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Pregnant women use 'baby pumping' technique to make bumps disappear

By Jessica Rapana|

Pregnant women?are making their bumps 'disappear' using a new 'baby pumping' exercise, claiming to help with birth and postpartum recovery.

Videos have surfaced on social media of the startling new trend, which is part of a new exercise programme called the?Bloom Method,?focusing on pelvic health and abdominal strength.

But while some have expressed concern, Bloom Method founder Brooke Cates said the new technique, where a woman sucks in her pregnant belly until it virtually disappears, was not only safe for both mum and bub but could also aid with the labor and postpartum recovery.

Cates, a pregnancy and post birth specialist, told mums' website Babble, the baby remained "completely safe" during the exercise, simply sliding up the rib cage during the core activation, adding it helps the baby to "remain calm and learn to move in the correct direction".

She also claimed clients experienced only 20 to 30 minutes of pushing during labor without lower back pain.

Cates, who does not have any children,?said she formed her company the Bloom Method five years ago after witnessing many women were unhappy with their bodies after giving birth and thought they needed to "give up" their bodies in order to become a mother.?

The 35-year-old said she realised many women, even those who lived active lives before pregnancy were being incorrectly advised by doctors to slow down and suffered both physically and emotionally as a result.?

On the contrary, Cates said women should be training for the "physical challenge". Her program focused on getting women to use their deep core in "new ways" throughout the pregnancy in order to rewire their moving and breathing patterns and equip them for the birth, she said.

The 'belly pump' technique was one of the program's foundational exercises, using diaphragmatic breathing instead of breathing through the chest, she said, adding it helped to keep the body in a natural state of calm.

Cates said it also activated the woman's transverse abdominal?muscles to 'hug' the baby, creating a contraction between the pelvic floor and deep core muscles.

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