ukactive and Sport England have launched a series of work-out sessions called ‘This Mum Moves’ to support pregnant women and new mums after 53% reported they have been less active since the Coronavirus lockdown began.

The collaboration contributes to Sport England’s wider Join the Movement campaign, with ukactive developing a new website showcasing online work-outs for ante-natal and post-natal women to be physically active at home.

This Mum Moves, funded by Sport England and the National Lottery, also provides healthcare professionals with tools and training to deliver clear messages regarding physical activity for pregnant women.

VULNERABLE

Findings from a survey of 326 women (181 pregnant, 145 postnatal) by the Active Pregnancy Foundation, in association with ukactive, show the impact that lockdown is having. It also revealed that 88% of respondents felt that being active helped them to manage their mental health during the outbreak.

Pregnant women have been identified by the Government as a vulnerable group during the pandemic, and Rachel Lawson, Project Manager at ukactive, said: “Working with our partners at Sport England, ukactive is proud to support pregnant women and new mums to stay active at this challenging time by introducing new work-outs specifically for them.

“We hope that this bespoke resource will help more pregnant women and new mums to feel comfortable and confident about trying these activities at home.

“Not only will these work-outs help women to have fun being active while keeping both mother and baby physically healthy, they have the potential to improve mood and wellbeing, which we want to celebrate as part of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.”

ACTIVE

Kate Dale, Campaign Lead on Join The Movement for Sport England, said: “We’re delighted to launch the new resources as part of This Mum Moves with ukactive today, which will help direct women to safe at-home work-outs and activities for their pregnancy and beyond.

“Our Join The Movement campaign is designed to inspire everyone to keep and stay active during the pandemic, and on the website we are curating content that’s specific to certain audiences.

“Often, women can feel unsure about which activities and moves are safe to do and the guidance from This Mum Moves is a way to address these concerns and encourage women to get active in a way that works for them.”

Women are encouraged to share how they are keeping active using the hashtags #ThisMumMoves and #StayInWorkOut.

To find out more, click here.

Pic credit: This Girl Can / Sport England.