Pregnancy Pilates in St Albans: A Trimester-by-Trimester Guide | Centred Mums

Pregnancy Pilates: A Trimester-by-Trimester Guide

Your body changes week by week in pregnancy, so your exercise should too. A class that felt perfect at 14 weeks may be wrong for you at 34. That’s why pregnancy Pilates is its own specialism, not a regular class with a few exercises left out.

Here’s how I adapt my pregnancy Pilates classes in St Albans as you move through each trimester, and why.

What’s changing in your body

A few changes shape everything we do:

• Softer joints and ligaments. Hormones including relaxin, progesterone and oestrogen loosen your connective tissue so your pelvis can open for birth.
• Great for birth, less great for stability. Your muscles may tighten to compensate.
• A shifting centre of gravity. As your bump and breasts grow, your lower back tends to arch more, your shoulders round and your feet may flatten.
• More blood, more fluid. Your blood volume rises by around 30 to 40%, which is why swelling, varicose veins and feeling light-headed are common.
• Less room to breathe. As your baby grows, your diaphragm has less space, so we work on breathing wide into your ribs and back.

First trimester (weeks 0 to 12)

The first trimester is often the hardest: nausea, exhaustion and a secret you may not have shared yet. If you already do Pilates and feel well, you can usually carry on with a gentler pace. If you’re new, I ask you to wait until 13 weeks to join just to be on the safe side.

Our focus: breathing, pelvic floor awareness (releasing as well as contracting), posture, foot strength and building stability around your pelvis and spine.

We start to avoid: sit-ups and crunches, lifting both legs together, and long holds such as planks.

Second trimester (weeks 13 to 28)

Most women feel brighter now and it’s the ideal time to start a pregnancy-specific class. As your bump grows, this is also when back pain, pelvic girdle pain and tummy separation first appear for some people.

Our focus: pelvic stability with plenty of side-lying and seated work, standing strength such as squats and lunges, opening the chest and upper back, and awareness of the pelvic floor to help you prepare for birth and postnatal recovery.

We avoid: lying on your front, deep stretching (your joints are already more flexible than they feel), lying on your back for extended periods and anything that makes your tummy dome.

Third trimester (weeks 29 to 40+)

This is the countdown to birth. Energy usually dips, so you might find you want to slow down, do fewer repetitions and take more rests. The emphasis shifts from strength to space, release and confidence.

Our focus: continuing to keep you strong – you need to maintain strength to support you in your postnatal recovery – then we also add in rocking, circling and swaying on all fours and on the birth ball, positions that give your baby room to settle into a good position for birth, breath work that softens and opens the pelvic floor, and upright, forward-leaning positions you can use in labour.

If you remember one thing in labour, make it this: lean forwards. It opens the space in your pelvis more than anything else, which is especially reassuring if you have pelvic girdle pain.

We avoid: deep squats once your baby’s head has engaged, and anything that leaves you breathless.

Every birth plan is welcome

Whether you’re hoping for a home birth, a hypnobirth, an epidural or you’ve got a planned caesarean birth booked, the class should serve you. For an epidural birth, for example, I will teach you some moves that your birth partner can help you with such as lying on your side and mobilising the leg with internal and external rotation (we will practice this in class as it is great for all vaginal birth and wonderful for your pelvic floor too!)

Safety first, always

The best pregnancy exercise leaves you feeling better than when you started. A few simple rules:

• You should be able to hold a conversation throughout (the talk test).
• Keep cool and well hydrated, and eat beforehand.
• Stop and contact your midwife if you notice bleeding, dizziness, chest pain, reduced baby movements, or sudden swelling of your face, hands or feet.
• Tell your teacher about any changes before every class (don’t worry, everyone gets an individual check in with me each week so you don’t have to shout it out to the rest of the session!)

Why Pilates is so good in pregnancy

Alongside walking or swimming for fitness, pregnancy Pilates helps you:

• ease back and pelvic pain by improving posture and stability
• understand your pelvic floor before birth, which supports recovery afterwards
• feel calmer and sleep better through breathing and relaxation
• move with confidence in everyday life and in labour
• meet other local mums-to-be at a similar stage

Here are some of my favourite moves to get your body ready for birth. Make sure you have been cleared to exercise if you decide to try them out and don’t work through any pain. If anything feels uncomfortable – speak to your health professional.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start Pilates if I’ve never done it before? Yes, from 13 weeks with your midwife’s go-ahead. Pregnancy is when many women discover Pilates.

Is pregnancy Pilates safe in the third trimester? Yes, with a specialist teacher who adapts it. You can carry on right up until birth.

Pilates or yoga in pregnancy? Both can be wonderful. I’ve written a separate guide comparing them.

Join my St Albans pregnancy class

My Pregnancy Pilates class runs on Wednesdays at 6pm at St Paul’s Church, St Albans, in term blocks. It’s supportive and tailored to wherever you are in your pregnancy. Book your place on BookWhen, or join from home with my online membership.