How To Know When You are Ready To Return to Exercise After Birth
Whether it was your first or fourth birth, you just welcomed a new bundle of joy into your family. Your life has been turned upside down in the best way possible! It feels so exciting, rewarding, joyful and hard all at the same time. If you are anything like me, you may be dealing with the ups and downs of adjusting to motherhood: figuring out how to juggle feeding your baby, washing pump parts, finding small windows to sleep all while letting your body heal. Somewhere in all of this beautiful chaos, you are hoping to get back to feeling more like you. This may mean going for a walk, finding time to catch up with friends over a good latte, or getting back to your Pilates routine. You anxiously await your six week follow up appointment with your doctor to get the “all clear” to return to exercise, but what does that mean? Are you ready? Are there movements you should or shouldn’t be doing?
When you follow up with your medical provider, these visits consist of a basic check of your pelvic organs and to make sure any pelvic muscular tears or cesarean incisions appear to be healing well without showing any signs of infection. Most of the time, you will not be screened for diastasis recti abdominus (DRA) or have a thorough pelvic muscular exam to determine if your body is prepared for the added load of working out.
There is a huge gap in care for women returning to their “norm” after having a baby. I strongly believe we deserve better in being cared for after birth as many of us feel left in the dark after we get cleared from our doctor. Imagine you undergo ACL reconstruction surgery, you would automatically be sent to physical therapy for 8- 12 months recovery to return to your sport. Why do we not expect the same type of care after we give birth? I hear time and time again in my office that women wish they knew about pelvic floor physical therapy sooner or felt lost and confused about what was normal or not normal during the fourth trimester. You may have heard “Oh you just had a baby, it’s normal to pee your pants a little when you workout.” It may be common, but it is definitely not normal!
Pilates is one of my favorite ways to return to exercise in the fourth trimester. For me, it was humbling how challenging some of the movements felt that used to be so easy for me. However, the focus on posture, alignment and the blend of both mobility and strength was the perfect way for me to begin to rebuild my core strength after having my daughter. One of the best things you can do for your body in the early stages of healing is to start with diaphragmatic breathing. From there, you can build on reconnecting with your pelvic floor and add in more total body strengthening. Just because you are cleared for all exercise at your six week visit, does not always mean you are ready. Start slow, listen to your body and take it one day at a time. Building a strong foundation with exercises that may seem simple is important to set you up for success as you increase exercise intensity.
If you are experiencing any leakage, pelvic pain or pressure and heaviness in your pelvis, pain with sex, scar pain (both c-section or perineal area), I cannot recommend enough seeking out a pelvic floor physical therapist. We are trained in assessing the pelvic floor muscles along with how these muscles interact with other muscles in the hips and abdomen. We can educate you on caring for your overall pelvic health, discuss with you what is normal and not normal and provide more specific guidance on return to exercise or activities that meet the demands of your everyday life. If you are interested in learning more, you can reach out to schedule a fifteen minute discovery visit here.
