In the intricate tapestry of motherhood, Anna Downs stands as a beacon of empowerment and resilience. As a specialist prenatal and postpartum personal trainer, international public speaker, women’s health advocate, and author, Anna’s journey is as inspiring as it is transformative. With a passion for guiding women through the transformative stages of pregnancy and beyond, Anna’s expertise extends far beyond the physical realm, delving deep into the emotional and mental landscapes of motherhood. Join us as we delve into the world of Anna Downs, where strength, support, and solidarity intertwine to redefine the very essence of motherhood.
1: Anna, you are a specialist prenatal & postpartum personal trainer – What does it
entail and what inspired you to pursue this career path?
I think that like many people who find their life purpose, it’s born out of a need to educate, inform and empower yourself when you have experienced challenges in this area. I had two difficult pregnancies and deliveries that left me with a number of physical issues that I struggled to ‘fix’ with the knowledge that I had at the time. I experienced perineal tearing, an episiotomy, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence and a huge Diastasis Recti. I was previously extremely fit and active
and through the process of becoming a mother, found myself in a lot of pain and completely dysfunctional. I embarked on this career path initially as a way to heal my own body and then in the process, discovered that this was my passion and vocation. The current incarnation of my business is helping women in Bangkok, (and globally) prepare for the physical demands of pregnancy, birth and life as a new parent. I host face to face and online assessments and personal training and my team is now also offering group fitness and education training programmes.
2: As a specialist in this field, what are your top tips for women to enjoy a healthy
pregnancy, birth & to ensure your body bounces back quickly?
My top tips for someone preparing for an empowered pregnancy is to find a trusted source of information and learn as much as you can. Surrendering to the depths of google is a scary place for an anxious mind so I highly recommend searching for someone who you know, like and trust and using them as your filter for all the crazy info out there! I always recommend viewing pregnancy, birth and early parenthood as something you’d train for in the same manner as a marathon or a tennis match. You’d never think about rocking up to the start line of a marathon without months of preparation and training, or expecting to win a tennis match without having practiced using a
racket etc. To expect to feel comfortable, confident and pain free during pregnancy,
birth, with no preparation Birth is an athletic endurance event (regardless of the delivery method) and the fitter and stronger you are before the event occurs, the more resilient you will be, making
it easier for you to manage all the other curve balls that may come your way. As a general rule, I find that people who move intentionally during their pregnancy, tend to recover from birth faster than those that don’t. Personally, I hate the turn ‘bounce back’. It implies that you should aspire to ‘return to normal’ after giving birth, but I think that places an enormous and unrealistic amount of pressure on someone who has just grown and birthed a whole human! Our bodies are forever changed by this experience. I believe our focus should be on getting to know this new version of ourselves and making sure we’re strong, functional, resilient and pain free.
3: What are some of the biggest challenges that women are currently facing with
regards to their health, globally, and as an advocate, what do you suggest can be
done to prevent them?
Lack of quality research! For obvious reasons, doctors and scientists do not want to ‘test’ theories on pregnant women so there are very few quantitive studies into the safety of exercise during pregnancy. In the absence of good information, many practitioners will advise abstinence. This can generate an enormous amount of fear and confusion about what is ‘safe and appropriate’. I am happy to say that there are some incredible studies being undertaken at the moment into subjects such as high intensity exercise and lifting heavy weights during pregnancy, but it will take a while for
their application to trickle down through the conventional medical system.
4: As an individual who specialises in women's health, which medical systems or
facilities do you believe are the most optimal for giving birth?
Whichever one you feel most comfortable and safest using! There are many pros and cons for home birth, midwife-led facilities and hospitals. They all come with their own set of risks and rewards and what is right for one birther, may not suit another. The important thing is that the birther makes an informed choice.
5: What is your go to pre and postpartum exercises that you recommend the most?
This is a hard one to answer because there is no one size fits all when it comes to
exercises in pregnancy and postpartum. What suits someone might be completely
unsuitable to another.
In essence, as long as there is no impact or fall risk of any contraindications to
exercise, any kind of movement in pregnancy is better than no movement and the
best kind is the one you actually do!
This being said, in my sessions with clients, I like to plan around the following
principles:
1. Breathing Strategies
How we breathe has an enormous impact on our core and pelvic floor, two areas
that go through enormous and necessary changes during this life phase. If we
can ensure good breath synergy between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor, we
are much more likely to have good function.
2. Postural Awareness
Our posture changes exponentially during pregnancy in order to accommodate
the growth of a WHOLE NEW HUMAN inside our bodies. It is such an incredible
phenomenon but it can cause a few areas of tension and pain. Understanding
these necessary changes allows us to then apply thoughtful strategies to ensure
we can manage and even avoid pain and discomfort. I love analysing someone’s
posture and then building exercises into their training programme to help
strengthen or release the areas most affected by these changes.
3. Motherhood Movement Patterns
Training during pregnancy has many benefits for the health of both mum and
growing baby but it is also important to look beyond D-Day. The moment you give
birth, for the foreseeable future, you will be holding, rocking, carrying, nursing a
baby, and they only get heavier! This puts an enormous strain on your upper
back, neck and shoulders. You will also be repetitively getting up and down from
the floor and lifting heavy things such as car seats and strollers. We need to train
for this! We need to know how to safely lift weight while our core is compromised
and healing and so an analysis into motherhood movement patterns allows us to
build an intelligent and effective training programme.
6: As a woman who has experienced medical traumas in areas specific to the female
body, how did you manage to overcome these challenges? What guidance would
you offer to other women who have undergone surgical procedures in their
reproductive systems?
In the past 10 years I’ve experienced an aggressive cervical cancer diagnosis, a pelvic organ prolapse repair and an emergency removal of a twisted, ruptured ovary.
My surgeries were performed laparoscopically, trans vaginally and then through
open abdominal surgery so I’ve had the full Monty! They each presented their own
set of challenges in recovery.
My advice would be, if you have the option;
- To do your research. Being informed is empowering.
- Find out what your options are.
- Seek a second opinion. You deserve to enter this process feeling 100%
comfortable with your medical team. No question should be unanswered or
shrugged off.
- Book yourself in with a counsellor. This will not only help you manage any
issues you find yourself getting stuck on but it will also take the pressure off
your loved ones (who will also be feeling anxious and worried).
- Whatever recovery time you are given by your medical team, add half the
amount of time on again.
- Give yourself grace. There is no fixed limit on your healing time. You may be
physically healed to outward appearances but coming to terms with the
trauma of major surgery, general anaesthetic and a change in sense of self
can take much longer to come to terms with.
7: As a female founder & director at ‘Move Well with Anna’ what do you offer and
what challenges have you faced along the way as a female founder?
For me, the biggest challenge has been finding balance; balance between home life,
parenting and running a successful, profitable business. When I feel passionately
about something, I tend to throw myself in 100% and struggle with maintaining
balance and not edging towards burn out. I’ve always had to work hard for what I
want and this is proving a difficult pattern to break! I’ve actually had to timetable rest
into my weekly schedule, otherwise I’ll just keep going until I drop! I also count myself
extremely lucky that my wonderful husband (of 20 years) is incredibly supportive of
my entrepreneurial journey, offering both emotional support and sharing the mental
load of parenting, but also practically. For me, this level of support has been essential for my success. The drag of the mental load is enormous for many female founders who are also juggling parenthood. I also feel incredibly frustrated that anything to do with pregnancy and postpartum is
considered a ‘niche’. How is this a thing! 51% of the world’s population are women
and 85% of those will become parents so in my opinion, that is as far away from
being a niche as possible. When something is considered, a niche there is limited
funding, research and awareness AND my industry is poorly regulated and saturated
with diet/bounce back culture.
I have found that there is a growing awareness amongst women looking for a more
informed and empowered journey into parenthood but there is very little appetite for
'allyship' from men, and that is where we really need to be changing attitudes. At the
moment, we’re still preaching to the choir!
8: What would you say are the hardest parts of being pregnant & what advice would
give to women looking to get pregnant at an older age?
For me it was losing my sense of self. Everything changed; my body, my emotions,
my career, my relationships (family, partner and friends). It was not necessarily all
negative but it was a lot of change in a short period of time. My advice to anyone
looking to become pregnant now would be to focus on things in your control; your
exercise, your knowledge, your support system, your birth plan, your nutrition, your
career path/maternity plan. Speak to a coach, doula, counsellor. Knowledge is
power!
9: What are the different types of birthing plans (ways to give birth) and what would
you recommend the most?
There are two ways to deliver. The first is vaginally and the second is abdominally
via C-section. There are advantages and disadvantages to each and it is impossible
to recommend one over the other.
One thing I would say however is that a C-section is major surgery. It is definitely not
an ‘easy’ option and entering parenthood while healing from this kind of surgery is
challenging. As with any other major surgery, it takes 8-12 weeks to recover from the
immediate physicality of this operation, so that is something to bear in mind when
making your birth plan.
If you are planning a vaginal delivery, I always recommend entering the process with
a trained and experienced Doula. Having someone by your side, to guide you
through the process is incredibly empowering and it can help you navigate this
process with as little stress and anxiety as possible. I’m not sure of the exact
statistics but evidence points towards vaginal births with a doula having less need for
unwanted intervention or resulting in C-sections. Something to bear in mind….
10: What’s the best nutritional advice you would give women before, during & after their pregnancies?
Unfortunately, this falls outside of my scope of practice. I would usually refer clients
with dietary questions to a specialist dietitian or nutritional therapist.
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