Stacy Denney - Fit Mama: A Real-Life Fitness Guide for the New Mom

During the many years Ive spent helping women have babiesand helping them adapt to their new roles after their babies have been bornits been wonderful to see how the concept of prenatal exercise has gained credence within the medical population, and with expectant mothers themselves. Classes seem to have sprung up everywhere, bookstore shelves groan under the weight of the subject, and online communities spend hours discussing it.

However, its always seemed to me that postpartum exercise is viewed as something of a poor relative. There are a handful of excellent books on the subject, but in reality, from a fitness perspective, the postpartum period is a field generally left unexplored and under-promoted. Its a shame because Im certainly convinced of the benefits of postpartum exercisethe women Ive seen whove exercised in the period following the birth of their babies just appeared more relaxed, and more physically able to cope with being a mother. They also seem happier with their bodies. And, as we all know, a happy mom means a happy baby.

For many women (even those who exercised consistently during their pregnancies), the notion of exercising after the birth of their babies is somehow unappealing. Theyre way too busy, way too tired, way too stressedway too everything. This is terribly unfortunate, of course, as exercising regularly, and appropriately, in the weeks and months after the birth of a baby can have amazing effects on the mother, as well as facilitating her burgeoning relationships with her child and her childs other new parent.

Thats why its so gratifying to read Fit Mama, a book that actually stresses the importance of postpartum fitness while acknowledging the undeniable truth that the postpartum period can be grueling and disorienting, and often overwhelming. It also speaks to the fact that, in the real world, new moms dont have a lot of time or energy to plow through complicated routines and lengthy instructions, much less organize childcare and take three hours off to go to the gym every day.

Im an advocate of little and often when it comes to postpartum exercise, of finding manageable exercises that are easy to do and that fit in around all the other things the new mother is doing. Motivation, of course, comes largely from within, but outside factors can help (or hinder). Above all, any exercise program should be enjoyable; at a minimum, that means an exercise routine should be straightforward, it shouldnt take hours to do, and there should be variety in terms of location (indoor and outdoor) and sociability (group or solo) to keep motivation going strong.

And its most important to me, as a health care professional, that any fitness program endorses appropriate exercisesthe right exercise at the right time. For the postpartum woman, its critical that her chosen program spends time and focus on rebuilding the important muscle groups that are weakened during pregnancy and childbirththe abdominals and pelvic floorbefore moving on to aerobic exercises, cardio, yoga, and more.

Having been a postpartum woman myself, I know from personal experience that its also a good idea to introduce some humor into the subject. The birth of a baby is an extraordinarily happy event, but one that has its fair share of tears. Most women experience predictable frustrations, worries, and concernsabout their babies, their parenting skills, and, pretty frequently, their changed bodies. And any book that puts these issues into perspective is definitely worth reading!

Susan Hollander, OB Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Midwife

For many women, pregnancy is the easy bit. Although you may not realize it at the time, theres a virtue in keeping all your mother/baby concerns neatly packaged in one self-supporting unit (your belly). Sure, you feel nauseated, you develop hemorrhoids, and you find it hard to sleep, but assuming that you enjoy a fairly uneventful and healthy pregnancy, your days are filled with nothing more troublesome than a little ice creamrelated heartburn or the discomfort you experience because your arms are too short to stretch over your tummy to your computers keyboard.

But then your baby arrives. And everything changes. Your lifestyle, your schedule, your relationship with your partner, your body. Ah yes, your body. To be fair, your body has been undergoing something of a transformation for the last nine months. However, its not until you give birth to your baby that the full extent of your pregnancy-induced makeover will be revealed.

Right about now, we want to make the point that this is to be expected. Having a baby is a huge physical deal. You cant expect to walk away looking like nothing much happened. But, sadly, not everyone shares our belief. Society puts huge demands on the new mom to stop looking like a new mom and start looking exactly like her old self (fueled, no doubt, by those magazine photos of celebrity moms shaking their pert little booties in their size 2 jeans just weeks after delivery). Sadly, and rather bizarrely, it seems that the cult of the thin and the glamorous extends to new mothers.

In our opinion, theres way too much pressure on the new mom to get back in shape and simply not enough information about how to do it and stay healthy and adapt to all the new stresses of motherhood. And thats why we wrote Fit Mama. Its the happy collaboration of two fairly recently postpartum women, so you just know that we really, really understand exactly what youre going through. To convince you of our credentials on the subject, heres a little more about us and how this book came to be.

In September 2003, Stacy Denney opened Barefoot & Pregnant, a spa, fitness center, and resource center for pregnant women and new mothers in Marin County, Northern California. One year later she gave birth to a rather round baby, Max, after getting rather round herself (at least in the tummy area). As she came down from her postbirth high and the reality of her new body became all too apparent, she congratulated herself on cleverly surrounding herself with the kind of people who selflessly devote themselves to helping postpartum women get fit. But despite being in the business, so to speak, her return to fitness was no faster, and no easier, than any other new mothers.