Home > Learning Center > Pilates Prenatal DVD

Pilates Prenatal DVD

Click here to see our selection of Pilates Prenatal DVD.
Pilates Prenatal DVD

Pilates Prenatal DVD

When women who are active exercisers and routinely complete pilates workouts become pregnant it is often hard for them to quit their devotion to exercise.  Even women who aren’t regular exercisers find it extremely important to exercise while they are pregnant for the health of their baby.  Pilates is one of the best and safest work out routines to do while you are pregnant, and it is even good to continue after the birth of your baby to regain your pre-pregnant body.  Pilates focuses on core strength which includes your abdominal and pelvic muscles; helping to make labor easier and less painful.  Pilates is also very adaptable and easy to complete for individuals who wish to ease themselves into prenatal exercise.  Purchasing a pilates prenatal DVD will be extremely beneficial for expecting mothers and their unborn children. 

Before purchasing a pilates prenatal DVD or even completing simple pilates exercises you must talk to your doctor or midwife.  If you have never done pilates you will need to find the most basic prenatal DVD to help you learn the basics.  This will help prevent harm or strain to you and the baby.  Every doctor or midwife should approve some level of work out for every individual; however safe levels will vary depending on the lifestyle of the mother before she became pregnant.  There are a number of different prenatal DVD’s for expecting mothers so it will be possible for you to find the DVD that best suits your level of safe exercise.  Your doctor may even recommend appropriate exercises and they will almost always inform you of the exercises to steer clear from. 

Adequate food, water and energy are extremely important when performing prenatal pilates.  An expecting mother is not only living for herself, but also her unborn baby.  As you exercise you burn calories and loose water through perspiration, however this could be detracting from the proper nutrient intake for your baby.  If you plan on exercising you will need to increase your calorie intake and stay extra hydrated.  While a pilates prenatal DVD is not going to be extremely strenuous you need to pay attention to your body and stop if you feel week, dehydrated or out of energy.  If you are feeling this way then so is your baby.  If your baby becomes malnourished, dehydrated, or out of energy then it places un needed stress upon them.  Babies who become stressed often develop problems within the womb other then malnutrition and dehydration.  

Pilates focuses on a center of gravity in most of your exercises; meaning you must have proper balance.  Every pilates prenatal DVD should be aware that as your baby grows within your body your center of gravity will continuously shift. This shift in your center of gravity will make it difficult to balance so mothers should be cautious when performing exercises that require extensive balance and support.  Even getting up and down off of the floor will be more difficult as your baby grows and develops.  Additionally as your baby grows your body changes and hormones become imbalanced at certain points in the pregnancy.  Your flexibility will decrease and your joints and muscles may become stiff.  It is important that you do not push your body too far to achieve your old level of flexibility. 

As your continue in your pregnancy your abdominal muscles are going to expand and they will not flex or even feel like they use to.  Workout routines in every pilates prenatal DVD should be few and far between.  While some level of workout to these muscles is good over doing it can be greatly damaging to your baby and even permanently damaging to your body.  Some women develop a condition during pregnancy called diatasis where their abdominal muscles begin to separate due to growth of the baby.  This condition is extremely common and not permanent.  However, muscles provide an extra layer of protection to your internal organs and even to your unborn baby.  Because there is a gap in the muscles of your stomach part of your baby remains unprotected.  Women with this condition should not perform any type of abdominal work out because it will further separate the muscles of the abdomen; leaving the unborn child vulnerable.