Bedrest Fitness
Mamas on Bedrest: Reverse the Effects of Bedrest Now!
September 12th, 2011I just love validation. Scientists have found that in otherwise healthy and exercising individuals, just 9 days of bed rest resulted in insulin resistance and altered more than 4,500 genes within skeletal muscle. And while the study was done on healthy young men, the results are easily extrapolated onto women, especially women placed on prescribed bed rest during their pregnancies. Ladies, let’s get moving and reverse the effects of bed rest-now!
So just what is insulin resistance? Insulin resistance occurs when the insulin our bodies produces is no long able to effectively bring insulin into our cells or energy. As a result, our blood sugar levels go up and we become what some people call “pre-diabetic”. This insulin resistance is also a precursor to Metabolic Syndrome, a syndrome in which we develop central obesity and any two of the following symptoms:
- Elevated Triglycerides >150 mg/dL
- Low HDL (Good Cholesterol) <40 mg/dL in men, <50mg/dL in women
- Elevated Blood Pressure: SBP (top number) >130 or DBP (lower number) >85 mmHg
- Elevated Fasting Blood Sugar >100mg/dL
- Body Mass Index (BMI) >30kg/m2
Now many may argue that this is not the case with pregnant women. They may be “fat” around their waists but have a human growing inside of them! I agree. However, a woman who develops insulin resistance during her pregnancy may well maintain insulin resistance after the pregnancy. According to researchers, even after the young men began exercising again, 4 weeks after their sedentary stint, the changes to their insulin sensitivity and gene expression were only partially normalized. The authors of the study concluded,
“The Lack of complete normalization of changes after four weeks of exercise retraining underscores the importance of maintaining a minimum of daily physical exercise.”
Now many Mamas on Bedrest may be saying to yourself, “That’s all well and good, but I can’t increase my daily exercise. I can’t park further from the store and walk or take the stairs. “
Don’t fret, we have a solution, at least a partial solution for you. We have taken our best selling Bedrest Fitness DVD and made it a live class! You can see a few samples of Bedrest Fitness on our Youtube Channel. However, we are offering a free demo Bedrest Fitness class on September 28, 2011 at 9:15 am CT. This class will broadcast live from your computer. I’ll see you and you’ll see me! All you’ll need is an internet connection, a webcam and the login information. If you are interested, send an e-mail to info@mamasonbedrest.com and I’ll send you the login information. Join in and try it out. You’ll be doing your body a HUGE service!
I’m so looking forward to seeing you all! Let’s get started reversing the effects of bed rest now!
I want to hear from you! What do you think about being on bed rest and the changes your body is going through? What are your specific concerns and how can I help you? Tell me here in the comment sections.
Want to know what Mamas on Bedrest is up to? Follow us on Twitter, @mamasonbedrest. You can also “like us” on our Facebook page.
Reference:
“Insulin Resistance-Not Just for People with Diabetes?” By Stella L. Volpe, Ph.D, RD, LDN, FACSM. ACSM Certified News. October-December 2010. Volume 20 Pages 5-6.
Mamas on Bedrest: Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway Reviews Updated Recommendations for Exercise During Pregnancy
June 28th, 2011
The post below was written by one of my idols and mentors, Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway. Dr. Burke-Galloway is an OB/GYN who practiced for years providing care to high risk pregnant women. She is now a nationally recognized patient advocate, a legal expert in cases involving high risk obstetrics and Medical Malpractice and is the author of The Smart Mother’s Guide to a Better Pregnancy. In this post from her blog, she reviews ACOG’s Guidelines for exercise during pregnancy.
Exercise while pregnant has always been a controversial issue. The days of of “eating for two” to justify inappropriate eating habits is passé. Nine years ago, The American Congress of Obstetrician-Gynecologists published guidelines regarding exercise and pregnancy. Essentially they recommended 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise each day for pregnant women in the absence of medical or obstetrical complications. The Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommendations for an “active lifestyle” does not exclude pregnancy.
In the June 2011 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Gerald Zavorsky, Ph.D and Lawrence D. Longo, MD, wrote an excellent article on exercise and pregnancy. They recommend exercise intensity that increases the heart rate to at least 60% of its maximum capacity during pregnancy to reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Other recommendations for pregnant women are as follows:
• Pregnant women aged 18 to 45 may do 8 to 10 muscular strength exercises for one to two sessions per week on nonconsecutive days. One aerobic training session can be replaced by a muscle strengthening session in the weight room or at home
• Use lighter weights and more repetitions. If you usually perform leg presses with 35 lb for 8 to 12 repetitions, try 20lb for 15 to 20 reps.
• Avoid walking lunges because they may rise the risk of injury to connective tissue in the pelvic area
• Be careful with free weights because they may involve the risk of hitting the abdomen. Use resistance bands instead that offer different amounts of resistance and varied ways o do weight training and should pose minimal risk to the abdomen
• Try not to lift while flat on your back. In the second and third trimesters, lying on your back may cause the uterus to compress a major vein that could limit oxygen received by the fetus
• Zavorsky and Longo recommend that you listen to your body. If you feel muscle strain or excessive fatigue, modify the moves and reduce the frequency of the workouts. “Pregnancy is not the time to perform heavy weight lifting.” Instead, they should do muscle strengthening exercises according to the prescribed guidelines because it will burn calories and increase the resting metabolic rate.”
As always, please consult your physician or healthcare provider prior to starting an exercise program and remember, a healthy pregnancy doesn’t just happen. It takes a smart mother who knows what to do.
While Dr. Burke-Galloway’s post is directed towards women having uncomplicated pregnancies, once again I want to reiterate that Mamas on Bedrest need to ”exercise” as well.
OB’s and Midwives emphasize the benefits of weight management, maintenance of cardiovascular endurance, maintenance of muscle strength and tone as well as a decrease in the overall aches and pains of pregnancy as the main reasons women should engage in regular prenatal exercise. Secondarily, they emphasize exercise as a way to ward off Gestational Diabetes and possibly Gestational Hypertension which may lead to pre-eclampsia. All of these benefits of prenatal exercise are even more important to mamas on bed rest, women who are at increased risk of these complications (if the don’t already have them!).
Very few OB’s recommend specific exercises for women on bed rest. For that specific reason I developed Bedrest Fitness. It is a simple yet effective set of exercises that women can do while in bed. I also want to add that women on bed rest should regularly stretch, I recommend hourly, to maintain circulation and to decrease the risk of developing bed sores as well as blood clots in the legs.
As Dr. Burke-Galloway stresses, always check with your health care provider before starting any sort of prenatal exercise program. If ysou have questions about exercise while on bed rest, send an e-mail to info@mamasonbedrest.com. And for those interested in more structured and supervised exercise for women on bed rest, join us this fall for online Bedrest Fitness Classes! Details and registration will be available soon!
LIsten to the Mamas on Bedrest Podcast Interview with Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway Here.
Mamas on Bedrest: 1st Time Mamas over 45 Can Expect Complications
April 19th, 2011Being an older mama myself, I am always a bit sensitive when I see reports indicating the problems and complications associated with being an older mama. So when I read this Reuter’s Health Report on Medscape my heart went out to older women desiring to and having children.
I want to add that while this report states that pregnancy is more risky for older moms, in this case, having their first child over the age of 45, it’s not impossible. Even if a woman is not able to carry her own child, there are surrogates (women who will donate an egg to a pregnancy and then carry the pregnancy) as well as gestational hosts (women who will carry a child for a couple) and adoption. Older women can have the children their hearts desire.
The study was conducted in Israel and found that pregnancy and childbirth in Israeli women over age 45 has nearly tripled over the last decade. The study looked at 131 mothers ranging in age from 45 to 65 who gave birth between 2004 and 2008. Forty percent developed gestational diabetes and 20% had preeclampsia. One third of the babies were born prematurely and nearly all were delivered by cesarean section. All but 5 of the women had become pregnant with assisted reproductive technologies.
Why is it so much more difficult to have a child, especially a first child, over that age of 45? First and foremost there are the physiological changes going on with a woman. If a woman has never been pregnant, the quality and number of eggs that her ovaries will produce will be lowered. At 45 years old many women are approaching menopause and their bodies are responding to hormonal fluctuations. In particular, she may have uterine changes such that she is unable to sustain a pregnancy. Women are also at risk of having developed hypertension and Type II diabetes by age 45. Researchers in this study recommend counseling against pregnancy if an older woman already has a pre-existing condition.
While the researchers acknowledged the increased risk to older mothers and their babies (increased risk of being born prematurely, at a lower birth weight, requiring intensive care in NICU and having developmental problems) they did not make being over age 45 and absolute contraindication to attempting pregnancy.
I can attest to the fact that the older you are having children, the more risk there is to you and your baby. My first pregnancy at age 35 ended in miscarriage. The second was high risk, fraught with complications and resulted in my daughter being born at 36 weeks and 6 days at 5 lbs 3 oz. I miscarried my 3rd pregnancy at age 38 and had my son, my 4th and last pregnancy at 40 yrs and 4 months. So I was not as old as the women in the study in Israel yet did experience more complications than women say 5-10 years younger than I was at each age. If I had it all to do over again, would I? Absolutely, but I have to admit that I would do it a lot smarter.
Before each pregnancy I would engage in a 3 month pre-conception “conditioning program” where I’d take exquisite care of myself; priming my body with exceptional herbs and supplements, getting lots of rest, making sure that I was at ideal body weight for my height and that I was fibroid free. In preparation for complications, I’d have a support system in place-either my mother, mother in law or friends in the community at the ready and available to assist me with my activities (especially with my second/fourth pregnancy with my son where I had a 3 1/2 year old to take care of as well).
As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. I didn’t do any of these things, but I made it my mission to do for other women what I did not do for myself and hence Bedrest Fitness and Mamas on Bedrest & Beyond were created. If you are an older woman and have decided to pursue pregnancy, we would love to support you in your endeavors. So that we can assist you to plan your pregnancy and (hopefully ) avoid bed rest or at the very least, minimize the trauma/drama, sign up for a Complimentary 30 minute Bedrest Breakthrough Session. We’ll go over potential pitfalls of being an older pregnant mama and offer tips to minimize them.To schedule, send an e-mail to info@mamasonbedrest.com.
While complications are expected the older a mama is having her babies, they aren’t mandatory and they don’t have to be horrendous. As researchers in the Israeli study pointed out, “Starting motherhood at an advanced age may carry risks, but they’re not prohibitive risks. People of all ages are interested in having a child and completing their families.”
Bedrest Coach Darline Turner-Lee had her daughter at age 37 and son at age 40.
