With the rapid technological and medical advancements currently taking place, more information on nutrition and exercise is being discovered, including information revolving around pregnancy. Rehana Jawadwala, the founder of MummyYoga, wrote this beautifully written compact edition of ‘Why Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Matter’, where she offers in-depth advice, physician-backed research and tips on how to undergo a healthy pregnancy, labour and postnatal lifestyle.
Jawadwala began her book by speaking with a leading physician about exercise during pregnancy, and discovered that women who are less active during their pregnancy often endure more severe labour than those who maintain a steady physical regiment. This research became the stepping stone for her book, where she further breaks down the physical changes the body undergoes during pregnancy and explains how exercise may be difficult to accomplish but how the benefits are worthwhile. As someone who has never personally experienced pregnancy, I found it extremely interesting to learn how the posture and centre of gravity changes because of how the uterus sits and how this can cause certain muscles to work harder and others to become weakened.
Not only does the author discuss the ways in which the female body changes during pregnancy, but she also gives advice on ways to practice low-risk activities to remain physical. The author emphasises that when performing exercise, one should begin slow, introducing exercise and then working up to a perfected regiment and to stay away from strenuous workouts. She breaks down the best and worst exercises to do, focusing on aerobic and endurance exercises, as well as talking about the different factors that go into exercising: environmental factors, surfaces, and even the type of clothing that can cause restrictions.
What I found most fascinating when reading the book was the pull-quotes from real life mothers who talk about their experiences—what they did and did not do during their pregnancy—in order to connect with the reader and support her claims with factual evidence. I really enjoyed this because it not only allowed me to really understand what the author was talking about, but it brought a sense of witty banter and comic relief to the text.
Exercise and nutrition really gets broken down throughout one of the chapters, showcasing a guide on principles such as high-intensity and low-intensity workouts, vitamin consumption, water consumption, energy requirements, protein needs and eating after a workout. This guide gave incredible examples of what to do and not to do during pregnancy, which I will refer to in the future when I go through my own pregnancy.
One of the main components of this book that I found incredibly useful was the chapter where the author walks the reader through preparing for the physicality of labour. I thought this was an amazing addition to the composition because, as a women, it can be scary to think of labour, let alone actually going through it. There are so many unknowns and I know I would feel more comfortable with as much knowledge as possible of what to expect beforehand.
Jawadwala is an amazing writer who not only gives the reader an insight into the human body during pregnancy but touches on everything to expect during the process, including special occurrences—like diabetes, preeclampsia, and pelvic/lower back pain—what to expect during postnatal life and how what we do now during our pregnancy will affect the next generation and future generations to come. I would highly recommend this book to everybody, including fathers, family members and friends in order to develop a thorough understanding of what the female body is enduring during pregnancy.