Let’s talk about prepping for postpartum for a minute. Whenever I bring this topic up to my pregnant clients, they seem to be taken aback by the thought of preparing for after birth. Most have come to me to prepare their bodies for birth.
Your body undergoes MAJOR physical and hormonal changes after birth. Not only are you trying to adjust to these changes (whoa mood swings and random periods of crying!), you’re also learning to manage the stressors of caring for a tiny new human. Hello to feeling overwhelmed!
Luckily, much of the same prep work we do to prepare for labor is also fantastic for helping to heal your body postpartum.
First, An Anatomy Lesson
To truly understand WHY the items I suggest are critical for recovery, we need to look at how our bodies are connected.
The pelvic floor
The pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles in the pelvis that surrounds the 3 openings found in a woman: the vagina, urethra, and anal openings. The pelvic floor contracts and relaxes as we move and perform daily tasks to support the body and the internal organs.
The abdominals
Your abdominal muscles are made up of 4 different muscles:
Rectus abdominus
External Obliques
Internal Obliques
Transverse Abdominus
These muscles work together to support the body and internal organs, assist in breathing, and control the movements of our torso.
Diaphragm
The diaphragm allows us to breathe. It sits at the base of the lungs, and its contractions help control breathing in and out.
All together, the diaphragm, abdominals, and pelvic floor create your core and are the basis for Piston Theory.
What The Heck Is Piston Theory?
When these 3 systems (pelvic floor, abdominals, diaphragm) are in sync, they create a harmonious contract/relax effect that controls pressure within your abdomen.
When you breathe in,
Your diaphragm contracts
Your pelvic floor drops ( or relaxes)
Your abdominals relax
When you exhale,
Your diaphragm relaxes
Your pelvic floor lifts
Your abdominals contract
This synchronization maintains the pressure within your abdomen and prevents problems like leaking when you cough or sneeze.
So what Does This Anatomy Lesson Have To Do With Preparing For Postpartum?
Pregnancy does a real number on this unified system. The increased pressure of the baby pressing on these structures impedes their function, throwing them out of sync.
Keeping this system moving together during pregnancy prepares your body for
The added pressure of baby
Preventing hemorrhoids
Faster recovery after birth
Prepare the pelvic floor muscles and perineum for birth
Prevent leaking and constipation postpartum
Prevent tearing during birth
Combat muscle weakness postpartum
What To Work On Right After The Baby Is Born
Once the baby is born, many structures become lax without an enlarged uterus and baby holding them up..Your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles were stretched to the max and you’re left with lax, traumatized muscles.
Reconnecting Your Piston
A few hours after birth, you can start doing pelvic floor contractions and piston breathing to reconnect the system. You can functionally begin doing this by exhaling when you
Lift your baby
Stand up
Roll on your side in bed
Starting with this simple exercise will start to build the foundations for reconnecting your inner piston system.
Re-aligning Your Posture.
Posture is most efficient when stacked upon each other. During pregnancy, posture is often pulled out of alignment as most women adopt a “swayback” posture to balance themselves with the growing belly in the front.
To work on re-aligning your posture, practice standing against a wall and stacking your neck on top of your shoulders on top of your hips.
Why Is It Important To Recover And Do The Work To Heal Your Body?
Even if you feel totally fine after birth, it is essential to work on these structures and systems. While you may not have a very noticeable problem now, it could become worse down the road.
Women’s bodies are constantly in a state of fluctuation. As our hormones change and fluctuate over time, a minor issue that happened during pregnancy can become a full-blown problem in our later years.
Exercise Progression Postpartum
A lot of you may be wondering, “how do I strengthen my body postpartum?”
My answer is well, it depends.
What were you doing before you gave birth?
Did you have a difficult labor and delivery?
The answers to these two questions can greatly impact how much and how fast you can do it.
No matter your pre-birth situation, it’s important to start slow and listen to your body. You want to progressively work against gravity to strengthen your body and ensure that the challenge gradually increases.
For more information about healing your body postpartum, you can grab my Top 5 pregnancy and Postpartum exercises here. These are safe exercises you can do no matter how far postpartum you are or what your birth experience was.
If you are suffering from abdominal separation, my CORE+ Healing DRA Masterclass is focused on safe exercise progression for abdominal separation and reducing leaking and incontinence.
Not sure if you have abdominal separation or diastasis rectus? Check out this blog to learn more about diastasis rectus and how to self-diagnose.
Still unsure? Feel free to contact me with any questions or schedule an appointment for an evaluation on my scheduling page.