ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARSHA GILBERT STAFF WRITER
Exercising regularly before and during pregnancy can help women regain their figures afterward, according to local experts.
How hard a woman will need to work to get in shape after having a baby "depends on how fit the woman was before getting pregnant," said Susan Pollard, president of Personal Best Inc. in Roanoke. "There are more fatty deposits after pregnancy, but some women look great after having three or four children if they are consistent in exercising."
The length of time it takes to get back in shape also depends on how fit the woman is to start with, Pollard said. Sometimes it can take as little as a few weeks or months. Occasionally, women are happier with the way they look after giving birth than they were with their appearance before they were pregnant.
For several Roanoke moms, maintaining an ideal body size is more than a hobby: it's part of their job.
"I taught aerobics classes while I was pregnant up until two weeks of delivery," said Teri Humphries, aerobics coordinator at Cory Everson's Aerobics & Fitness For Women in Roanoke.
Humphries, 35, has three children, ages 15, 12 and 5. Each time she was pregnant, she gained an average of 25 pounds. But by continuing to work out, she was able to get back to her regular 112-pound weight. (She said that after being pregnant, she even grew a half inch; she's now 5-feet-31/2-inches tall).
Humphries, who has worked as an aerobics instructor and coordinator for 12 years, did the same type of low-impact aerobics that she instructs her students in the Moms-in-Motion prenatal classes to do. The exercises, which follow the guidelines of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, include lateral movements but no abdominal routines.
Dr. Julien H. Meyer Jr., with the Obstetrics Gynecology Surgery & Infertility division of Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley, said low-impact aerobics can be performed during pregnancy - with a doctor's approval. Women should avoid high-impact aerobics, exercises that require sudden starts and stops, contact sports, dehydration, and exhaustion, he said.
But in a normal uncomplicated pregnancy, swimming and jogging can provide cardiovascular and psychological benefits throughout the entire pregnancy.
Pregnant women should avoid exercising in hot, humid weather; high altitudes; cold temperatures; or if the heart rate accelerates too high, Meyer said.
After having a child, if no surgery is required, a new mother should be able to start working out in 10 days, he said. If the new mother requires an episiotomy, she can resume exercise after four to six weeks or when there is no pain.
Terri Post, owner and director of the Post School of Ballet, is another mom who keeps in shape while motivating others to do the same.
After having her first child, "it was natural to get back in shape," said Post, whose sons are now 18 and 15. "I was almost in better shape than before I was pregnant."
But after her second son was born, it was harder to lose weight, she said.
"When my youngest was born, I was home with my husband and the kids eating more stuff than I would have if I'd gone to work," said Post, 45. "That didn't help."
When she danced professionally, Post described herself as always being 20 pounds underweight. Now, as an instructor and choreographer, she characterizes her 5-foot-6-inch build as "medium."
"To say my weight would be misleading because muscle weighs more than fat," said Post, who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera House and Radio City Music Hall with the Joffrey Ballet II company. She teaches classes about five hours a day and is also the artistic director of the Southwest Virginia Ballet.
Unfortunately, all moms can't work off unwanted pounds and inches through diet and exercise like Humphries and Post. Each year, thousands of women turn to plastic surgeons after years of trying to get in shape.
"Localized excess fat and loose skin does not respond to exercise," said Dr. Steven G. Harris, a plastic surgeon at the Lewis-Gale Clinic. "Exercise will make you store less fat all over and build muscles in specific areas."
In the case of a definite diastasis - when the muscles are forced apart, leaving a weak place in the abdomen after pregnancy or a massive weight gain - working out will not firm up the abdomen, Harris continued.
"I see a lot of patients who say, 'ever since I had my child, I haven't been able to get rid of this flabby skin,''' said Dr. Carol A. Reichel, Harris' partner. "Their skin can get stretched out of shape, even if they get down to their regular weight."
Several procedures are requested by patients who have had children. They include abdominoplasty (or tummy tuck), liposuction and breast lifts. Harris and Reichel recommend that these types of surgeries not be considered until at least one or two years after the last child is born.
Liposuction was the No.1 plastic surgery in 1994, with 51,072 performed, according to statistics gathered by the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Services. Doctors also performed 16,829 abdominoplasties and 10,053 breast lifts.
Abdominoplasty is recommended for women who don't plan on having more children, Harris said. It tightens the muscles of the abdomen wall by removing extra skin and fat. Virtually all of Harris' patients who get this surgery have been mothers. The cost ranges from $4,000 to $6,000.
Liposuction, the surgical removal of local fat deposits through injection, is generally performed on younger patients because their muscles retain more elasticity after surgery.
"Tummy tucks are performed on younger women who aren't candidates for liposuction because of the skin being stretched from pregnancy," Reichel said. "Older women with extra fatty tissue can't have liposuction and expect their skin to go back in shape. It loses elasticity."
More women request these procedures because of inherited fatty deposits than because of weight they've put on as a result of pregnancy, Harris said. The cost is between $2,000 to $4,000.
In breast lifts, the "ptotic" or drooping skin is removed from the upper side of the breast raising the nipple to a higher position. The sagging occurs when the breast is stretched by the enlargement of milk-producing glands, which later shrink.
About 90 percent or more of the patients at Lewis-Gale requesting this surgery have had children, said Harris and Reichel. Saline implants are used if breast augmentation is requested when there is too much skin and not enough tissue, Reichel said. The average cost is $2,000 to $5,000.
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN Staff. Cory Everson's Aerobics and Fitnessby CNBfor Women instructor Teri Humphries works out with weights for
upper-body conditioning. color.