Fit Pros Can Help Women With Postpartum Fatigue
A supervised, 8-week exercise program significantly improved energy levels.
A review study highlights another opportunity for fit pros: helping women reduce feelings of extreme tiredness in the postpartum period. In a review of seven studies that reported the effects of exercise on pregnancy and postpartum fatigue, Jilin University researchers in Changchun, People’s Republic of China, found that for women with postpartum fatigue, a supervised 8-week exercise program significantly reduced fatigue when compared with no exercise or exercise without supervision. Since many women experience exhaustion after pregnancy, this is a chance for fitness professionals to offer beneficial evidence-based programs.
Find the study in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology (2020; 253, 285–95).
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA
Shirley Eichenberger-Archer, JD, MA, is an internationally acknowledged integrative health and mindfulness specialist, best-selling author of 16 fitness and wellness books translated into multiple languages and sold worldwide, award-winning health journalist, contributing editor to Fitness Journal, media spokesperson, and IDEA's 2008 Fitness Instructor of the Year. She's a 25-year industry veteran and former health and fitness educator at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who has served on multiple industry committees and co-authored trade books and manuals for ACE, ACSM and YMCA of the USA. She has appeared on TV worldwide and was a featured trainer on America's Next Top Model.
