10th February 2023
The Active Pregnancy Foundation launches its first ever awards
The Active Pregnancy Foundation charity has launched its first ever awards to recognise those supporting women to become or remain active during pregnancy and beyond.
Nominations are now open to those who work with pregnant and postnatal women and there are a range of categories you can enter, ranging from celebrating the inspiring individuals and organisations that help pregnant women stay active through to products and programmes.
The charity’s vision is to create a society where all women are empowered to be physically active in their childbearing years in a way that works for them.
However, research by the Active Pregnancy Foundation shows 75 per cent of women are currently missing out on mental and physical health benefits of being active during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
Sally Kettle, CEO The Active Pregnancy Foundation, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be launching this awards event.
“Not only will we be sharing the inspiring stories of women who are role models for an active lifestyle, but we’ll be highlighting those professionals and organisations who offer support too.
“We’re also delighted that Natal Active has joined us as title sponsor, enabling us to bring the awards, and the work that we do, to a wider audience.”
Claire Gleave, from Natal Active added: “Having run through three pregnancies myself, I have long been aware of both the benefits of exercising in pregnancy, as well as the huge amount of misinformation out there about what you can and can’t do.
“Since day one it has been our mission to empower women to stay active in their pregnancies and receive the best advice about their postnatal recoveries.
“These awards are just the first step in our plans to work with the APF to help mums understand what is safe and reap the many benefits of finding ways to stay active in their pregnancies and beyond.”
The awards will be judged by an esteemed panel.
This includes Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi – Channel 4 TV Doctor and Royal College of GP’s Lifestyle and Physical Activity Lead; Kate Dale – Director of marketing at Sport England and campaign lead for This Girl Can; Midwife Pip– Midwifery sister, speaker and publisher; Baz Moffat – Former GB Rower and founder of The Well HQ; Caroline Crowe – Pre- and Postnatal Instructor, fitness tutor and assessor; and Melanie Stephenson-Gray – former international athlete, APF ‘Mother Board’ Member and Diabetes Advocate.
Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi said: “The APF Awards 2023 are an amazing opportunity to recognise the inspiring people who work tirelessly to support pregnant and postnatal women to become or stay active.
“We need to keep banging the drum about the benefits of movement as part of a healthy lifestyle, and I can’t wait to step into my role as a judge and learn more about the many nominations.”
Nominations are open until March 19, with public voting taking place between April 17 and April 30.
The awards ceremony will take place on June 27, 2023 at 10 Union Street, London – the home of the Royal College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologists..
For more information and to see all the award categories you can enter, visit the Active Pregnancy Foundation website