“Postnatal Exercise Expert” What Does That Mean?

“Pregnancy & Postnatal Exercise Expert, Wendy Powell“. Having been quoted as such as few times *bows* I was thinking about what it really meant.

I really enjoyed hosting a pregnancy / postnatal exercise & nutrition live Q&A on babyexpert.com today! Questions included pelvic floor & post c -section tummy worries (‘is it EVER coming back?!’), as well as PCOS pre-conception fitness concerns & pregnancy weight control with diabetes.

Other experts asked to host chats on babyexpert.com include Zita West, the fertility guru, & so I was flattered to be in such great company! But it also got me thinking about the term ‘expert’, how it is used so sparingly (especially on the web) & the responsibility that goes with that label.

Pregnancy & postnatal exercise concerns often simply do not seem to be answered succinctly by the ubiquitous pregnancy ‘bibles’ (mine was Yehudi Gordon which I swore by!… what was yours?), or even by doctors & midwives. This is perfectly reasonable since none of these are specifically focussed on that subject matter. Your doctor & midwife are of course utterly fundamental to your wellbeing & safety during pregnancy & birth, but they’re not necessarily up to date or experts in the latest exercise research.

As a pregnancy & postnatal exercise specialist & personal trainer, I need to be very clear about my boundaries. My MuTu System licensed team & I NEVER cross the line into giving medical or obstetric advice. We’re not childbirth or parenting experts, we’re not antenatal teachers or trained counsellors.

I do know quite a lot about childbirth (especially when it goes off childbirth plan :-0), a little (very little!) about parenting, a fair amount about breastfeeding (my wisdom here goes thus : stick it out for 3 weeks & it stops hurting) & hopefully am pretty experienced & knowledgeable when dealing with the hormonal rollercoaster of pregnancy & motherhood…

…My point being, I know about as much, & as little,  as every other mother out there.

I am very clear however about my ‘expert’ status.

My expertise is in physical exercise throughout pregnancy & beyond – for fitness, strength, fat loss, flexibility, core & postural restoration, as well as alleviating pain & discomfort. I have a sound technical knowledge of, and & can advise on, optimum nutrition for pregnancy, breastfeeding & postnatal weight control. I developed the MuTu System after 10 years of putting mums’ midsections back together.

General guidelines are a good starting point, but fears about exercise causing miscarriage;  ‘how much weight gain is too much?’;  ‘how long will it take to lose it?’; ‘how hard, how often & for how long should I exercise?’; exercise to make pregnancy, SPD & back ache more comfortable & controlling weight gain in pregnancy are all clearly still big concerns.

These are the questions I can answer. There are many ‘experts’ that will assist with your health & well being during pregnancy & motherhood, & my ares of expertise is very clearly defined. I won’t tell you how to give birth to, parent or feed your children, & I go to the doctor when something hurts. “Know your limits” as Harry Enfield used to say (showing my age there!)