or less painful birth. Speaking from experience, prenatal classes and exercising during pregnancy has really helped me during labour and I've done it with both my pregnancy so it's a proven fact for me.

So here's my labour story and how prenatal exercise has helped me with it!

I opt for a normal delivery without epidural or the laughing gas, the laughing gas didn't work for me on my first child, it did not ease my pain whenever the contraction came, so with or without it, there's no difference. What helped me when I was 6cm dilated, was my phone and the breathing techniques as well as my husband's support. I got my mind to focus on the breathing as well as shopping online until the baby was ready to be out. It took me 4 pushes and the baby was out! I was blessed to be one of those lucky ones who didn't need to go through a long labour pain, I was out within 2 hours. My hubs even joked about how I made it look so easy, we should have another child. #yeahright!

So here are some really simple moves I'll love to share with pregnant mummies out there, hopefully, it will benefit you as much as it did for me.

#1 Breathing
Focus on your breathing, breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out against your hand. Longer deeper breathe helps to relax the body and ensures the body holds less tension and therefore feels less pain.
Avoid short sharp breathes into the chest as this creates tension and makes the body feel more stressed.



#2 Hip circles
This simple exercise is great for you to relax, it can be done while sitting on the ball or standing. Slowly swing your hips from left to right, perform this movement slowly for a number of repetitions, and repeat on the other side.



#3 Rocking
Free up the pelvis and lower back with this exercises, you can do this while leaning on the ball or just all fours on a workout mat. Start by pressing your hips backwards and forward to start rocking.



#4 Squats
Sitting in squat position against the wall or a workout ball will help to open the pelvis and groin, this will help on the flexible for labour. Do this exercise for a minute each time because the average length of contractions usually lasts one minute.

Remember to focus on your breathing to relax the body during each of these exercises, long deep breaths help relax the body while short and sharp breathes tightens the muscles that help you breathe, and this makes you more nervous hence causes even more tension.

I really enjoyed my prenatal exercises classes with Emma, she is a wonderful instructor that helps guide you through your journey, it was easy to open up to her, tell her your problems you're facing during your pregnancy, for example, if you're having back pain during pregnancy or pelvic pain, Emma will be happy to modify the moves for you and she'll guide you on exercises that will ease the pain as well.


About Emma Jory
Emma is an Internationally Certified & Experienced Instructor. She holds yoga, pilates as well as prenatal and postnatal classes in Bangsar, check out her timetable here or email Emma on info@epilatesonline.com for more enquiries. She also has an Online Membership for those who can't attend her classes physically, more info can be found here https://epilatesonline.com/prenatal-core-fit-club/


GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!

Emma is giving all my readers a discount!! The code is PARENTHOODMonthly for Monthly Membership or PARENTHOODannual for Annual Membership. So hurry up and sign up for a session with Emma, most importantly mummies, stay fit and healthy for labour and enjoy your labour :)

For more updates, follow me on
Instagram || Facebook || Google Plus