Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Made in Finland
Happiness from within Nordic Fit Mama gives mothers a centralised online platform for information relating to pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum life. Working with a number of specialists, including midwives, nutritionists and sexual therapists, Nordic Fit Mama is able to offer mothers a range of advice and information, and guide them on their journey to wellness. By Ndéla Faye | Photos: Kasakkamedia
Founder Riina Laaksonen is a personal trainer specialised in pregnancy exercise, as well as a nutrition and life coach. “As well as a personal trainer, I’m also a mum to three active boys. Health and wellness have always been an important part of my life, but after having my two youngest children in quick succession, I felt like a stranger in my own body, and I found I was no longer able to do the same things as before my pregnancies. My posture was different, my breathing was shallow and I suffered from backaches,” she says.
Healing safely Laaksonen believes that certain issues, such as urinary incontinence and back aches, are often not spoken about after 76 | Issue 111 | April 2018
giving birth. “Safe exercise during pregnancy and after childbirth is so important, and I want to share my knowledge with other mums and help them with issues such as back aches and urinary incontinence, which can be debilitating and embarrassing conditions, especially when dealing with a young baby,” she says. About a third of mothers end up with diastasis recti, the separation of abdominal muscles, within a year of giving birth – and this is what Laaksonen suffered with too. “It’s easy to cause permanent damage and make the separation worse with the wrong kinds of moves. Despite my job as a personal trainer, I had never heard of abdominal separation, and I ended up injuring myself with the wrong kinds
of exercises. That’s why I want to teach other mothers how to get back into shape safely,” she explains. One of the courses, titled Safe and Strong, focuses on strengthening abdominal and pelvic floor muscles with safe and gentle training. “A woman’s post-partum body is fragile, and recovering from childbirth takes time, so all our exercises are designed with that in mind,” says Laaksonen. The five-week course is also designed to give new mothers energy, as a newborn baby is likely to take up a lot of it. All exercises in Safe and Strong have been designed to fix diastasis recti, and are also suitable after a caesarean section. “Our online courses are ideal for busy mothers. You’ll receive an email from your coach every weekday, and I’ll gently guide you towards the stronger version of your core and yourself. Each exercise is explained with written, picture or video instructions, and will take ten to 15 minutes to complete each day,” she explains. “There’s also the option to join a dis-