Mat Pilates during pregnancy: what really helps

Most women with an uncomplicated pregnancy can exercise — and should. Worrying that exercise might harm the baby is common and understandable. The guidelines, however, say the opposite: regular moderate activity is recommended during pregnancy, not discouraged.

That does not apply to everyone. A pregnancy your doctor is monitoring as high-risk is a different matter, and the decision is theirs — not an article on a website.

Pilates works with breathing, the deep abdominal muscles, the pelvic floor and posture. As it happens, these are exactly the areas pregnancy puts under the most strain.

As your bump grows, your centre of gravity shifts forward and your spine compensates — which is where most lower-back pain comes from. Focused work on posture and the core spreads that load more evenly.

The pelvic floor is the second piece. Pilates teaches you not only to engage it but also to release it — and being able to release it during birth matters just as much as being able to contract it.

What Pilates is not: birth preparation or treatment. It does not guarantee an easier birth, it does not prevent diastasis recti, and it does not replace physiotherapy if you already have problems that need attention. The guidelines also recommend aerobic activity — walking, swimming — and Pilates is no substitute for that.

This is Mat Pilates — exercise on a mat, in a room at normal temperature. Not Hot Pilates. Our Hot classes take place in a room heated to up to 40 °C, and we do not accept pregnant women in them at all.

Groups have a maximum of six clients and each class lasts 55 minutes. The pace is calm. It is not about who does the most repetitions — the goal is for you to leave pleasantly tired, not exhausted.

Some exercises you may know from regular Pilates are left out of this class. This mainly concerns lying on your front, lying on your back for long periods later in pregnancy, intensive work on the rectus abdominis and deep stretching. You will find the full list and the reasons in our Pregnancy information.

Feel free to tell your instructor if something doesn't feel right or if you simply aren't feeling yourself that day. That is a normal part of the class, not an interruption.

We do not require a doctor's note. The client questionnaire you complete when booking is enough, just as before any other class.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't talk to your doctor. If they have advised you not to exercise or to limit it, their word applies. And if you are unsure, ask them — it is a one-line question at your antenatal appointment.

There are conditions in which you should not exercise during pregnancy — for example placenta praevia after 28 weeks, pre-eclampsia or unexplained bleeding. Most of them are identified during antenatal care, so if any of them applies to you, you almost certainly know about it. The full list is in our Pregnancy information — please read it before your first class.

We will say it plainly: our instructors are not physiotherapists, nor are they specialists in pregnancy and childbirth. They are qualified Pilates instructors who are familiar with how prenatal classes should be run and plan each class accordingly.

We are being this open because online you will find courses promising professional birth preparation. What we promise is a calm, safely led class in a small group — and that is something different.

If you are looking for specialist pelvic floor care, birth preparation or help with specific problems, that is the job of a physiotherapist who specialises in pregnancy. Our group class does not replace that. You are welcome to do both.

Class type

Pregnancy Mat Pilates

Duration

55 minutes

Group size

maximum 6 clients

Price

same as our other classes

Passes

regular passes apply

Doctor's note

not required

Questionnaire

completed when booking

This class is designed for pregnancy. The postnatal period has different needs that this class does not address — if you have recently given birth, get in touch and we will help you work out what makes sense.

Before your first class, please read our Pregnancy information. It explains when not to come to class, when to stop exercising and what to tell us.