Aziza Sa'id's FAQ - Pregnancy

Miss Columbina: A friend of mine came to dance class every week throughout her entire pregnancy. She was in class on the actual day she was supposed to give birth!! She ended up being a few days late. It was surreal seeing her do turns across the floor, because she was so graceful, as if her belly was filled with helium.

Zemyna: Of course you can dance while pregnant! The only caution is the same as any other physical activity: ****If you have a particular condition that warrants extreme caution and rest (bed rest or otherwise) then, you follow your doctor's or midwife's directions.**** Every case is individual. If your practitioner says you are OK for exercising, then dance should be OK.

Pregnancy is no time to lay around like a lump on the couch.

Alia: I danced up until a week before I delivered. (I told people that were getting two for the price of one...) Consult with your ob/gyn or midwife.

Sahira: I had a wonderful time dancing when I was pregnant. I even had the privilege of performing when I was 9 months pregnant. At times I did feel like a teletubby, but it was lots of fun. And my daughter in my belly would become very active when I was dancing, like she was dancing too! Some moves were more difficult for me, rib cage slides and rib cage circles in particular, and spins made me very dizzy. My attempts at belly rolls were much more fun with my big pregnant belly. But be gentle with your dance moves. I started dancing again about a month after giving birth. My 10 month old daughter loves to "dance" (mostly just a happy wiggle while bobbing her head) to any music, and she loves it when I hold her and dance around.

Unkn: From my own experience, there are a couple of things I would recommend: Firstly, dancing through pregnancy really helped my self esteem. I was a previously small-framed woman who got really huuuuuuge out front, during pregnancy. Though I may not have looked so graceful, I felt it, and it was the only time I did. Emphasize that to your students - you can still be light on your feet and well balanced.

SamiTe: When I was pregnant I danced in Restaurants, at Farmers Markets, I even went to clubs. Who cares if you gained 10 pounds? Your body is creating a beautiful new being and is emanating light and energy so use it. This may be your only chance to experience pregnancy and I would love to see you break through the social acceptance barrier and totally celebrate pregnancy and birth. In our society we are programmed to believe that we should hide our womanliness behind maternity clothes. I never hid my belly like a secret. I wore belly shirts every day as well as painting beautiful designs all over my tummy allowing the world to witness my celebration of creation. You are beautiful!!!!!

Onca: It was enjoyable to perform when I was full of child so I could model strength and maternity power to others, but it actually got tiring after the 200th person wanted to talk to me about how radical it was or how I must be tired or how their sister in Akron did that a d had to have a caesarean or whatever, ad nauseum. It can start to feel a bit like you are on Jerry Springer even though everyone means well.

Dawn Kersula: As an OB nurse and perinatal educator (20 years teaching breastfeeding and Lamaze!) I can tell you about one other benefit of belly dance during pregnancy.

One of the challenges of labor is a baby who is in a position that makes passage to the outside world difficult. You've probably heard of back labor! It's caused most often by a baby who is trying to come through the pelvis with the back of its head toward the mom's sacrum. Some labors take longer because of the positioning of the baby.

Belly dancing during pregnancy and labor help to fend off these longer, more painful labors. The old midwives' saying is, "When you can't turn the baby, turn the mother." Turning the pelvis with dance helps the baby get into what is optimal fetal positioning.

I teach a bit of belly dance with my exercises during Lamaze.

Shalimar: I also found several pregnancy exercise books and adapted the class warm-up routine for my expanding belly.

Kypris: And oh, a postpartum bonus -- My belly rolls are now incredible. I practiced these during my pregnancy because I read that it was good to prepare the baby for the squeezing that would happen during labor. I did have a short labor, but who knows whether that was due to my muscle tone or good genes. At any rate, these muscles, and the PC muscle are what push the baby out, so working them can only be a good thing. And to this day, my little one, who is 15 months now, recognizes the music to the choreographies I rehearsed when pregnant, and watches, entranced, while I dance.