Flowing into Motherhood: Pregnancy & Aqua fitness
Pregnancy and postpartum recovery can change how someone moves, feels, and experiences exercise — but that doesn’t mean fitness has to stop. In fact, the aquatic environment can provide a uniquely supportive space to stay active, build strength, manage changing physical demands, and simply take a little time for yourself.
If you missed our Q3 SQUAD meeting, we invited Haylley Pittam, Co-Founder of AREA, to dive deep into the importance of prenatal and postnatal aquatic fitness, sharing practical insights instructors can use to better understand, support, and train participants through every stage of the journey.
S'WET™ Instructors can rewatch the entire presentation now on the Quarterly Tab on their Instructor Portal! Here are some of the biggest takeaways from that conversation.
Meeting Participants Where They Are
One of the most useful messages for instructors was that pregnancy does not automatically mean a participant needs an extremely gentle workout.
Some pregnant participants may still want a challenging workout, while others may need a much lower-intensity experience. The aquatic environment allows instructors to adjust speed, intensity, range of motion, rest, and resistance to the individual.
Appropriately designed HIIT-style aquatic training can also be an option during pregnancy, depending on the individual and their circumstances. The key is not assuming that every pregnant participant has the same capabilities or goals.
Haylley also discussed observable postural changes instructors may notice as pregnancy progresses, including changes in pelvic position, lumbar curvature, head and shoulder alignment, gait, and foot position. These visual cues can help instructors better understand what a participant may be experiencing and adapt movements accordingly.
Preparing the Body for Birth — and Beyond!
Haylley's presentation reframes prenatal fitness as more than simply “staying active.”
Pregnancy and childbirth place substantial demands on the body, so maintaining appropriate cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, endurance, mobility, and body awareness can help participants prepare for those demands.
Hyalley highlighted diastasis recti — separation of the large front abdominal muscles along the middle line of the stomach — and the importance of understanding the changes occurring in the abdominal wall during and after pregnancy.
We also tackled the needs with postpartum fitness with an introduction to her postnatal programming which intentionally focuses on the mother rather than combining the mother’s workout with a baby-focused class.
Haylley's reasoning was compelling: new mothers often have very little time that belongs entirely to them. Providing an hour in which the participant can concentrate on herself, her movement, and her recovery can be extremely valuable.
Return-to-pool timing after birth should account for the type of delivery, healing, complications, wounds or stitches, and medical guidance. The discussion emphasized that instructors should not treat postpartum recovery as one-size-fits-all.
An Opportunity for Aquatic Fitness Professionals
Beyond the physical benefits, Haylley challenged instructors and facilities to consider prenatal and postnatal aquatic fitness as an underserved population and potential gateway into long-term aquatic exercise.
Someone may initially enter the pool because she is pregnant, continue through postpartum recovery, and ultimately remain an aquatic fitness participant for years.
For facilities and instructors, that creates an opportunity to broaden programming, reach a new demographic, build stronger community relationships, and introduce more people to the benefits of aquatic exercise.
Haylley offers Prenatal and Postnatal Aqua Education programs, which each include 17 hours of online learning, assessments, lesson planning, and practical video submissions. Use code SWET26 for a special S’WET™ community discount!
Free downloadable flyers:
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