Pregnancy and Postpartum Wellness Coaching
Empowering moms through exercise, Nutrition and overall Well-being
I want to reach & teach as many Moms about the importance of strengthening their core through exercise & nutrition in a gradual safe way before and after having a baby. My goal is for Moms to not only have a stronger core so they don't have to worry about incontinence when they sneeze or run after their kids, but also to teach them functional exercise to make them stronger in their everyday lives, such as lifting their baby or kids, car seat, shopping etc. without causing damage to their backs. This in turn will hopefully empower them to believe & reach whatever long-term goal they may have.
Pregnancy and Postpartum Wellness Coaching helps you prepare for and create the best opportunity for a positive pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience, and also acts as a safe and supportive container to help guide and support you through one of the most transformative, challenging, and happiest periods of your life.
ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Justin. One of the reasons I created Milestone Wellness was a desire to empower women before, during and after pregnancy. As a Pre & Postnatal Fitness Specialist and a Health Coach, I strive to provide women with empowering tools to help support your pregnancy, empower you during birth, prevent common pregnancy-related issues such as Diastasis Recti, Pelvic Floor Incontinence, and Prolapse.
I get asked all the time, Why & How did you get into pregnancy exercise? I suppose the extreme amount of curiosity exists because I don’t yet have children and I haven’t experienced life as a pregnant woman.
I always pause, never knowing how to truly answer this question. That’s probably because there isn’t just one answer. It started with recognizing a need, a need to create a change in the way women birthed babies. I saw FEAR, fear was prevalent everywhere….when women would talk about giving birth, the conversations almost always started with “I’m so scared of the pain” or “I just don’t know how anyone gives birth naturally”. This frightened me, it made me sad and quite frankly I knew that something could be done to change the way women saw their births.
I have always been active, for as long as I can remember, physical activity has been a huge part of my everyday life. I played every sport that was available to me, soccer, basketball, track, skiing, and karate. I wasn’t always the best at these sports but every single season of every single school year you would find me on a field, court or dojo. And if it were summer, you’d find me either at a boy scout camp, hiking, camping or canoeing down a river. And I loved every second of it. I’ve been skydiving and always enjoy a good rush of thrill and excitement.
Being at the stage of life I am now, I see an increasing number of friends and family getting married and then going through different stages of pregnancy. How they coped during each trimester, the waves of good days & bad days and even how they healed post-birth. What I didn’t see was any type of preparation for the time spent in labor (other than a few books here & there). I started thinking WHY are these women not training for this sometimes 12+/– hour event where they will ultimately push a human being out of their vagina. I started researching, trying to find a training course that focused on preparing women for birth. I was stunned and happy to know that there are many courses available, I immediately enrolled in a training course and couldn’t wait to begin soaking up everything that was given to me. Little did I know at the time, but this consumption of knowledge would catapult me into a complete career change, something that would take over my life in the most beautiful way, something that would fuel a passion of mine that began with a simple question. Why aren’t women training for birth?
So here I sit, with more passion running through my body than I ever expected. I’m on a mission, a mission to change the way women live out their pregnancies, starting with the preconception stage and ending once the core has healed from this ever-changing, soul experience called pregnancy.
I believe that if women want to change the way they are currently birthing their children into this world, then something has to happen, to change. My gift to this cause is movement & exercise, body awareness, and ultimately a method that prepares women all over the world to step into their pregnancies & births more prepared and empowered on a level they never expected. Trusting the experience and their strength to dig deep, breathe, push through and sometimes just be. In the end, feeling stronger and more able to birth their children without the need for medical interventions because they were made to do this and they don’t need the help of anyone other than the human life that’s been living inside of them for 9 months.
My postpartum goal is easing Moms back into exercise & functional movement even if they have never worked out before. Showing & teaching them the path that exercise & nutrition can help so much in the postnatal period with not just healing the body but keeping a healthy mind also.
Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness
What is Pregnancy and Postpartum wellness coaching?
Working together I will provide you with attentive emotional support, reflection, and guidance as you traverse and prepare for the ups and downs of pregnancy and postpartum. Additionally, we will creatively and systematically address all aspects of your life that most influence your pregnancy, birth and postpartum experiences. We will work from the “inside out” and “outside in” to address all of the factors (i.e. emotional, physical, and logistical) that most influence the quality of your pregnancy, birth and family’s postpartum transition.
While this work aims to create the best opportunity for a positive experience and outcome, it also supports you to build your strength, flexibility and resiliency. This way you have the resources, tools and support available to process and heal, no matter what challenges you may face along the way.
With all of this in mind, we will develop plans and strategies and troubleshoot challenges so that we can best meet your needs.
Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness
Prenatal Fitness
It is now well-proven that women who exercise during pregnancy experience better pregnancies, easier deliveries, and healthier babies. Even better, if you use this precious time to align your body using corrective exercise, you set yourself up to emerge stronger than ever after delivery, and more than capable of handling life with your new little one.
For most women, labor and delivery will be the single most grueling physical and mental event of their lives. Childbirth is far longer and more taxing than running a marathon, yet most women don’t train for labor physically or mentally.
If you’d like a coach to help you begin or enhance your training, Milestone Wellness offers fitness exercise coaching who know how to assess the prenatal body, and to select safe exercises to get you going or to complement the exercise you’re already doing.
It’s a one-time, necessary investment in your own health as well as the health of your baby. See for yourself...
Exercise during pregnancy has been research-proven to substantially help YOUR BABY:
- Increase the health and intelligence of your baby while making making your little one “easy to care for”
- Improve nutrient and waste exchange via improved placenta function
- Reduce fetal interventions (like forceps, vacuum, in-utero surgery)
- Reduce fetal-affected complications (like bleeding, ectopic pregnancies, miscarriage, hypertension, intrauterine growth restrictions, infections, diabetes, and low amniotic fluid)
- Reduced likelihood of macrosomia (Excessive birth weight baby)
Exercise during pregnancy has been research-proven to substantially help you during YOUR PREGNANCY:
- Fewer pregnancy discomforts (like weakness, lack of stamina, increased immunity and energy)
- Avoid Diastasis Recti (separation of the abdomen), saggy skin and stretch marks after delivery
- Less weight gain
Exercise during pregnancy has been research-proven to substantially help you during YOUR LABOR:
- 33% less time spent in labor
- 35% decrease in need for pain relief (less need for drugs like epidurals)
- 50% decrease in need to artificially rupture the membranes
- 50% decrease in need to induce or stimulate labor (less need for drugs like Pitocin)
- 50% decrease in need to intervene due to abnormalities in fetal heart rate (these include low heart rate in the baby, presence of meconium, cord entanglement)
- 55% decrease in need for episiotomy (surgical cut into the vagina during labor)
- 75% decrease in exhaustion during labor
- 75% decrease in need for operative intervention (including major surgery like C-section)
Corrective Exercise during pregnancy has been shown to improve the outcome of common prenatal challenges like:
- Diastasis Recti (Separation of abdominal wall)
- Hernia
- Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction
- Pregnancy Related Lower Back Pain
- Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction
- Sciatica
- Piriformis syndrome
- Urinary Incontinence
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Vaginal Tearing during childbirth
- Reducing stage two labor (reduces time spent pushing)
- Reduce stretch marks and saggy skin postpartum
"The greatest benefits to mother and fetus are attained by doing some type of weight-bearing exercise...A strength-training workout should be performed two to three times per week."
Postpartum Fitness
Delivering a baby (or two or three) can change a woman’s body, for better or for worse. For example, one of the world’s more advanced nations in postpartum care is France, where they offer every woman 10 to 20 sessions to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor and abdominal wall. This is offered in order to prevent things like urinary incontinence and diastasis recti (the splitting of the abdominal wall muscles). Unfortunately, some modern nations - including the United States - do not yet offer a standard of care to help mom bounce back fast.
New moms often have to figure it out on their own, in the midst of juggling their newborn and multiple other demands in our busy lives. Not many moms will be coached how to reconnect their bodies properly. Some women go back to doing what they did before pregnancy. This is a great start, but inner core muscle function of the Diaphragm, Pelvic Floor, and Transverse Abdominis change dramatically during pregnancy, and most often need a solid reactivation postpartum (And that’s assuming that these core muscles were working optimally prior to and during pregnancy).
Many postpartum women could use a Pre & Post Natal Fitness Specialist for several reasons:
- To set a solid inner core foundation for bouncing back stronger than ever.
- To specifically rehabilitate after a C-section, Episiotomy, or Vaginal Tearing.
- Reconnecting any abdominal separation (diastasis recti) that may have occurred during pregnancy.
- To make sure you practice making the time for YOU amidst your new life.
Milestone Wellness recommends all postpartum women to invest at least one month to set a new foundation for their bodies. My methods span from the most gentle and appropriate exercises that should be performed only a few days postpartum, progressing all the way to months and years postpartum.
It’s a one-time investment in your wellness so that you can be the powerful mom you are meant to be: chasing kids, letting them jump on you, being pain-free, looking and feeling your best. See for yourself...
Exercise postpartum has been research-proven to substantially help YOU:
- Decrease chance of postpartum depression
- Return to pre-pregnancy weight faster
- Re-establish proper posture, alignment and muscle balance
- Build strength for holding infant
- Reduce aches and pains
- Remove toxins
- Increase self-esteem and give back a sense of control
- Reduce stress
- Prevent Incontinence
- Prevent Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Corrective Exercise has been shown to help rehabilitate:
- C-section
- Episiotomy & Vaginal Tearing
- Diastasis Recti (separation of the abdominal wall)
- Urinary Incontinence
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Pelvic Girdle Pains like: Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction, Sciatica, Disc Herniation, Piriformis Syndrome, and more
- Lower back pain
- Upper trapezius “neck” tension from breastfeeding
- Other aches and pains from musculoskeletal imbalances
All Moms must have sign off from their doctor to return to exercise and we would recommend 6 weeks post natural birth and 8 to 10 weeks post c-section.
I'm your support, your coach, and your healthy-living-ally
Pregnancy is one of the most profound, intimate and thrilling seasons of your life. I'm here to support your journey through all 4 trimesters and beyond. You owe it to yourself, and to your baby to live your happiest, healthiest life through fitness & strategic even JOYFUL nutrition and lifestyle habits.
The work we'll do together is an expert-designed approach to prenatal and postnatal fitness. You'll feel seriously empowered and energized for the most exciting adventure of your life.
Reframing Your Expecting Mindset
So many women aren’t sure what is best and safe to do when it comes to moving their pregnant, evolving bodies. Some women out of fear, choose instead to do nothing, which is a huge disservice to themselves and their unborn babies.
Each trimester has its owns needs!
Many people will tell you to stop doing ab exercises from Day 1, or that you shouldn't let your heart rate go above a certain number, but that's where most programs fall short. There are many misconceptions that I will go over with you in this program to put you at ease during your workouts. As you enter each trimester, we will introduce new exercises and options for you to stay comfortable and efficient from workout to workout. And rest assured, I am holding your hand throughout your entire journey.
Overall Approach
We want moms to feel proud of their bodies instead of feeling hateful and negative toward them. Too many postnatal coaches focus on the idea of 'getting your body back,’ but in reality, your body hasn’t gone anywhere — it has been there with you the whole time, doing beautiful things, creating a life.”
Milestone Wellness also focuses on mindset and the importance of “me” time. Motherhood is intense, and it’s easy to lose your identity.
Tailored made workouts are adaptable for your ever-changing body — as well as flexible and realistic. So they are designed to be interchangeable, time efficient that could be done either at home or in the gym.
A lot of coaches tell you to eat six meals a day, but for women who have kids and who work, that isn’t realistic or sustainable. I teach members how to create a meal plan that fits their lives and not the other way around.
New moms and moms-to-be need support, and to that end, I am personally available to every member of my community.