Happy new year! For the busy mums and mums-to-be out there Shine is delighted to share some great news about FREE  workout programs that have launched for 2023 with ‘Counch to Fitness’ via Our Parks.

A new nationwide survey conducted by This Girl Can and Sport England shows that:

• 86% of pregnant and/or new mothers say that they would like access to a physical activity or exercise programme designed specifically for pregnant women/new mums, including over 9 in 10 (91%) of those currently pregnant.
• 72% of new mothers say they are unsure how to take part in physical activity or exercise safely after giving birth.
• Four in five (78%) pregnant/post-natal women report it is hard to find exercise classes or activities that meet their needs while pregnant/ as a new mum.
• Over 4 in 5 (82%) pregnant and/or new mothers say they would feel safer doing physical activity or exercise that was led by an instructor with a specific pre or post-natal exercise qualification.

Free online fitness platform Couch to Fitness aims to break down these barriers and make movement more accessible to all with a series of brand-new pre and postnatal exercise programmes targeted at helping pregnant women and new mums to maintain active lives.

Developed by Our Parks with the help of National Lottery funding, the programmes are the first of their kind and have been designed by qualified pre and postnatal expert instructors specifically for new and expectant mothers.

Led by the latest insights from the This Girl Can campaign, the 6-week online programmes enable women to safely move at their own pace, from the comfort of their homes, regardless of where they live or their income. The workouts have also been endorsed by the Active Pregnancy Foundation, the leading national charity for supporting women to stay active throughout pregnancy and beyond.

The FREE high-quality on-demand programmes include yoga, pilates and low-intensity workouts suitable for all abilities and aimed at improving mobility and increasing movement, with a pre-exercise screening process to ensure the programmes are suitable for the intended audiences.

These programmes are the latest addition to the widely successful Couch to Fitness platform which was launched by Our Parks in 2020 and now has over 150k users.

Desta Sawyerr, a new mum taking part in the Post-natal programme said: “I loved that I could do this programme at my own pace, and comfort level. It contributed to my healing process and I’m glad I did it!”

“After months of research and development working in partnership with leading organisations to innovate, we’re excited to launch our pre and postnatal workout programmes on the Couch To Fitness platform. A tremendous amount of work has gone into making them appropriate, accessible and inspiring to give women the confidence to be active during and after pregnancy.” Born Barikor, Founder, Our Parks

“Navigating an active motherhood can be really challenging. Not knowing where to start, what exercises you can or can’t do, or who you can trust to help you work out safely, means that many women are missing out on the associated physical and mental health benefits. The Couch to Fitness Pre- and Postnatal Programmes help break down these barriers and makes exercise programmes more accessible. We are delighted to announce these new programmes as the first to receive our official endorsement!”  Dr. Marlize De Vivo, The Active Pregnancy Foundation

“This Girl Can is thrilled to have supported Couch to Fitness to create a resource to support women during these major life stages as part of our mission to empower women to be active in a way that works for them.” Claire Edwards, Head of Campaign Activation at This Girl Can

Being active during pregnancy:

• Improves cardiovascular fitness
• Reduces risk of high blood pressure
• Helps prevent gestational diabetes
• Improves sleep
• Great for your mental health

Being active after childbirth:

• Great for your mood
• Improves cardiovascular fitness
• Improves sleep
• Reduces worry & depression

“Physical activity confers many health benefits including a decreased risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, delivery complications and postnatal depression and fewer newborn complications.”^[2]

“Depression, pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes are reduced by 40–67% without increasing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.”^[3]