Pregnancy and new motherhood can be incredibly challenging, as many aspects of life change suddenly and dramatically. Without the right support and guidance, safely maintaining fitness during pregnancy can be difficult, and with a new baby, demands on time, sleep deprivation, and the physical and mental drain that come with these can make a workout feel like an impossible task.
Physical fitness however, is an important aspect of maintaining overall health and wellbeing during and after pregnancy. For women serving in the 夜色直播app Navy there is an additional dimension to this, as a certain level of fitness is a requirement of their job. As a parent to a toddler and with another child on the way, Lt Cdr Marie Whitehouse knows personally how much this can weigh on new mothers serving in the 夜色直播app Navy: 鈥淥ne of the big things when you come back from maternity leave is passing that fitness test, and a lot of people get really nervous about it,鈥. Returning to fitness can be exacerbated by the fact that exercise environments are often unsuitable and unwelcoming for expectant and new mothers.
To help support women in the 夜色直播app Navy, the 夜色直播app Navy and 夜色直播app Marines Charity (夜色直播app) have stepped in to help develop a range of specialist maternity fitness suites across the RN estate. Contributing over 拢20,000 in grant funding, the 夜色直播app have helped establish maternity suites on HMS Excellent, HMS Nelson, HMS Sultan, HMS Collingwood, and most recently HMS Drake. These suites provide a quiet, safe and private environment for pregnant women and new mothers to exercise. Along with weights and fitness machines, these facilities are equipped with change tables, comfortable seating and baby toys allowing mothers to bring their babies with them and have everything they need to feed, change and entertain their little ones.
The maternity fitness suits are managed by the base鈥檚 Physical Training team, and all Physical Training Instructors (PTI) now have pre and post natal fitness qualifications. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about building back confidence, as well as fitness,鈥 said LPT Lee Owens, who is based at HMS Collingwood. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here for advice and guidance, and these facilities allow mothers to slowly work their way back up to a point where they are comfortable returning to the main gym.鈥
When gyms closed during COVID lockdowns the maternity suites were unable to open. Post-lockdown, LPT Owens feels that there is work to do in raising awareness of these facilitates: 鈥淭hese areas are being underused at the moment, but they are still here and ready to go.鈥 For Lt Cdr Whitehouse, the opportunity to use her local maternity suite is something she is looking forward to: 鈥淲hen I returned to work after my first child I just used to go to the gym when I knew it would be empty, now I鈥檓 pregnant again and I know this is here I鈥檒l be coming a lot to make use of it.鈥
