Pregnant women are sharing videos of their baby bumps shrinking and growing as they perform belly pumping exercises - and it’s mesmerising.
The “Belly Pump” is just one of a series of deep core exercises taught to mums-to-be by The Bloom Method fitness program, in Colorado, US.
The move combines diaphragmatic breathing with deep core engagement.
“The Belly Pump follows your breath with an inhale as the belly expands,” the program’s founder Brooke Cates explained on Instagram.
“Exhale as you activate your pelvic floor and TA [Transverse Abdominis, deep core muscle] together.
“Keep the breath slow and controlled throughout the exercise.”
Cates, who specialises in pregnancy and post birth exercise, goes into further detail on how to activate your pelvic floor and TA, in a blog post.
“As you exhale imagine drawing your hipbones in towards one another as if to kiss one another,” she wrote.
“You can also imagine that your exhale attempts to draw your obliques to the front of your torso, near your belly button. Knitting the bottom of your ribcage together is a super common cue that helps connect to the upper portion of the TA.”
Cates told Babble that mums-to-be in the videos are activating their transverse abdominal muscles to “hug” their babies,.
“Don’t worry, the baby is completely safe with this move — the baby simply slides up into the rib cage during the core activation,” she explained.
She added that she decided to create a fitness program that would empower women throughout their pregnancy and beyond, after meeting many mums who felt that they had to “give up” their bodies in order to become a mother.
“I thought, ‘Wow, what a negative way to see becoming a mother,’” she said.
Scroll down to see more incredible belly pumping videos.
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