Parent & Baby Exercise Classes

Aim: We offer free fitness classes in the community, catering to pregnant women, new mums, and dads who have poor physical/ mental health.

Parent & baby exercise classes

Our organisation: 

As a survivor of mental health challenges, including anorexia and depression, I have personally navigated over 10 years of multiple inpatient care, constantly battling my demons and being told I would never have a healthy relationship with food or exercise again. 

I have now been recovered for 11 years and made it my goal to prove I am more than a diagnosis, becoming qualified in personal training, pre and postnatal coaching, and as a level 5 nutritionist.

I watched as my own mother and close friends battled with post natal depression, witnessing them going through similar demons I battled for over 10 years. They didn't get any support other than being given medication to help with the side effects and the intrusive thoughts that come hand in hand with post natal depression. 

Working with Healthwatch Essex as a mental health ambassador, I was astounded to discover how fathers are not receiving the support they need for postnatal depression. We spoke with families who had lost fathers to suicide due to the lack of support when becoming a new parent, which brought me to tears. 

Now, as a mother myself to a 3-week-old, I understand firsthand the importance of having a support network to discuss both the good and difficult times when navigating parenthood. This motivated me to establish free parent and baby exercise classes in and around Essex/Suffolk, as there needs to be more support for a holistic approach to both perinatal and postnatal care.

This led me to set up Muscle Mind Care CIC, so we could offer classes for free, ensuring everyone can access them regardless of their financial backgrounds. We make sure all our instructors have lived experience with either parenthood or mental/physical health challenges to build on the community aspect of working through our own battles to come out the other side and support one another.

Why we need these classes?

Our exercise classes provide critical health benefits for participants facing high BMI, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and poor mental health:

• High BMI: Regular exercise helps reduce body weight and improves cardiovascular health, decreasing the risk of obesity-related complications.
• Preeclampsia: Physical activity can help manage blood pressure and improve circulation, reducing the risk and severity of preeclampsia.
• Gestational Diabetes: Exercise aids in regulating blood sugar levels, improving insulin sensitivity, and reducing the risk of developing gestational diabetes.
•  Poor Mental Health: Regular physical activity is proven to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, promoting overall mental well-being.

Beyond the physical benefits, our classes foster a strong sense of community. Parents connect with others facing similar challenges, reducing feelings of isolation and building a supportive network. This community-building aspect is essential for mental health, offering emotional support and shared experiences.

How we will spend the money raised:

Our classes want to break the stigma and stereotypes behind perinatal/postnatal care. We want to build a community were everyone is included and build a safe space where parents can work out in a safe space whilst their babies lay and play without any financial costs.

The money raised on this page will be put into setting up a second class in Ipswich at St Francis Church Off of Hawthorn Drive. We already have a class running every Thursday 10.15-11am. Currently our class is fully booked out for the year with an ever growing waiting list of over 20 parents. 

Due to having to max out the class at 10 participants due to health and safety, a lot of parents are waiting a long time to access our classes. One of the main areas for grants and funding is so we can offer the classes for free as a lot of our parents come from deprived backgrounds and we do not want to have people not access our classes due to costs. 

The money raised means we can double the amount of parents we are supporting on a weekly basis. A lot of these parents have not got a supportive network and these classes are an outlook for them weekly. Raising this money means we can’t run a second class for a further year, completly free. We will be able to provide all equipment, baby toys, hall hire and staffing costs without having parents pay a penny. The need for these classes are huge and we want to be able to support and help as many families as we can.