The Army has a specialized fitness program for pregnant and postpartum Soldiers. P3T, or Pregnancy/Postpartum Physical Training Program helps pregnant and postpartum Soldiers to maintain their fitness and to return to duty safely. The Vicenza Military Community recently hosted an Exercise Leader Course for the P3T program which will train Exercise Leaders how to address the unique needs of pregnant and postpartum Soldiers.
Col. Kelley Togiola, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, is responsible for the P3T program and explained that U.S. Army Garrison Italy is a unique community and required a unique solution for the physical training of our pregnant and postpartum Soldiers.
“We have taken the Army’s P3T directive and tailored it to meet the needs of the Vicenza and Darby Military Communities. The Exercise Leaders Course is just one part of the new P3T program, and I am proud to say we recently graduated fourteen exercise leaders,” Togiola said.
During the Exercise Leader Course, Soldiers were instructed on how to properly perform certain exercises that are made safe for a pregnant and postpartum woman to perform.
The exercise leader guides the Soldiers through appropriate exercises four days a week and attend one education class weekly, which covers a variety of topics such as what to expect when having a baby in Italy.
“P3T is known to help improve health outcomes for both mother and baby as well as improve the readiness and resiliency of our Soldiers and units,” Togiola said.
The Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Training Program will help readiness and resiliency across the Vicenza and Darby Military Communities.