Kung Fu and Having Babies
An Article about Instructor Kerry's experiences of Training during Pregnancy and with Young Children
by FWC Instructor Kerry Schulz
I have had two babies in the last three years and as a kung fu instructor I have been frequently asked whether I was able to train whilst being pregnant, breastfeeding and after. I have therefore decided to write about the benefits of training while having children.
This article may be of interest to those women who have been training in the martial arts and have been keeping physically fit before getting pregnant ? I think it is not a good idea to start with any new training regime in the martial arts once you have fallen pregnant. The article also gives insight into some of the benefits of kung fu training before, during and after giving birth.
When you are expecting a baby and you have always been training regularly, one of the first questions is, whether you will be able to continue your training. I think it is a very personal matter and you really need to decide yourself how you feel about it.
You really need to know your own body and listen to it and if you have any doubts and concerns you should always talk to your teacher and consult a doctor.
It is important that you tell your teacher as soon as you find out that you are pregnant, so he or she can advise you straight away, if they think it is a good idea that you continue training and, if yes, which exercises you should not do.
I personally have had two normal pregnancies and have not had any problems conceiving or had any miscarriages and it was very important to me to keep going with my normal life as much as possible and keep as active as I could.
I always felt that pregnancy is not an illness and that it would help me to stay as active as possible.
FIRST BABY
When I was pregnant for the first time with my son Alexander, I was advised by my teacher not to do any hard style training for the first three months, as I needed to make sure that the pregnancy was well established before doing any more rigorous training.
In the first three months I was able to practice Suang Yang (our White Crane Soft Style) and after the first three months I was able to join in with a normal class again ? including kicking etc.
One of the first things I noticed changing whilst training was that my stomach muscles stopped working as well. Your body tells you what it does not want you to do, i.e. doing press-ups or the plank exercise (which we practice a lot in class) starts to feel awkward because they use a lot of internal muscles.
Then, from about 28 weeks of pregnancy, my teacher told me not to do any more kicking because the pregnancy hormones make your hip joints loosen which could result in you doing damage to your hips.
Also as I was getting bigger, I needed to learn to adjust to the new weight distribution of my body, i.e. having a big belly as you need to make sure you do not lose your balance and fall.
When exercising whilst pregnant I found that this would generally lull the baby to sleep so baby movements tended not to distract me.
In terms of clothing you need to make sure that throughout the pregnancy and breastfeeding you are wearing a good supporting bra!
I was lucky because training in our club you do not even need new training clothes, as our uniform is perfectly designed ? t-shirt and traditional Chinese trousers, which you can adjust around your growing waist!
After having Alexander it took me a while to get back to training. I found the birth extremely painful. This may be one of the disadvantages of training hard - your internal muscles become very strong and it therefore may be more painful to give birth.
An infection and the lack of sleep that motherhood involves made me feel very tired after the birth of Alexander and I started back training after about four or five months.
I breastfed Alexander for 10 months. This did not interfere with training, i.e. did not interfere with milk supply or made milk ?sour? ? but I did have to wear two bras on top of each other to make sure I had enough support!
PREGNANT AGAIN?
I fell pregnant with my second baby, Maya, about 20 months after giving birth to Alexander.
This time, I trained in our hard style and soft style classes throughout the pregnancy but adjusted certain things in class ? for example I did not do any of the breathing in our patterns.
As my pregnancy progressed, my body was telling me that I had to cut down on certain exercises, e.g. I started doing press-ups from my knees instead of my feet. I could not do any fast sit-ups but only slow crunches. I slowed down my kicks and eventually only kicked up to hip-height as the bump got in the way.
This time around, I started training Kung Fu again after the 6-week check, i.e. after approximately six weeks after birth, but I still have to adjust certain movements in my training. For example I do not practice the breathing in the patterns. I will not be doing any high kicking for 6 months as the joints in your hips are still very loose after giving birth and kicks can potentially damage them.
I put on the same amount of weight (about 15kgs) each time I was pregnant and have felt sorry for people who carry this amount of extra weight around on a permanent basis. It does put a lot of strain on your body and makes moving around so much harder work. It has motivated me to keep off weight and hopefully never become that overweight?
Keeping training during pregnancy and after giving birth made me feel like I was continuing with my normal life and to feel that I was my own person. It also allowed me to get back into shape. I never had to diet to lose the weight gained during my pregnancy with Alexander and having had Maya three and a half months ago, I am working at losing the last few extra pounds gained this time around.
I lost a lot of muscle tone and strength when pregnant and especially the stomach muscles so I will be working to get that back. It is a new challenge to find the time to train and have two kids but that is all part of kung fu I guess.
I have to conclude that having had two babies and having made friends with a lot of mums, I think it is good for a mother to do exercise and train for the following reasons:
Training for one thing is time doing an activity for yourself and keeps your body and mind working and keeps you sane.
Training makes and keeps you fit for the pregnancy, which is physically demanding, and fit to eventually run around with your child.
It keeps your weight down and your appetite under control during pregnancy.
Training keeps depression away.
Training makes you fit for labour and Suang Yang teaches you to be aware of breath and focus, which is also good for labour.
The stretching in Suang Yang is good for stress relief and helps to relieve tensing up.
Training whilst being pregnant is also good for your Kung Fu as you need to concentrate on technique a lot more as you cannot use brute force.
Training is good for weight loss after giving birth.
Training is also good for toning the pelvic floor muscles after giving birth.
Also you are going to be a positive role model for your children if you keep fit and healthy training.
For all of these reasons I recommend continuing training in the martial arts while pregnant, breastfeeding and after but it is vital that you do so with the guidance of a good teacher and should you have any concerns at all make sure you talk to your teacher and doctor about them.