Stephanie Outlaw, 31, lives in East London and is the head of ecommerce marketing for a fashion retailer. She is married to Alex, the co-founder of a men’s online fashion company, and has a six-month-old daughter, Olivia.
Before getting pregnant, I worked out six days a week. Some days were intense cardio, some Pilates. Rather than do exercise to fit into a jeans size, I did it because I loved it.
Because I’d had a miscarriage previously, I was very nervous during the first trimester of my pregnancy and did no exercise. I felt low –without it, I’d lost part of my identity.
After my 12-week scan, I sought advice from doctors who said it was fine to exercise. I signed up to prenatal classes and started going three times a week, and my confidence came back. The workouts focused on areas such as arms and buttocks and weren’t very intense. It
was a totally different mindset to what I was used to, in that everyone wanted to get bigger (rather than smaller) because a growing waistline meant a growing baby!
graduated from prenatal to postnatal classes. It’s up to you whether you bring your child or not. When Olivia was younger, she slept through the classes, but now if she starts fussing, I pick her up and use her instead of a resistance band.
She seems to enjoy it! If a mother has never done any exercise before, taking the time to go to classes and meeting other mums is great. It’s more than saying “hi”; it’s women going through what you’re going through.
I always thought that working out while pregnant may lead to miscarriage, it’s amazing how it’s totally the opposite!