Becoming a new mum is a wonderful time in your life, but along with it comes significant changes to your body. New mothers in Leicestershire are now being invited along to a free weekly Abdominal Check Clinic held by Birth & Beyond Fitness to assess their core muscles and identify if there are any issues or conditions, so woman can address these earlier rather than later.
Versha Patel, who runs Birth & Beyond Fitness in Leicester, has specialised in pre and post-natal health and fitness for over 4 years and has created classes, group and individual training sessions for pregnant and new mums, providing suitable and safe exercise for these ladies at crucial times of their lives. The classes are held in Clarendon Park, Oadby and Market Harborough will be added in the autumn.
Birth & Beyond Fitness holds the free weekly Ab Check Clinic every Wednesday in Clarendon Park and welcomes any mothers who’ve either had a baby within the last 24 months or even much more, who have concerns over the recovery of their tummy muscles after having children. The clinic can also be of particular benefit to those who have had children quite close together or who have been suffering from mid to lower back pain.
The Ab Clinic is something that is a high priority for Versha as it’s a way of offering advice to those seeking help, “The changes your body goes through before and after birth can affect women in a number of different ways. The Ab Clinic is something that I offer free of charge to any mothers who want to drop in. With the well-publicised strain on NHS resources, the GP’s 6 week check often doesn’t focus as heavily on the mother or abdominal changes as it really should and the Ab Clinic is there to fill this gap for new mums.”
At the Ab Clinic you can expect a full assessment, with a focus on a number of aspects including Abdominal Separation (diastasis recti), what exercise you can do to help and advice on what exercise is suitable for you based on your conditions and where you are in your healing. Also which exercises to avoid. You’ll also receive a postural alignment review, discuss symptoms being experienced like back pain and how to relieve these issues. For those who underwent a C-section there is also advice available on releasing the scar area to assist recovery, as this can often impact posture and overall restoration of the core muscles. Finally, it’s also an opportunity to talk about any other female or birth related concerns you may have, such as pelvic floor.
Versha added, “Becoming a mother is such a wonderful time in your life, however there are many female anatomy changes that are not widely discussed between friends and health professionals, leaving many new mums having concerns over the recovery of their abdominal muscles and pelvic floor. Having had 2 children myself, I know how it feels to come home with baby, not knowing what I could do to help myself and the lack of clarity regarding what abdominal exercises were safe and suitable for a postnatal body. The intention of the clinic is to empower other mums to really get the down low on their body, especially core strength and what they can do to help themselves.”
“Everything covered in the clinic is really important stuff that new mums should be made aware of to help them help themselves. Understanding the conditions and strength of their core muscles is a great starting point to get woman motivated to look at their health after having a baby and is one of the most important parts of the body to recondition after having a baby, even 10 years on. And hopefully steer ladies to do exercises that will reduce chances of future issues like hernias or prolapses, which will be key to their recovery.”
The Birth & Beyond Free Abdominal Check Clinic takes place every Wednesday between 12.45 and 13.30 at The Neve Shalom Building, 24 Avenue Road, Clarendon Park, Leicester, LE2 3EA. All women are welcome and no appointment is necessary. To discuss any concerns or ask any questions before attending please email [email protected].
For further information on all other pre and post-natal fitness classes please visit the Birth & Beyond website.
