AboutHelene Byrne Expertise I can answer all questions regarding prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise.
I will not answer any questions that are not related to prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise. I will not answer questions regarding getting pregnant, or signs or symtoms, only fitness and exercise during and after pregnancy.
No due dates, medical problems during pregnancy, signs or symtpoms of pregnancy, pregnancy tests, vaginal problems/smells/discharge, periods or ovulation.
Experience Pre-and-Postnatal Exercise Specialist
ACE certified Personal Trainer
Author: "Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best" Book
Author: "Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning" DVD
Founder: BeFit-Mom
Teacher: Post Pregnancy Exercise Workshops
Organizations IDEA Health and Fitness Association
Publications numerous regional parenting magazine
Education/Credentials Dancing Thru Pregnancy, Pre/Post Natal Exercise Specialist Certification 2000
Resist-a-Ball Core Program, 1999
American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1999
Peak Performance, San Francisco, CA, Pilates Instructor Training Program, 1992
Health and Fitness Institute, Cal State Hayward, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1990
American College of Sports Medicine, Group Exercise Leader, 1989
Boston Conservatory, BFA/Dance, 1982
Awards and Honors �Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning�, 2005. Winner of the Platinum Award from the Family Review Center, 2007.
Question I am thirty eight weeks pregnant and am SOOO ready to be a mom. The baby weighs eight pounds already and is very healthy. My husband is leaving out of town July twentieth for work for three weeks and I am due the 27th. I want him to be there for the labor but the doctors do not want to induce me. Will walking alot help me go into labor early because I have walked over a mile every night for two weeks now and nothing has happened.
Answer Walking will provide a lot of health benefits, including increasing circulation, boosting mood, and improving the quality of you sleep (which you should get a lot of now, while you can) but will not induce labor.
The start of labor is due to your body's hormones, and when you are ready, labor will occur. I agree that you should not be induced, unless you have a medical emergency. The longer your baby develops in utero, the better. Full term babies have more mature systems and are easier to care for. Induced labors are much harder on your body too, and have higher rates of complications and interventions.
The last few weeks are the hardest on your body. Like you, I was sooo ready for delivery at the end. Listen to your body's wisdom. If walking makes you feel great, do it, if walking is stressful, then don't.
