I am Dr. Lanalee Araba Sam, a Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, I have been been practicing medicine for over 16 years. I founded Elite Obstetrics and Gynecology in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 2004 and am myself a single mother of a teenage son as well as active in leadership roles with the American Medical Women’s Association, Broward County Medical Association and numerous local and national charities focused on women’s health.

In 2015, I had the pleasure of meeting Valerie Massoni, President and Founder of Body Belly Baby in Miami at her studio. I was both delighted and impressed to see what she had created along with the incalculable value she has been bringing to pregnant patients and new moms. I was very pleased to see her level of expertise and knowledge, but even more so, to see her passion and genuine love for the mission she had set for herself. She is, in my opinion, a penultimate expert in pregnancy and postpartum fitness as well as, prenatal and postpartum Pilates. On our first meeting, we immediately jumped into a discussion about the importance of a healthy pelvic floor and Kegel exercises during and after pregnancy. Her knowledge and dedication to the education of women is admirable. I truly wish all of my patients could have access to Body Belly Baby but distance and traffic between Miami and Fort Lauderdale has not allowed that fully.

Valerie and I share the same view and mission to improve the quality of pregnancy and women’ health not only during and after pregnancy but also during labor- which is critical especially in our country. Valerie has earned many certifications – she is a Pilates Master, a certified Lamaze International educator, an infant massage USA educator… and many more in addition to her solid academic background as a Harvard Graduate Student. She has a vision to improve the health of pregnant women and new moms in the US. She created a concept and center that every expectant woman dreams of and needs and a place where new moms love to go to with their baby to recover from pregnancy and labor and get back in shape.

I believe that quality should always come before quantity in terms of medicine, wellness and fitness services. The attention and care Body Belly Baby has built and delivers clearly reflects this philosophy. Consequently, I am a proud advisor to Valerie and Body Belly Baby and recommend any pregnant woman and new mom to be part of the Body Belly Baby community.

As briefly noted above, the fact that my practice is located in Fort Lauderdale, approximately 40 miles from the Miami Body Belly Baby center. This has frustrated both myself and my patients who would like to most of my patients love to attend classes and courses there. It is my sincere hope that Valerie will soon expand her business model to place a center close to me and, one day, all across the state and country educating and contributing to the well – being of as many women as possible.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lanalee Araba Sam

Dr. Carlos Garcia, MD OBGYN recommends Body Belly Baby

Dr. Carlos Garcia highly recommends Body Belly Baby to every pregnant and postpartum women.

What is the value Body Belly Baby brings to pregnant women? New moms with babies?

Body Belly Baby has developed a brand that families can trust. It is evident that much care goes into selecting what courses will be offered and only if there is someone able to offer it as a high quality service. Expecting families have an overwhelming amount of options in the hospital, gyms, yoga centers. independent consultants, retail stores, and many other venues offer services and products. Inexperienced and experienced families alike find it difficult to decipher what is beneficial and how to measure quality other than word of mouth or online reviews.

Body Belly Baby’s brand of consistent attention to detail and organized high quality offerings along with a rapidly growing and established community of supporting physicians all over Miami at Mercy Hospital, Baptist Hospital, Mount Sinai  and South Miami Hospitals truly allows women and their family to confidently go to Body Belly Baby for all of their needs. The excellent and professional services at Body Belly Baby stand out and make this company unique, trustable and truly the best in pregnancy /postpartum fitness and education.

Body Belly Baby as a physical and online center for Prenatal Pilates, fitness and education is unique in that it has generated an amazing community of women in Miami and in the US who face the challenges of maternity and postpartum together under the guidance of a highly respected, knowledgeable, passionate instructor and founder in a fun and supportive environment in its physical center and online with very information virtual educational classes. For new moms, I have often heard that exercise in a group calms them.

There are many scenarios where Body Belly Baby has offered services where I would not have had another central option or where I would have had to send the women and their family to several services, I have often referred women who are overly anxious about a seemingly normal pregnancy to Body Belly Baby as the community bonding and camaraderie is exceptional with the added benefit of exercise and its effects on anxiety and depression. Women with twins or those with limited movement capacities due to complications of preterm labor or incompetent cervix have benefited from the Body Belly Baby Method’s in Pilates, non-impact format, again without sacrificing a supportive community environment afforded to those with normal pregnancies.Women who are athletic and competitive find the challenges of Pilates and Body Belly Baby Method  with its focus on core strengthening and total body conditioning to be addictive and a change from their cycling or long distance running which is limited and contra-indicated in pregnancy. Postpartum women who underwent cesarean section benefit form this method as they return to work faster with proper customized Pilates progression exercises in a unique setting where they can participate with their newborn child.

These offerings – in person classes and virtual classes now in Covid 19 time – make it not just more enjoyable, but also drastically increase compliance and persistence as Body Belly Baby has made the logistics of facing the challenges of maternity easier and less overwhelming.

Body Belly Baby’s Founder, Valerie is supportive, passionate and a visionary. She has high expectations from her team members who are all certified, qualified and caring professionals. Our practice proudly works now with Body Belly Baby as the most professional service providers for prenatal education in birth preparation, breastfeeding, Baby 101 and baby safety classes and more.

Dr. Carlos Garcia, MD

Miami OBGYN, LLC

I joined Valerie’s baby massage class when my daughter was just a few months old. Both of us enjoyed it so much. It was a great way to connect and bond in those early months…and also a great way to meet new friends. Valerie creates a very relaxing environment where older siblings and other relatives are always welcome. It was such a pleasure attending her class!