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A MAID

the Poise

Moms-To-Be
Labor At Exercise

JACK WILLIAMS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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76

inner thigh to facilitate delivery.
"I also like to prepare women's
quadriceps if they want to try (de-
livery from) a squatting position
without medication," Scarborough
said.
"We do a lot of upper-arm and
shoulder work to support the lac-
tating muscles - and to help
women lift their babies. It's about
one-half aerobics, the other half
stretching and strengthening,
with a relaxation component as
well, over the period of an hour."
Four to six weeks after a vaginal
delivery (eight weeks in the case
of a Caesarean), women-usually
are ready to join a postpartum
class.
Among the exercis-
es prescribed: body
curls to tone the inter-
nal abdominals and
oblique muscles. Legs
will be emphasized in
one class; other areas,
such as the stomach,
hips and arms, in oth-
ers.
Scarborough incor-
porates 1- to 8-pound
hand weights in her classes, along
with resistance bands for strength-
ening and toning.
"The safest exercise for any-
body six to eight months preg-
nant is swimming," she said.
"The worst is anything with
heavy bouncing: horseback rid-
ing, snow or water skiing or jog-
ging.
"Some women can jog during
their pregnancies, even run
marathons, but at some point
they're much better of walldng."
Because of increased joint lax-
ity during pregnancy, the risk of
injury is enhanced. "Different hor-
mones come into play that relax
the joints, organs and intestines,"
Scarborough said. -
"So we work on the correct way
of getting up and down from the
floor and picking things up of the
floor."
After delivery, exercise can ac-
celerate weight loss as well as pro-
mote fitness.
But there's no sure thing in par-
ing pounds. A study conducted
within the last few years at Case
Western Reserve University found
that women who were breast-feed-
ing their infants and who exer-
cised didn't drop weight any faster
than those who didn't work out.
In any case, breast-feeding
mothers should never diet. They
need an extra 300 to 500 calories
daily to produce an adequate sup-
ply of milk.
"Don't diet," Scarborough ad-
vised, "but bring in exercise as a
means of toning up."

Some
regain
fitness
levels in
6-9 weeks.

♦ RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
AND PROGRAMS

Amer
ptical

he exercise guidelines for
pregnant women and new
moms aren't quite identical
twins. But basically, the
messages are the same: Baby your
body.
Stacey Scarborough, a San
Diego childbirth educator and fit-
ness pro, puts it this way: ..
"You can work harder postpar-
tum by going a little higher on
what we call perceived rate of ex-
ertion. But make sure you're not
overdoing it.
• "It may take seven to nine
months, after your baby starts to
crawl, before you have time to de-
vote to a more intense exercise
program."
Some new mothers,
however, can regain
their fitness levels with-
in six to nine weeks of
delivery, provided they
have the opportunity,
Scarborough said.
Scarborough, a 39-
year-old mother of
three, is the founder of
a 3-year-old business
called Beautiful. Begin-
nings that includes a team of five
childbirth educators.
One of its major components is
exercise, both prenatal and post-
- partum, which Scarborough
teaches. While the classes focus
on aerobic conditioning, toning
and flexibility, Scarborough re-
cently added another dimension:
endurance walking, with or with-
out baby carriages.
While the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists
has established general guidelines
for prenatal and postpartum ex-
ercise, they're subject to variation.
"It used to be that heart rate
shouldn't exceed 140 beats per
minute," said Scarborough, who
is certified by the American Coun-
cil of Exercise. "If I'm working with
someone who has not exercised
before in a low-impact aerobics
program, I will have them moni-
tor their heart rate.
"But we find many women are
in such great shape that the rate
of perceived exertion is a better
guideline. We usually use a scale
of 1 to 10, with some going up to 6
or 7 as they work themselves back
into aerobic shape."
For pregnant women, the ob-
oe is to prepare for labor, Scar-
borough said.
"We're trying to build en-
durance and activate stress-re-
lieving hormones, endorphins,
that help throughout labor."
Emphasis also is placed on ton-
ing and stretching muscles of the

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Jack Williams writes for Copley
News Service.

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