New charity supporting pregnant and postnatal women 'birthed' during Lockdown.
It seems, like many, Sally had a very busy lockdown. She completed a couple of jigsaws, attempted to learn Welsh, and tried to workout in her dining room! But apart from this, and not killing her immediate family, she spent much of the Summer in 2020 setting up a new charity.
Sally worked alongside Dr Marlize DeVivo and a team of trustees to launch The Active Pregnancy Foundation. The charity supports women to stay active throughout pregnancy and beyond, by providing expertise and guidance, changing culture and challenging policy.
It's a passion project born from her own experiences during pregnancy. Sally makes no secret of her struggle to conceive, eventually giving birth to her daughter via IVF. Through a shared contact, Sally met Dr DeVivo and a group of women passionate to fill the gap in evidence-based advice for women seeking to stay active during their pregnancy. As a previously qualified Personal Trainer, Sally knew the many barriers women face when it comes to being active, from the lack of support and facilities, to judgement and criticism often levied at visibly pregnant women who are perhaps running or going to the gym.
Sally says,
"I knew being active would keep me fit mentally and physically during IVF, especially as I had the knowledge and experience to know what to do and how to do it. I love yoga, HIIT training, swimming, running and cycling, but IVF was a very difficult time, so when I did become pregnant I was worried doing any of these activities might harm my longed-for baby.
Sally working as a PT at London 2012
I'm no wall flower though, and chose to work with a qualified Pre & -Postnatal PT. The training was great, I felt safe too, but I soon realised that I was in a very privileged position as many women do not have access to the same expertise.
Speaking to Dr DeVivo confirmed for me that something needed to be done about the lack of information available for women, hence The Active Pregnancy Foundation was born. It's certainly been one of most challenging and exciting projects of my career, but the hard work will pay off if we can improve the health of women, their babies and society as a whole."
Take a look at the charity HERE