Break Out Session:
Ante- and post-natal training
Facilitated by Silvia Fratelli - Founding member and joint Artistic Director of international circus and street performance theatre company, Mimbre
Introduction:
As circus training has become more main stream and the demography of performers has become wider, there are increasingly more questions asked about pregnancy and circus training.
What is currently known about circus training in pregnancy is mostly from anecdotal stories rather than research-based evidence and most of the times, as circus performers, we feel that we have to rely on an intuitive process of listening and being in tune with our own bodies to judge if and how much to train during and after pregnancy.
Although this is true to a certain extent, the fact that circus performers are used to pushing themselves to the limit, and might not perceive pain and fatigue in the same way as their non-athlete counterparts, can lead to lots of doubts, fears and possible damages to the mother and baby.
The need of more awareness of the considerations which should be looked at during pregnancy when training circus, lead to this discussion group.
Dance UK have started researching into antenatal and pre-natal training and performing, however there is no official information for acrobats and performers in the circus sector (where variations include being upside down for long periods).
This report is a written version of the open discussion that took place at the Symposium and is by no means intended as guidelines, recommendations or advice for pregnant or post-natal circus performers.
The main issues raised during this discussion were:
§ How long should performers work into their pregnancy?
§ How long should performers wait to get back into work after giving birth?
§ What resources are available for support and information?
Discussion:
What support was available/ important when starting training again?
- Support from Pilates teacher, Physiotherapist and Acupuncturist who all knew the performer’s (Silvia) body before and during the pregnancy was very helpful.
Silvia waited 6 weeks before starting gentle Pilates and then 6 months before starting full training.
- Silvia felt better in training post-natal, more in tune with her body and that her muscles were more relaxed and therefore worked better.
Thoughts on antenatal training in preparation for pregnancy:
- By being at a high level of fitness pre-pregnancy, it allows the individual’s body to maintain a higher level of fitness if the individual has to stop training or requires long periods of bed rest during the pregnancy, and as such, it will be easier to return to training and pre-pregnancy levels of fitness post-natal.
Thoughts on antenatal training:
- During her first pregnancy, this performer continued with Pilates, but did no aerials.
She continued performing physical theatre up to 7 ½ months, when pelvic girdle pain prevented her from continuing to perform.
- However, during her third pregnancy, pelvic girdle pain started at 16 weeks due to increased hypermobility from previous pregnancies. There was also an increase in bladder infections as bladder curves out of normal position during pregnancy.
- This performer found that high impact fitness diverted uterine blood flow to muscles instead which lead to hemorrhaging. One third of the uterus lining came away. Fortunately the baby was unharmed, but this lead to bed rest.
- Studies have been made with runners during pregnancy that show vascularization of the placenta is higher in fitter people. The baby becomes used to the elevated heart rate through running and therefore suffers less stress with the elevated heart rate during labour.
However, runners are operating on one plane of movement. There is some suggestion that perhaps by operating on more than one plane of movement, dancers, yoga practitioners, aerialists and circus performers are more vulnerable in their pregnancy due to their increased range of movement.
- One contributor shared her experience of a fitness program for pregnancy in Canada, which revealed that there could be a ‘wall of fear’ for people training to work with pregnant women. The recommendation from this fitness program was to maintain whatever fitness and training routine was normal for the individual. It is possible that as your body is used to your individual training routine, it might go through withdrawal physically and emotionally if the routine is reduced dramatically or stopped altogether.
Thoughts on training during the 1st trimester:
- This is the period of fetal development, and as such, is considered the time most vulnerable for impact on developmental changes to the baby and for miscarriage (specifically the first 6 weeks).
- One participant commented on a heightened sense of feeling and awareness in her body during the first trimester. As such, some participants reduced or stopped training during this period (especially when effected by nausea or back pain), but then recommenced training after the first trimester when they felt better physically and more established in their pregnancy.
- Other participants found that training during the first trimester helped to combat nausea and vomiting.
- Gary Carter of Natural Bodies, Brighton, suggests that our anatomy has evolved from primates and therefore hanging and swinging can be positive in pregnancy. The lengthening can help create space when organs are being compressed by the developing pregnancy, and expanding the ribs can help with heartburn.
- An aerialist contributor to the discussion had a positive experience with continuing training throughout pregnancy, and found she had an easier birth with a large baby.
Labour experience:
- Some have had a positive experience of labour due to higher levels of fitness and stronger muscle control.
- Stronger heart muscles can work well with the increased blood supply and circulation needed during pregnancy, so being cardiovascul fit helps.
- Conversely, others expressed that the very high levels of tightness and muscle control can be counter-intuitive for pushing during labour for dancers, Pilates, yoga practitioners and circus performers and could possibly contribute to challenges during labour.
Hypermobility in physical performers:
- Performance physician student Emily Prior-Willeard is investigating the link between hypermobility and creative performers under Professor Howard Bird.
Genetic linkages include
§ 15 times more likely to suffer from panic attacks and depression
§ Lax ligaments and relaxed muscles can lead to easier labour
§ More relaxed sphincters and hypermobile blood vessels can lead to pooling
§ Bruises occur more easily due to more permeability of blood vessels
Psychological and Emotional Factors:
- An unexpected consequence of pregnancy is that a change in hormone levels during pregnancy can impact on day to day emotional states, which in turn can influence the performer’s ability/ desire to train and perform.
- Another psychological effect noticeable in performers has been ignoring pain as part of the pride in performing. This trait can have the potential to cause problems during pregnancy if training and performing continues at the expense of the health of the performer or their baby.
- There is also an emotional need that has been acknowledged as a creative outlet for performers. Compromising this need during pregnancy by stopping training and/or performing can lead to emotional discomfort or distress for the performer.
Recommended sources:
- Ina May Gaskin – Birth Story http://inamay.com
- Lucy Field – blog https://dancemama.wordpress.com
- Irene Cioni – website and forum for performing artists http://www.mumsonstage.com
- http://mesplease.com/portfolio/motherhood/
Related articles:
- Exercise in pregnancy:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/statements/statement-no-4.pdf
- Advice for mothers to be and new mothers, Fit and safe to exercise in the childbearing year
http://www.csp.org.uk/sites/files/csp/secure/pogp-fsmums.pdf
- Effects of exercise on diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle in the antenatal and postnatal periods: a systematic review:
http://www.physiotherapyjournal.com/article/S0031-9406(13)00083-7/pdf
Further action:
- Facilitating the creation of a community of performers who can talk and share experiences and information, as it is generally hard to get advice. This could be done via podcasts, online forums and further round table discussions.
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