Photo By Kimberly Hackbarth | Sgt. Maria Stephens, the rear detachment personnel actions noncommissioned officer for...... read more read more
When Stephens, now the rear detachment personnel actions noncommissioned officer-in-charge for 1st Battalion, 62nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 69th ADA Brigade, had her first child in 2009, pregnant females only walked during physical training, she said.
Six years and two children later, Stephens was able to run six 5K runs and one half marathon with her doctor’s permission, while pregnant with her third child.
The Army introduced the Pregnancy/Postpartum Physical Training (P3T) Program in 2008 with All Army Activities message 168, but only recently relaxed its physical restrictions on pregnant Soldiers.
Ornelia Lewis, the Fort Hood P3T coordinator, said it is beneficial for women to work out during pregnancy.
“It’s been proven that as a pregnant woman, if you stay active you’re going to feel better and then hopefully it’s going to help you during your birth and of course help you with that rapid recovery everyone is always asking for in the Army,” Lewis said.
Stephens shares a similar mind-set.
“I noticed that with this pregnancy, since I was physically conditioned, I’m able to do more and the effects of pain of everything … had been less,” she said.
In P3T, expectant mothers conduct four days of PT and one day of education, said Lewis.
During the education classes, the pregnant Soldiers learn a wide array of things necessary for motherhood “from changes of body going through pregnancy all the way into infancy care,” Lewis explained.
The evolution of the Army’s P3T Program has allowed Soldiers, including Stephens, to continue physical activities such as running, which Stephens said helps clear her mind and reduce her symptoms of anxiety and depression.
“Running is my outlet,” she said. “I feel like if I had quit running, I wouldn’t have the same state of mind I have right now because I wouldn’t be able to think properly with all of these signs of anxiety and depression coming up.”
Stephens said she plans to continue running after pregnancy, starting with a half marathon in March, which she is able to do with clearance from her medical provider.
“After you have your child and you’ve been cleared by your doctor medically and physically,” she said, “you can do whatever physical activity you can handle, basically.”
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2016 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 196898 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 849 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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