Pole dancing while being pregnant

You may wonder if it is possible to pole dance while being pregnant, we have interviewed Loa Koalita to know how she has experienced it.

First of all, what are the main advices you would give?

I'd rather talk about my own experience than give advice, as we all start out with different facilities and difficulties, and our bodies will react differently to pregnancy! Then it's up to each person to get personalized information from their health professionals.

Personally, I found that pole dance brought me great benefits during pregnancy, in terms of well-being, flexibility and power. I also practiced pre-natal pilates, yoga, walking, swimming and did self-massage using Blackroll balls.

Generally speaking, health professionals recommend that you continue to do sport if you were doing it before, adapting it as necessary, to avoid back pain in particular. During the last 3 weeks of my pregnancy, I could hardly sit down because it would generate pain in my back and a loss of sensitivity in my skin (pinched nerve). So moving is important and it might be when you feel the best! 😊

Another common fear is the risk of tearing the perineum during childbirth. Already very muscular, I had been recommended not to muscle it further but to massage it from the 36/37th week.

Finally, even if it seems obvious: drink, eat a balanced diet and organic food if possible. Listen to your body, rest when it needs it. Don't try new things with risks to fall over. And be open to do things differently, within the limits of your ability and shape.

How did your pole dance practice evolve month after month?

The first month, I was more interested in dancing than in trying out new acrobatics, to avoid jerks and because I was a bit tired. So I listened to myself 😊 (click on the picture to see the video)

The 2nd & 3rd months were marked by nausea and difficult digestion. Unlike most women who feel nauseous in the morning, I was in good shape in the morning and less so in the afternoon and evening. I therefore took advantage of my mornings to pole dance. I avoided any movement that pressed directly on my belly, but apart from that, I still had all my agility and strength! With one goal in mind: to strengthen my arms and handgrip so that I could continue to carry myself despite the weight gain. (click on the picture to see the video)

At the 4th month, the nauseas had gone, so I was enjoying my trainings a lot!! I'd been told to watch out for dizziness with the pole and head down, but I never had any. However as a precaution, I always did a good warm-up, checked that I was OK going upside down (in a downward dog, for example) and made sure I always had a snack with me in case of low energy. (click on the picture to see the video)

At the 5th month I was in great shape despite carrying +5-6kgs. I made the most of it! (click on the picture to see the video)

By the 6th month, I had put on about 8kgs and baby was taking up more space, especially on the side of the tummy.

- So I stopped doing scorpios to make sure I wasn't squeezing him.

- I also started to find tips to manage to invert: for example, I would place myself in brass monkey from a seat and not a shouldermount.

- Finally, I took care to use my abs more gently. Pregnancy naturally causes the abs to spread (diastasis), which stretches the surrounding tissue. When we do sports, we need to engage our abdominal muscles so as not to stretch this tissue any further, which could prolong post-delivery recovery time. A simple visual cue: when our belly forms a "triangle" shape, despite the fact that we're engaging our abs, then we're going too far. Also, to avoid pulling on this tissue, I'd been advised not to do any more bridges and intense belly extensions. (click on the picture to see the video)

On the 7th month I stopped the outsides legs for fear of touching with my belly but I found new tips:

- I inverted from a funny grip with arms to keep more distance between my belly and the pole.

- I would first gain height on the pole and then place myself from a cupid / viva, instead of inverting.

- I used my feet to help the inversions, taking care to do it gracefully and voluntarily.

During warm-up and other strengthening exercises, I could no longer lie on my back at this stage because it was pressing too hard on my vena cava. And the cardio continued to decrease, but that's perfectly normal! (click on the picture to see the video)

I also gave my last pole dance class at the end of the 7th month (through I was already not giving a lot, adapting them and mostly dancing only for pleasure :) )

In the 8th & 9th months, I had to simplify my training even further.

- I was listening to my body and training only the days I was feeling in great shape.

- I was doing ballerinas and capezios.

- Instead of inverting, I placed my knee high from the ground to go into marion amber, for example.

- The reiko split was also a good solution for hooking my knee and going to dragonfly, for example.

- Surprisingly, I could still do movements such as handspring and batman in the 8th month.

In the last 3 weeks, however, everything became difficult. I'd rather dance or do pilates than pole dance. (click on the picture to see the video)

Do you have any last anecdote to share with us?

Yes, a funny anecdote about my appointment with the hospital to complete my information. I started explaining to the midwife that I do pole dance and that, surprisingly, some difficult movements were still okay, but easy ones were becoming impossible. She replied: “Yes, absolutely, the inverted V is complicated but the batman easy”. I was very surprised by the fact that she named exactly the moves I had in mind. She was also a pole dancer 😊

Here is a short video showing combos I was working each month: