Okay, so there’s a lot of information out there about how to prepare your home – and life – for a new baby. But what about preparing your body for post-birth healing?
‘Cause as cute as your new bundle of joy might be, the truth is that they did (or will) leave their mark on your body.
Birthing is physically traumatic. I’m going to repeat that again, because even though it’s a ‘normal’ and ‘natural’ thing for women to experience … Birthing is physically traumatic.
You need time to heal.
But … you have a new baby to take care of! #allofthebusy
The good news is that there are a few ways you can accelerate your post-birth healing process.
Here are some of our favourites…
How to accelerate your post-birth healing
Slow. Down.
I know, I know, we said we’d help you heal quickly. But the truth is that this isn’t an overnight quick fix. It took ten months to get to the finish line with the whole baby delivery, you need to grant yourself at least ten months to recover.
This means slowing down and giving your body the time it needs to heal. Swap OCD housework and intense 60-minute gym sesh’s with long baths and warm teas.
Swear off sit-ups.
Your belly has been through a lot, babe. Now more than ever, you should follow precautions for abdominal separation and avoid all activities that cause movements like a sit-up or crunch.
Because even if you didn’t have an ab separation during pregnancy, you can still get one afterwards if you start exercising the wrong way too soon or heave your body into and out of bed using your abs.
Load up on vitamin D.
Your regular sunshine might not be enough either – we’d recommend taking a vitamin D supplement to aid in collagen tissue repair. This will seriously transform that tissue paper skin on your tummy!
Put your feet up.
And we mean that literally, girl. Actually put your feet above your head for 15 to 30 minutes each day to allow your pelvic floor some gravity-free rest.
When you’re sitting, you’re putting pressure on your pelvic floor muscles and they do NOT get to rest. So forced relaxation is my fave prescription to advise.
Eat your veggies.
Your body needs veggies (and the nutrients and fibre they contain) to avoid constipation and ensure you don’t strain to do number two’s. Why does it matter? Well, your pelvic floor can be traumatised by straining too much, you can exacerbate, or cause, haemorrhoids and you can worsen bladder problems.
It’s important not to get bloated or constipated as this can be the trigger for bladder problems. My patient, “Lulu”, started to have some bladder leaking issues when her office moved and due to time constraints, she was no longer able to do her business before getting to her real business. As a result, she was super constipated and her bladder got ticked off. Once she changed her routine and got up earlier, she was able to get all systems back online.
Moral of the story: Heed the call of nature and do not wait.
Move your body.
Okay, so intense exercise is out, but movement is definitely in. Exercise is SO important to help your abdominal muscles return to their normal length and to strengthen the muscles supporting the spine and pelvis.
So, what exercises should you do? Well, Pilates is the PERFECT exercise to do for postnatal mums, as it is safe, effective and efficient.
When you do Pilates, you heal your abs and pelvic floor while getting the ideal workout for the entire body. Pilates is one of the few exercises that is great for every BODY.
Wondering where to start with Pilates? Well …
