Prenatal & Postnatal Sculpt Program
MILF
Mama + Infant Lift & Form
The complete instructor reference for teaching prenatal and postnatal sculpt — class format, 360° breathing, the 5 alignment zones, baby-holding protocols, and stage-specific modifications for every client at every stage.
Chapter 01 — Foundation
Philosophy, Safety
& 360° Breathing
MILF — Mama + Infant Lift & Form is a prenatal and postnatal sculpt program built on one belief: the strongest thing a woman can do is train her body for the life she is actually living.
This is not a program about getting a body back. It is about building a body that is capable and resilient for one of the most physically demanding seasons of life. This class is designed to arm you with the tools to listen to your body — so you can modify and build strength in other classes too, not just prenatal and postnatal ones. As we say, every journey is different and every body is capable of different things. We want you to have the confidence to still challenge yourself and get stronger — just like you did before you were pregnant.
The class serves all stages — first trimester through late postpartum — with the same format, the same exercises, and the same breath foundation. Modifications are not a lesser version. They are the intelligent version.
Prenatal clients must have OB or midwife clearance before joining. No exceptions.
Postnatal clients require medical clearance — typically 6 weeks after vaginal birth, 12 weeks after C-section. Always defer to their provider.
| Stop Signal | What It May Indicate | Instructor Action |
|---|---|---|
| Doming or coning at midline | Diastasis recti under load | Regress. Refer for DR assessment. |
| Leaking or pelvic pressure | Pelvic floor overload | Reduce load, reduce range, refer to pelvic physio. |
| Pelvic girdle pain | SIJ or pubic symphysis strain | Stop bilateral loading, modify to supported movements. |
| Dizziness or breathlessness | Blood pressure, overexertion | Seat client, rest, do not continue if symptoms persist. |
| Abdominal or pelvic pain | Multiple possible causes | Stop class immediately. Refer to medical provider. |
360° breathing is not a warm-up. It is the system that makes every other movement in this class safe and effective. The breath connects the diaphragm, pelvic floor, deep abdominals, and multifidus into a coordinated pressure management system.
Always use breath-driven engagement.
Position: Seated tall or standing. Hands wrapped around the lower ribcage, fingers forward, thumbs at the back.
Inhale: Breathe into the back, sides, and front of the ribcage equally — 360° like an umbrella opening. The pelvic floor gently descends and releases.
Exhale: Ribs gently knit together. Pelvic floor lifts and recoils. Deep core wraps in without any gripping or forcing. This is a response to breath, not a command to brace.
Practice: Return to this breath at any moment the client feels lost or fatigued.
Class mantra: "Exhale to effort. Let the breath lead the movement." Say this at least once per block.
Prenatal 3rd tri: Cue lateral and back body expansion. "Breathe into your back ribs" — the belly takes up front space.
Postnatal all stages: The exhale-to-pelvic floor connection is often disrupted after birth. Take extra time here. This reconnection is the most important thing you can teach.
Chapter 02 — Functional Strength
What Is Functional
Strength Training?
Functional strength training means training your body for the movements and demands of real life — rather than isolated muscle exercises. In pregnancy and postpartum, that means preparing your body for the very specific physical demands of carrying, birthing, recovering, and caring for a newborn.
Instead of training muscles in isolation (like a traditional bicep curl for aesthetics), functional training asks: "What does my body actually need to DO?"
Picking something up off the floor repeatedly · Carrying an increasingly heavy baby on one hip for hours · Getting up and down from the floor dozens of times a day · Pushing a pram up a hill · Rocking, swaying, and holding a baby through the night · Breastfeeding in sustained positions that strain the neck, shoulders, and back · Lifting a car seat in and out of a vehicle
Functional training prepares your body for all of that — before and after it happens.
As the belly grows forward, it pulls the lower back into an exaggerated arch and loads the hips and pelvis differently. Functional training teaches the body to find and maintain good alignment under those changing conditions.
Relaxin is released during pregnancy to loosen ligaments and joints in preparation for birth. This increases mobility but reduces joint stability — which means the muscles around the hips, pelvis, and spine need to work harder to keep everything supported. Functional strength training directly targets those stabilizing muscles.
The pelvic floor and deep core come under enormous sustained load as the baby grows. Functional training integrates breath and pelvic floor engagement into every movement so that the deep core system stays responsive and strong — rather than just stretched and passive.
The growing belly pulls the pelvis forward, the upper back rounds to compensate, and the head drifts forward. Functional training counteracts these patterns by strengthening the posterior chain — back, glutes, hamstrings — and the muscles that hold the spine tall.
A new parent does not get to wait until they feel strong to pick up their baby. Functional training meets the body where it is and progressively builds the strength needed for what life is already asking of it.
Constantly feeding, carrying, and rocking on the same side creates muscular imbalances in the shoulders, hips, and spine. Functional training identifies and corrects these early — before they become pain or injury.
The pelvic floor, diaphragm, deep abdominals, and multifidus all work as a coordinated system. Pregnancy and birth disrupt that system. Functional training — especially paired with 360° breathing — teaches those muscles to work together again under real-life load.
A newborn weighs around 7–9 lbs. By 6 months they may weigh 16–18 lbs. By a year, 20+ lbs. Functional strength training progressively prepares the body for that increasing load — rather than leaving it to catch up without preparation.
Chapter 03 — Alignment
Teaching the
Changing Body
Alignment in pregnancy and postpartum is not about correcting imperfect bodies. These are bodies undergoing profound, hormonally-driven structural change. Your role is to help clients move well within those changes — not fight them — and prevent the compensations that lead to pain and injury.
Relaxin loosens joints and ligaments throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Muscular stability matters more, not less. Every alignment cue you give is building the support system that protects increasingly mobile joints.
What changes: Relaxin causes arches to drop and feet to pronate. Foot size can permanently increase. Swelling is common in 3rd trimester.
Teach tripod foot: Weight evenly across big toe mound, little toe mound, and heel. Active arches without gripping the toes.
- Feel all four corners of your feet — big toe, little toe, inner heel, outer heel
- Gently lift your arches without scrunching your toes
- Can you feel equal weight in both feet? Shift until you can
What changes: Increased joint laxity + anterior gravity shift causes passive knee hyperextension and hip drop. Pelvic girdle instability is common. Watch carefully for knee valgus increasing as the belly grows and glute medius weakens.
- Soften your knees — just a gentle micro-bend, never locked
- Imagine headlights on your kneecaps — keep them shining forward over your second toe
- Hip bones level — like a shelf holding a glass of water, don't spill it
- Hinge from your hip crease — send your hips back like closing a car door with your bottom
What changes: The growing uterus creates anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar compression. Postnatally, protective posterior tilt is common. After C-section, scar tissue can pull the pelvis forward.
Teach neutral pelvis step by step: Tip all the way forward (anterior) — feel the lower back arch. Tip all the way back (posterior) — feel the lower back flatten. Find the midpoint. That is home.
Never ask clients to flatten their lower back. Neutral is always the goal — not posterior tilt. Approach C-section clients with extra care.
- Not arching, not tucking — right in the middle. That's neutral.
- Imagine a bowl of water on your pelvis — keep it level, don't spill
- Soften your tailbone down without tucking it under
What changes: The uterus pushes the ribcage upward creating rib flare. Thoracic spine rounds forward. Deep core muscles are progressively stretched and disrupted by birth.
- On your exhale, feel your lower ribs gently knit together — not forced, just a natural closing
- Lift through the centre of your chest without letting your ribs pop open
- Think of your core as a gentle hug from the inside — not a brace, just a wrap
- Exhale first, then move — let the breath switch on the core for you
What changes: Pregnancy and new parenthood create a perfect storm for upper body dysfunction. Feeding, carrying, babywearing, and looking down at a newborn cement forward-head and rounded-shoulder posture.
"Your posture looks like this because you are caring for a tiny human around the clock. That is not a failure — it is a reality. We are here to help."
- Bring your ears back over your shoulders — make length through the back of your neck
- Let your shoulder blades slide gently down your back, away from your ears
- Broaden across your collarbones — open the front of your chest
- Imagine a string lifting the crown of your head toward the ceiling
| What You See | What It Means | What To Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Lower back arching in squat | Anterior pelvic tilt, weak core | Neutral pelvis, reduce depth |
| Knees caving inward | Weak glutes, hip instability | Knee tracking, widen stance |
| Ribs flaring on overhead reach | Thoracic tightness, weak deep core | Rib connection, reduce range |
| Chin jutting forward | Weak deep neck flexors, fatigue | Ear over shoulder, reduce load |
| Breath holding on effort | Load too heavy, poor core strategy | Exhale to effort, reduce intensity |
| Hip hiking on single leg | Weak gluteus medius | Level pelvis, reduce range |
| Rounding on hinge | Tight hamstrings, poor hip pattern | Hip crease initiation, soft knees |
| Doming at midline | Diastasis recti under load | Regress. Refer for DR assessment. |
Chapter 04 — Class Format
The Full
Flow
Breath work and warm-up are always first — non-negotiable. After that, other blocks can be reordered based on class focus, but each muscle block must stay paired with its corresponding mini stretch. Mini stretches live inside their block as the release for the work just completed.
Settle in. This is always first — it sets the nervous system and primes the core for everything that follows.
Wake up the joints on the half beat — connect to self and baby (present or not).
Never introduce crunches or sit-up variations. If you see doming at the midline — stop immediately and regress to breathing only.
Inhale to prepare, exhale to move. Every rep, every time.
Move the spine in every direction the core just stabilized.
Exhale on the effort. Ribcage stays soft — no flaring on any overhead reach.
Undo what feeding, carrying, and the upper body block just loaded.
Inhale to lower, exhale to rise. Pelvic floor lifts on every ascent. Every rep is breath-led.
Release the hips and legs before moving on.
Optional bridge — flow quick deep core into breaths with nervous system reset.
Breath work and warm-up are always first. Non-negotiable openers.
Other blocks can move. Reorder deep core, upper body, and lower body based on class intention — but each block stays intact with its paired mini stretch.
Never separate a block from its mini stretch. The stretch is the release for the work you just loaded. They travel as a pair.
Chapter 05 — Baby Holding
Functional Strength
with Your Baby
It must always be the client's choice, made when they feel completely stable. A fussy, unsettled, or unwell baby is always a signal to set baby down — no exceptions, no pushing through.
- Baby's head and neck fully supported at all times
- Client feels completely stable and balanced before adding baby
- Baby has appropriate head control for the chosen movement
- Client is not fatigued — always set baby down before form breaks
- Baby is happy and settled — fussiness means pause
- All movements are smooth and controlled — no sudden or jerky motions
- When in doubt, set baby down. The workout works either way.
| Block | Hold Style | Exercise | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Core | Baby on mat | Standing dead bug — reach toward baby | Beautiful connecting moment |
| Upper Body | Two-hand chest hold | Overhead press × 8 — slow, controlled | Head control required. Babies love this. |
| Upper Body | Cradle hold | Bicep curl × 10 each arm | Eye contact at top — favourite move |
| Upper Body | Chest hold facing you | Baby chest press × 10 | Both hands on torso at all times |
| Lower Body | Cradle (newborn–4mo) | Squat — baby across chest | Baby loves the up-down motion |
| Lower Body | Forward facing (3mo+) | Squat + lateral leg lift | Baby faces out, supported at chest + thighs |
| Lower Body | Hip hold (5mo+) | Plié pulses — baby on hip | Switch sides each set to balance load |
| Lower Body | Hip hold (5mo+) | Glute kickback — baby on opposite hip | Trains exact one-hip carry pattern |
| Lower Body | Baby on mat | Side-lying hip abduction face-to-face | Supervise tummy time hands-free |
| Closing | Baby on chest / carrier | Final stretches and savasana | Babies often settle here |
Chapter 06 — Props
Optional Props
The no-prop version is always the foundation and is always complete. Props add intensity for clients who are ready — they never replace the movement. No client should ever feel they need a prop to participate fully.
| Block | Optional Prop | How It Layers In |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Core | Pilates Ball | Between knees for standing or kneeling core — adds inner thigh + pelvic floor cue |
| Upper Body | 2lb Wrist Weights | Light resistance to barre arms, rows, and press variations |
| Lower Body — Glute | Resistance Band | Around thighs for squat, bridge, and donkey kicks — adds glute activation demand |
| Lower Body — Outer | Sliders | Under foot for lateral and curtsy lunges — increases stability demand |
| Lower Body — Thigh | Pilates Ring | Between thighs for barre bridges and pliè work — adds adductor load |