Oh my god I have discovered pregnancy heaven. It was lurking at the bottom of a swimming pool.
I always intended on going swimming but in reality I'm really rubbish at sparking up the motivation. "Later this evening" turns into "later this week" turns into "next week". I know people rave about how great swimming is as pregnancy exercise but in reality I’m just not organised enough to get my arse into gear and into the pool.
I had been actively looking for information on water yoga classes that took place outside of work hours. Basically I am thinking a water birth might be nice and that it might be good to have some tricks up my sleeve in terms of stretching. I'm not the most supple person in the world so I reckon I'll need any help I can get to help get Little One out safely with minimal pain.
I found an advert at the antenatal clinic for ante-natal-aqua-yoga (bit of a mouthfull) and booked myself in. It was a really good class with a range of differently sized bumps! I loved the exercises. They felt so good to do because the water supported my bump and after the class there was usually a chance to have a little swim whilst the teacher took a non-pregnant group for water yoga.
The teacher told me that she also does classes in conjunction with the Children's Centres but that the uptake for these had been poor. She wasn't sure why this was and I think it is a real shame because it really is a lovely way to relax and stretch safely. I don't really know much about the Children's Centres and thought that aside from the parenting and ante natal classes they were a resource only for people with children and babies. I guess you learn something new every day.
Needless to say I am now a regular at the classes and one of my other pregnant friends has started to come with too.
Do you have a question for Anna? If so please email us at Feedback@lwh.nhs.uk or alternatively use the feedback tool at the bottom of this page.