Pilates and Pregnancy - Week 37: Preparing for Delivery and Post-Pregnancy Recovery

Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! According to my app, this week the baby is the length of a watermelon – about 19-22 inches. My app also says that he should be around 6.5 pounds, but we know from my last ultrasound that he blew past that landmark weeks ago! We’ll guess that he’s somewhere in the 8-9 pound range.

I’ve noticed this week that I am slowing down – big time. I have mastered the pregnant lady waddle and am not only slow moving, but slow to get up and down. This affects our Pilates lessons, as we’re able to fit fewer exercises into our 50 minutes together, but they are still fabulous nonetheless.

This week our workout focused on stretching and releasing muscle tension. Carey and I talked a little bit about delivery and the importance of learning to let go. We also started looking ahead to post-pregnancy recovery. As a mother of three and movement enthusiast, Carey shared some of the little movements she started doing after her children were born. These movements include Kegels, gently engaging her abdominal muscles, walking short distances, and arm circles in bed.

Note: the amount of exercise that you do post-pregnancy should be a decision that’s made between you and your healthcare provider.

So, with the focus on delivery and reducing muscle tightness, Carey had me start standing, holding on to the red rope. The red rope, which comes from the Ron Fletcher school of Pilates, is essentially three six-foot-long strips of terrycloth that are braided together. Because the rope is made of terrycloth it has a little bit of give. Carey had me hold the rope taut in front of my body with my hands near the ends. On an inhale, I slowly lifted the rope up over my head and then exhaled and brought the rope behind my body. We then reversed the movement, bringing the rope back in front of my body. This movement is great for opening up the shoulders and chest.

Next we worked on stretching the side waist and chest with some half barrel exercises. To begin, Carey had me lie on my side with the left side of my torso resting on the half barrel, my left arm reaching long to the mat, and my legs comfortably resting on the mat. Working to lengthen through my right side waist, Carey had me take a big inhale as I reached my right fingertips toward my left hand and then exhale as I brought the hand back down by my side (essentially a modified version of Mermaid).

Then, Carey had me start in the same position, except with both hands overhead. From there, I reached back with my right hand and rolled slightly onto my back, opening my chest in a very nice stretch. We repeated that move 5-8 times (see photos).