As a mother now of 4, I feel like I’ve experienced the ups and downs of pregnancy and postpartum enough times to be open, honest and real about them all. 

They’ve all been very different! As has my mental state before and after pregnancy.

No one ever tells you about the highs and lows having a baby brings. It’s amazing growing this tiny human being but no one really says how difficult and amazing it all is. And it is amazing but it’s also equally challenging. You are sleep deprived, you might be healing and you might be  struggling with the changes that have gone on in your body.

Let me first say, if you haven’t faced any ups and downs in your postpartum/pregnancy journey then you are definitely one of the very few.

Pregnancy is hard, delivering is hard and postpartum is hard. 

Why? Well firstly a lot of it is out of your control. During pregnancy lots of things can happen. You may have a smooth pregnancy and great but like many of us you may not. There are a lot of unknowns and it can be a scary time. Before delivery, no one ever really teaches you the potential issues you may face that can massively affect your mental state.

Exercise in this whole journey is what kept me sane. The consistency of doing something daily, the routine of knowing that was my head time, my me time and my release. As much as it was challenging in those first few weeks and last few weeks it was essential and necessary for me.

Exercise is an essential part of wellbeing and has been proven to benefit you and your baby in several ways. It is safe and can also:

• Relieve tight muscles that can become tightened due to postural changes and hormones in pregnancy
• Drop the risk of developing hypertension and gestational diabetes
• Help keep your pelvis stable
• Help your mental wellbeing
• Keep muscles strong to support joints

It’s ok to also feel very overwhelmed amongst all of this. Childbirth and pregnancy is a lot and it’s fair to say that getting up and exercising may be the hardest challenge amongst all of this.

My advice as a PT if you’re pregnant/postpartum:

• Work within what your body is allowing you to do
• If you’re not up to working out and you do normally that’s ok. Focus on walking or general movement.
• Start steady – there is no pressure

Pregnancy lasts around 40 weeks. It took you that long to grow your little human so don’t expect it to SNAP right back! Look to your exercise for wellbeing and enabling your new bundle to see mama working on herself to be the best version of herself.

If you’re looking to get pregnant, remember exercise is fully safe then too. Get in touch if you have any questions and feel free to download my FREE pre and postpartum packs for more advice.

Natalie Bhangal is a personal trainer who has a passion for health, fitness and strength training. She trains beginners, athletes, pregnant and postnatal women, those with injuries and injury prone clients. For more information email natalie@graftfitness.co.uk