So many women who become mothers for the first time aren’t given the guidance and information on what to do now my baby has been born. The common message that we hear constantly is rest up, go to your 6 week check up and, if all is ok, we are told to just “listen to your body and return to exercise slowly”. Other information many new mothers may also have circling around in their heads after birth are “I have been told I have abdominal separation”or “they had to do an episiotomy so I now have stitches down there that will dissolve in 2-3 weeks”
Now what do I do?…. I have been told this information but given no further directions on what my abdominal separation means? How do I heal that? Do I need to heal that? What do I do after my stitches fall out? Am I fine just to return to my normal exercise routine?
Delivering a baby, no matter how that baby comes out, is a huge life event! It is huge emotionally and physically on the body and there needs to be more support and education for women BEYOND just checking that the baby is latching on to breast feed and is putting on a healthy amount of weight and that the mother is not suffering post natal depression.
The muscles of the vaginal have not only been stretched for the delivery of your baby (if a vaginal birth) but they have also been bearing the weight of your growing bump over 9 months. All layers of your abdominal wall muscles and connective tissue have been cut (if C-Section) delivery and the skin has been stretched to get the baby out and then stitched back together. That is MAJOR SURGERY!
If you have had a baby, regardless of the method of delivery, here are my TOP TIPS on what to do next:
CONNECT to your breath. We want to get your DIAPHRAGM moving again (the muscle underneath your rib cage responsible for breathing) – think about your ribs being an umbrella. You want them to EXPAND like an umbrella is opening as you INHALE through your nose. As you exhale out through your mouth, you want to ribs and belly to gently soften as you expel the air out.
MAKE an appointment to see a WOMEN’S PHYSIO. You want them to do an ultrasound AND internal pelvic floor assessment. The ultrasound can assess the recruitment pattern of your pelvic floor and transverse abdominal muscles (the muscles that run horizontally across your tummy area). She is going to assess your pelvic floor – can you recruit the muscles of your pelvic floor correctly? Is there a weakening of these muscles from giving birth? Are your pelvic floor muscles strong enough to be able to return to high impact activities yet? She will also assess your abdominal wall muscles for separation and assess your ability in generating tension through the mid-line of your core. Now that we have actually been assessed….we can then have an action plan to know WHERE we are currently at and what we need to do to rehabilitate your body back to where we need/want to be (this might be running, pilates classes, or just to reduce something you have notice change since giving birth. EVEN if you had a C-Section, an appointment with a womens physio is still a MUST. You are not free from potential pelvic floor weakening/continence issues just because you did not give birth to your baby vaginally PLUS you have also had major surgery which needs rehabilitating. Scar tissue accumulates wherever the body has been cut/had trauma. This build up of scar tissue can restrict movement, impacting the recruitment of your abdominal muscles among many others (the body is all connected!). A womens physio can assist you with c-section massage to prevent scar tissue build up and teach you how to self massage at home to help heal the scar below the skins surface.
SITTING POSTURE – as a new mum we spend alot of timing sitting down, often to breast feed. Whilst we understand at times, your sitting posture is not going to be at the forefront of your mind, especially when i’ts 3am… knowing the “gold standard” or optimal posture is important and something you can strive towards. When sitting on the couch or chair, we want to aim to have our ribs over our hips. Propping a pillow behind the small of your back can help keep you in a more “neutral” alignment rather than slumping ( where we see the hips forward of the ribs). The position of ribs over hips also assists in the rehabilitation of abdominal separation. Also consider propping your baby up on pillows to help bring it up to your breast. This can help take the load of your arms, shoulders and upper back.
Other considerations in the post-natal period are HYDRATION, NUTRITION, COFFEE & MOVEMENT. Fascia (your connective tissues) is 70% water. Those particularly who have had C-section need to stay hydrated for your wound to heal. Massage and water lubricate the connective. Think of a sponge that is dry vs one that has some water in it! Eat frequently to support breast feeding. Protein, carbohydrates and good fats. Frequent eating is also important due to the lack of sleep/broken sleep new mothers go through which can cause us to crave high sugar foods. A mothers stress hormone is also elevated post birth to care for its newborn. Consider coffee AFTER food to reduce the spike coffee gives to your system. And lastly, MOVE! Daily walking and getting outside is important. Mobilising your body through some daily stretches/yoga moves such as cat/cow, downward dog, child-pose can really help move the blood around your body.
If you need any help in getting back into exercise after your baby, we would love to hear from you 🙂
Kat x
