A Movement Educator's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth - by Jennifer Gianni (Paperback)

About the Book

Written for movement professionals, this book is packed full of research and practices that take a whole body approach to working with pregnant clients.

Book Synopsis

Written for movement professionals of all kinds, this book is packed full of research, practices and information to allow you to work confidently with your pregnant and post-natal clients.

Taking a whole-body approach, master movement educator Jennifer Gianni gives readers the tools to educate and empower their clients throughout their pregnancy, birth and beyond. Gianni demonstrates how movement throughout the pregnancy journey can regulate the nervous system and unlock the many possibilities of shape and space that our pelvis can open into during labor and delivery.

This fantastic resource includes over 100 different movement tinctures, daily movement upgrades, and breathing sequences. Many of the exercises also have accompanying videos online.

Review Quotes

I envy those who now have the benefit of this special book being published, a book I would have loved to have early in my career. This book that helps to lift the veil of working with the pregnant client is an essential and enriching resource for any professional movement educator regardless of the movement approach: Pilates, GYROTONIC(R), yoga, and more. Thank you for this unsurpassed body of work authored with knowledge, experience, and passion.--Marie-José Blom, Movement Educator, Pilates Master Teacher, Lecturer, International Presenter, and Consultant, Creator/Educator of the SmartSpineTM System

As one of Jennifer Gianni's students in the Pre- and Post-Natal Specialist course, I am very thankful to Jennifer for writing A Movement Educator's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth, drawing from her many years of experience. This book covers physiology, physical and mental guidelines for training, from the beginning of pregnancy until after delivery. Every chapter provides clear explanations, insightful case studies, and practical movements that are highly useful for clients and easy to follow. Every pregnant woman will benefit from reading and learning from this book.--Apittiya Soma, Founder of Pilates by Apittiya, Thailand, Balanced Body Educator, Associate Lecturer Faculty of Sports Science Chulalongkorn University

A Movement Educator's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth is the essential resource for everyone involved in bringing life into the world. Place your trust with confidence in Jennifer Gianni's life's work. Four decades of personal and professional dedication spent researching the literature, documenting case studies, succinctly describing movement for every condition in text and video, infuse this book with wise guidance for everyone experiencing or supporting pregnancy and childbirth.--Elizabeth Larkam, Author of Fascia in Motion fascia focused movement for Pilates

Jennifer is a master trainer and education expert. She has deeply studied the field of prenatal and postnatal training. Her years of research, practical experience and insightful thinking have provided us with valuable inspiration and guidance. The training skills she teaches have helped many pregnant women in China avoid pregnancy-related pain, achieve smooth delivery, and enjoy better postpartum recovery. This book is an indispensable tool and treasure trove for professionals--Pu Xiaowan, Founder of Mamalia Prenatal & Postnatal Fitness Studio

For years, I have admired Jennifer's expertise in prenatal and postnatal Pilates. Now, with the release of this book, she takes our understanding of the changes in the female body during pregnancy to a whole new level. Jennifer provides a thorough, logical explanation of the body's changes during each trimester, offering Pilates instructors valuable insights into the potential challenges they might encounter with different pregnant clients. She also delves into the roles of ligaments and hormones-topics that are often overlooked but are crucial for new Pilates instructors to understand. The posture analysis and corresponding strategies outlined in this book offer a holistic view of how weight changes can affect a mother's body. My favorite part of the book is the case studies, which bring these theoretical concepts into real-life practice. As a Taiwanese immigrant, I particularly appreciate how Jennifer incorporates Eastern wisdom -such as acupressure points-into this evidence-based Western approach. I firmly believe that by following Jennifer's guidance in this book, we can ensure that our pregnant clients feel supported and cared for, helping to keep their spirits high throughout pregnancy.--Ivy Pan Ploor, The First Balanced Body Educator in Mandarin in LA

This is the comprehensive book on the restorative care for pregnant and post-pregnant clients. It's a must have reference book in every movement practitioner's library.--Erin Myers, author of Analyzing Scoliosis; The Pilates Instructor's Guide to Scoliosis and I Have Scoliosis; Now What? and founder of Spiral Spine Pilates

Since 2010, Jennifer's heartfelt teachings in Japan have inspired us as trainers, enhancing our confidence in supporting clients. I'm thrilled that her love-filled approach will reach people worldwide through this book.--Norie Tedaka, Director of Studio Inner Wave

About the Author

Jennifer Gianni M.Ed., NCPT, Balanced Body Master Instructor, SmartSpine Faculty and creator of the Fusion Pilates Pre and Postnatal Movement Specialist teacher training program has over thirty years of experience in the movement world and has been training teachers in pre and postnatal fitness for over twenty-three years. Her teaching fosters connection, self-regulation and discovery. It is rooted in the ever-changing awareness of anatomy and the body in motion. Jennifer's approach is interdisciplinary and layered. Since it is grounded in the real world and common-sense approaches, it creates change in daily movement strategies, efficiency, and ease in the body. This type of approach is of particular importance when one is instructing a pre or postnatal client due to the enormous and constant changes in the body over very short periods of time.

The curriculum and information both in her book and in her courses provides instruction to movement teachers, clinicians, and birth professionals which enables them to improve client outcomes during pregnancy, labor, and the postnatal stage by teaching current movement science for the pregnant and birthing body. Jennifer has presented at Pilates on Tour yearly for more than a decade and has also presented at several Pilates Method Alliance conferences. She continues to teach throughout the United States, as well as internationally in Moscow, London, Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, and Singapore. Her work has been published in several magazines including FitPregnancy, Shape Magazine, and Pilates Style. Jennifer Gianni is the owner/creator and director of FusionPilatesEDU.com.

Jennifer's passion is acting as a mentor and guide to the numerous brilliant movement practitioners that study with her both in her Grow mentorship program and in the Pre and Postnatal Movement Specialist course. This book is dedicated to these very special people. For more information about Jennifer and her in-person and online classes and courses visit FusionPilatesEDU.com; FusionTeacherTraining.com; and FusionPilatesAsheville.com.