A mum claims she was “back to normal” just three days after giving birth at home – thanks to POLE DANCING while pregnant.
Georgie Baddley, 26, took up the exercise regime two years ago after struggling to shift the pounds following two births.
She fell in love with pole dancing – losing more than 5st – so when she fell pregnant again she vowed to keep shimmying up and down the pole as long as she could.
Breastfeeding supporter Georgie was still pole dancing – with a big bump – when she was 39 weeks pregnant.
Her final lesson took place just 12 days before little Silas was born.
And she claims the unusual exercises kept her so fit and healthy she was able to give birth at home, in her fastest labour yet – taking just 134 minutes.
She didn’t need any pain relief and was back to normal in just three days postpartum.
Georgie from Oldham, Manchester, said: “Going to those classes every week with lots of lovely women and trying out something so different has been amazing.
“The whole experience has been physically and mentally transformative, I feel like a completely different person now.
“Pole dancing I was pregnant with Silas was such a good move, it really helped the pregnancy and even the labour.
“My recovery period after was also so quick – I was back to normal after a week.
“Obviously I put some weight on again, but really nothing that I couldn’t lose again.
“During my third pregnancy I only put on about two-and-a-half stone – that was without concentrating on my diet or being conscious of my weight at all.
“I just wanted to concentrate on keeping as fit as I possibly could, as in my other pregnancies I was very sedentary.
“And my labour this last time was very efficient, in terms of my body and muscles.
“It was by far my quickest and easiest [labour], from start to finish – no interventions were needed and I just had him at home!
“My recovery time for me was the strangest thing, as I felt fine just three days later.
“In my past pregnancies, I was low energy in the weeks following labour – I didn’t walk properly, and struggled with daily tasks.
“But with Silas I had much more energy, and felt able to carry on as normal.
“I really do believe it was down to how fit I kept through the pregnancy, for sure!
“They say to exercise and keep well anyway during pregnancy, so I suppose I was just really following obvious advice!
“I believe the pole dancing made labour easier because all my muscles were kept working in the way they were used to.
“Pole dancing’s very core and pelvic floor muscle intensive, so keeping everything working and fit and healthy can make labour much more efficient.”
Georgie used to binge on family packs of chocolates in the car, throwing away the wrapping so her crime went unnoticed.
After giving birth to Joseph, six, and Anastasia, three, she piled on the pounds and weighed 18st when she decided enough was enough in summer 2017.
She cut out junk food and lost 8lb in a week – and then decided to take up pole dancing when she saw a Facebook ad for a pole dancing class.
Georgie said: “I used to put on a good brave face with people, but inside I wasn’t happy – they’d think I was brash, but really I wasn’t at all.
“Because I’d put on more weight during my first two pregnancies, that got me down, and so I’d eat more to feel better.
“I was a real ‘secret eater’ – I’d buy a family pack of chocolates, sit in my car, eat it all, and then throw the package away so I wouldn’t be caught.
“That was such a bad way of coping with a problem that’s easily solved.
“I never exercised either, because I hated the gym – I still do actually, they’re so intimidating and oppressive.”
The mum went along to her first ‘Mum and Baby Pole and Aerial’ free class held by Cloud Aerial Arts, in August 2017.
Georgie’s been to the same two-hour Friday morning class almost every week since.
“When I was 16, I’d gone to one pole dancing class, and really enjoyed it,” she said.
“I lost the confidence to try it again for real as I got older, and I just kept deferring the problem and delaying doing anything to change it.”
Between August 2017 and May 2018, Georgie lost an impressive 5st – by doing aerial hoop, pole-dancing, and aerial silk exercises.
Before she became pregnant with her third child – Silas, now six months – she weighed around 12st 11lb and loved her new size eight figure.
“Of course, it never gets any easier, no matter how hard you try, because you’re constantly trying new shapes and it’s physically demanding,” she said.
“It’s challenging, but that’s the fun of it – you push through the pain, and you get a photo at the end of the new shape you’ve posed.
“Often I look at myself after a class and think – ‘wow, is that me?’.”
She kept going to the class during her third pregnancy, doing her last class just 12 days before Silas was born on May 8.
She was back up the pole at 10 weeks postpartum, “as it’s very core-intensive and it would’ve been dangerous trying to do it any closer to having had him”.
Six months down the line, she’s still losing the extra 2.5st she put on during her pregnancy – but is losing up to 4lbs per week.
By February 2020, Georgie aims to be back down to a size 8.
She’s now encouraging other women to “push through the pain barrier and try something new” because “it does wonders for your confidence”.
She said: “It’s common for people to ‘yo-yo’ at a certain point, they get so used to seeing big changes in their body that they get disillusioned when that plateaus.
“To those people I would say to just keep going.
“I had a moment where I couldn’t see a big physical difference, and that can be quite disheartening because you’re working hard.
“But it’s just your body’s way of re-shifting weight and toning up.
“These exercises are so good for your muscles and your core, you see!
“So don’t give up! Just keep ploughing through, because you will lose a load of weight again after a certain point!”
Georgie also made simple changes to her diet by cutting out binge-eating entirely, and learning to cook every meal from scratch.
She has a small portion of porridge for breakfast, veggie-based stir fries at lunchtime, and pasta dishes for dinner.
When Georgie’s feeling peckish, she’ll seek out a piece of fruit – though she admitted: “A little piece of chocolate is okay every now and then!”
Diet in May 2017 at 18st:
Breakfast – several pastries, including pain au chocolat
Lunch – pies and chips
Dinner – frozen and takeaway pizzas
Diet in November 2019 at 15st 11lb:
Breakfast – porridge
Lunch – vegetable-based meals, including chicken stir fries
Dinner – home cooked pasta dishes