ukactive and Sport England have launched a series of This Mum Moves workouts to support pregnant women and new mums to be physically active at home, after 53% reported they have been less active since the Coronavirus lockdown.
As part of a collaboration between ukactive’s This Mum Moves programme and Sport England’s Join the Movement campaign, ukactive has developed a new website showcasing online workouts, reviewed by a panel of experts, for antenatal and postnatal women. This Mum Moves, funded by Sport England and the National Lottery, aims to support pregnant women and new mums to stay active, by providing healthcare professionals with tools and training to deliver clear, consistent, and confident messages regarding physical activity.
Guidance by the UK Chief Medical Officers recommends accumulating at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity every week and engaging in muscle strengthening activities twice per week throughout pregnancy – citing benefits from helping to reduce blood pressure problems, to improved sleep and mood, control of weight gain, and prevention of diabetes in pregnancy.
With pregnant women identified by the Government as a vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic, the This Mum Moves workouts aim to help them, and new mums, continue to benefit from being physically active while at home – using engaging, free or low-cost content.
The content and providers have been reviewed by a group of experts collaborating for This Mum Moves – including representatives from the Institute of Health Visiting, the Pelvic Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapists (POGP) network, fitness and exercise professionals, and academics from Canterbury Christ Church University and Aston University with expertise in pregnancy, postpartum period and physical activity.
The panel of experts will review content periodically so that the high-quality content can grow over time, with users encouraged to comment to help shape the site.
The new workouts form part of the wider Join the Movement #StayInWorkOut campaign, which Sport England launched to inspire the nation to get, or keep, active during the Coronavirus pandemic. The campaign website stayinworkout.org hosts home workouts for a variety of audiences including parents and children, older adults and more – including This Mum Moves.
Women are encouraged to share how they are keeping active using the hashtags #ThisMumMoves and #StayInWorkOut
To find out more visit www.babybuddyapp.co.uk/this-mum-moves-active-at-home
