Curse of the Personal Trainer

Reading my weekly mags there are the usual articles on celebs trying to lose their baby weight. Coleen has been doing it since her baby was born in October. Danni and Denise are already stressing about it even though their babies haven't even been born yet! One line in the Coleen article did worry me. Her trainer Elise Lindsay says 'Coleen is most proud of how she looked on the cover of her (2006) fitness DVD....,but I want her to look even better'. So not only is Coleen probably putting pressure on herself she is getting it from external sources as well.

I don't know who these personal trainers are or what their qualifications are but I do think that they have unrealistic expectations of these mums. Pregnancy places a huge demand on a woman's body and it takes 9 months for all the changes to take place to allow the baby to develop and grow and for mum to birth the baby.

Women's health physiotherapists don't recommend anything other than pelvic floor exercises for 6 weeks following a natural birth and to wait 10-12 weeks if you've had a caesarean. The hormones released during pregnancy have a major effect on slackening the ligaments of the spine as well so doing to much too soon can easily result in post-partum back problems. A lot of my own spinal caseload has been women who have had problems with their backs since having children and I'm sometimes seeing these ladies 18 years later.

The other aspect that is concerning is that new mother's look at these celebs and think that they should be embarking on some kind of super trendy exercise regime. The early months when you bring baby home are tiring and emotional and your body is slowly trying to come to terms with having given birth. New mother's should not feel bad about putting exercise on the back burner for a short while and concentrate on watching their baby grow and thrive. These first months pass so quickly and babies change so much. Why exchange time with your beloved newborn for sessions with a personal trainer?