You’ve heard it said before “if I knew what I know now….”
For me, it’s about my postpartum recovery and returning to fitness journey.
Here are three things I wish I knew about postpartum recovery before I had my children. If I knew what I know now, things would have looked A LOT differently.
ONE. I wish someone would have told me that my midwife’s 6 week postpartum checkup releasing me from her care DID NOT mean that I could go back to the same exercises I was doing before I got pregnant, or when I was pregnant.
If I had known, I wouldn’t have gone balls to the wall back to running and kickboxing and would have saved myself from embarrassing leaky bladder episodes every time I jumped, sneezed, laughed, or coughed.
TWO. I wish someone had told me that the body’s spontaneous healing happens in the first 8 weeks after birth.
If I had known, I would have helped my body heal by wearing my belly wrap Every. Single. Day.
THREE. I wish someone would had told me that it’s NOT normal for my belly to grow throughout the day making me look 6 months pregnant 5 months after I had my baby.
If I had known that this is a sure sign of abdominal separation, (aka mummy tummy) which is an actual condition called diastasis recti abominus, I could have gotten help earlier.
If I had known that all of these issues were not ‘just normal after having a baby’ and instead had known the signs and symptoms of core and pelvic floor dysfunction, I would have seen a professional right away.
And by professional, that brings more questions. Exactly what type of professional am I talking about?
Is it your family doctor?
Or that medical clinic that is promoting the latest fat freezing or tummy tuck procedure?
Or is it that hardcore ‘no pain, no gain’ bootcamp trainer at the gym who’s riding your @$$ like crazy?
The answer is none of the above.
If I had known that all of these issues were not ‘just normal after having a baby’ and instead had known the signs and symptoms of core and pelvic floor dysfunction, I would have seen a professional right away.
The right medical professional to see is a pelvic floor physiotherapist, as well as a trained fitness professional like myself who is knowledgeable and educated in helping moms heal from the inside out. We’re talking strengthening the core and pelvic floor. Don’t forget that you’re baby was sitting and moving all over your womb; your organs were displaced, and everything doesn’t just snap back to the way it was. Even if you feel like everything is ok down there, you don’t want to do anything in the gym that will make you take a few steps backward in your healing process (like I did).
Don’t forget that you’re baby was sitting and moving all over your womb; your organs were displaced, and everything doesn’t just snap back to the way it was.
So I urge you, if you are pregnant, and haven’t yet seen a pelvic floor physiotherapist, go see one (you can find one near you by visiting http://www.collegept.org/Home). And if you’re a new mom and experience any of the issues mentioned above, or even if you haven’t experienced any of the above symptoms, it doesn’t mean you’re home free – get checked out, and make sure if you engage in any fitness classes, that they are safe for postpartum moms – meaning there is no high intensity training (ie: no bootcamps, no jumping, or running or jumping jacks, and definitely no crunches) and ensure that the focus is on re-training the core and pelvic floor. You can be sure of this if your trainer or instructor is Bellies Inc. Core Confidence certified like myself. Find out more about my postpartum Strong Mom classes here www.fittritious.com
In Fitness & Nutrition
I originally wrote this piece as a guest post published on ChicMamma.ca