Navigating the Regulations in Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness

certification pregactive news prenatal exercise
 

Regulation of the Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Industry

I have been teaching prenatal and postpartum fitness classes for the past 15 years along with yoga, fitness and Pilates classes to the general population. But did you know that there is no formal regulation or requirements for trainers when teaching pregnant women? That's very scary and needs to change!

For me, I have degrees in exercises science, i'm qualified in yoga, Pilates and I have studied prenatal and postpartum fitness. So what I know now, and what I have learned the past 15 years; I find it incredibly dangerous to have a trainer be teaching these classes without any formal training.

From guidelines on exercise during pregnancy to postnatal recovery programs, understanding the rules and regulations is crucial for both fitness professionals and expecting mothers.

Join us as we discuss the importance of safety and compliance in this specialized field, and learn how to navigate the various regulations to ensure a safe and effective fitness journey for moms-to-be and new mothers.

Online Prenatal and Postpartum Video Sites

There has been an explosion in websites advertising a huge library of workout videos for pregnant women and new mamas. In checking out these workouts I see some alarming exercises and workouts being taught by instructors who have little knowledge in what exercises are dangerous to pregnant women.

Doing exercises on your back. High ballistic and bounding exercises. High contact movements. Positions requiring extreme balance. Over-exertion raising your body temperature. You name it, I've seen it.

Let's Change That!

It starts by you doing your due diligence and asking your instructor some vital questions before joining their class. Do you have formal training in training pregnant women? Are you qualified in yoga or Pilates? How many years have you taught prenatal and postpartum classes?

Did you know that in the United States, anyone can call themselves a personal trainer - even if they have no specialised training, experience, or certification? So, you may have someone teaching your prenatal class who isn't even a qualified PT. 

Check out our Prenatal Exercise Specialist Course >

Why We Need Certified Prenatal and Postpartum Trainers

Being pregnant is one of the most life-changing and challenging times in a woman's life.

And we need a governing body to uphold prenatal and postnatal professionals to quality standards and continuing education. At the moment there is no government agency designated to ensure that prenatal and postpartum fitness professionals are doing more good than harm.

At PregActive - We are Making it Our Mission for the Safety of ALL Women

At PregActive, we know that formal education and training is required if you are going to teach fitness classes. I recently had an amazing group of qualified health professionals join me in one of my all-day training sessions on prenatal fitness training.

They were already highly educated health professionals from personal trainers, physio's, yoga and Pilates instructors who all wanted to improve their knowledge and understanding on prenatal fitness.

This is what we want. More trainers seeking the required information to ensure they are qualified to train pregnant women.

The Level of Education and Training is Up to the Individual Trainer

How you choose to regulate yourself as a prenatal and postpartum fitness instructor is currently completely up to you! For some, this is an easy option to do nothing. But this is not acceptable if you are the pregnant client or are a new mama with diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction or one of many other body changes requiring specialized help.

Would you take financial advice from someone with no formal financial education? Would you take your car to get serviced with someone who has no formal training as a mechanic? Of course not. AND nor should you put your health, or that of your growing baby, in the hands of an untrained prenatal fitness instructor.

So Do We Wait for Wait for Government Regulation?

No, as we do not know when this will occur. So here at PregActive we are being proactive by complementing our 'in-studio' training course with an online course so more trainers around the world can become more empowered with the knowledge they need to safely train pregnant women.

So is your prenatal instructor a PregActive trained specialist?

Every trainer who goes through our online course will enter the real world with the knowledge they need. And with more qualified prenatal fitness trainers, the more pregnant women will be able to get the required training they deserve.

The Leader in Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness

For many years, PregActive has been the leader, both online and in-studio, for prenatal and postpartum fitness. We are more than one - we are a team of dedicated health and fitness professionals who share the common goal to ensure women safely exercise when pregnant and as new mamas.

Mama - This is for YOU!

Please ask the right questions of your class instructor. Are they qualified? Are they experienced? Do they have any formal training in prenatal fitness?

If you choose to get your workouts online or from an pregnancy fitness APP - please make sure every class and workout you do is appropriate for you and your current stage of pregnancy. Don't be sold on sites offering thousands of workouts or videos from a plethora of unknown instructors.

Your health and wellbeing is of paramount importance to both you and your baby!

Are You Looking for a Rewarding New Career?