Returning To Exercise After Pregnancy.

Returning to exercise can be daunting for any new mother, it’s always overwhelming to think what can or can’t I do post pregnancy and many women are left after childbirth with a weakened pelvic floor.

It is important not to return too soon to exercise that is too strenuous. It does not matter how fit you are on the outside, exercising too soon before your pelvic floor has had time to recover can cause can damage such as prolapse, incontinence or back pain.

The first few weeks post birth (0-3 weeks) the best low impact options are gentle walking, post natal muscle bracing and pelvic floor exercises. A great exercise is to lay on the floor in rest position (if you are post C/sect this may be difficult in the first few weeks and best to wait until it’s comfortable to get down and up from the floor)

Laying on the floor with feet on the floor and knees slightly bent, focus on your breathing and how your pelvis is sitting. Tilting back and forth slightly, imagine that your pelvis is a bucket of water and if you tilt too forward or back the water will fall out. You want a nice even balanced feeling in your pelvis. Start by focusing on your breathing and gently activate your pelvic floor holding for 10 x 1 second activations and then 1 x 10 second activation.

After the first few weeks (3-8 weeks) we recommend a post natal check up with a women’s health physiotherapist to address any issues that might arise early on. It’s extremely important to have your pelvic function assessed post birth even if you don’t think you have any issues before returning to gym based classes or strenuous activity.

In weeks 3-8 after consulting with your physiotherapist, you can start to resume activities such as low impact aerobics, low intensity water aerobics classes (once bleeding has stopped), postnatal muscle bracing, pelvic floor exercises, walking and gym programs (maintain posture, light weights only and no breath holding)

Weeks 8-12 you can follow the same protocol as week 3-8 however gradually increasing intensity and weights.

12-16 weeks postnatal you should have another post natal check up with your physiotherapist just to check for any abdominal separation, and pelvic floor muscle testing before returning to high impact sports such as running, sport or abdominal exercise programs. Once you have had the all clear from your physiotherapist after week 16 you can return to previous activity levels.

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

• Vaginal heaviness or leakage of urine. If you experience any of these symptoms see your women’s health physiotherapist.

• You will be tired in the first few months after having a baby due to poor sleep, demands of motherhood and feeding. Make sure that you listen to your body and don’t over exert yourself during this time.

• Back pain can indicate issues with pelvic floor so if you start to experience back pain see your physiotherapist as soon as possible

• If you start to experience pain after exercising also see your physiotherapist.

GET THE PELVIC FLOOR FIRST APP!

The app is available through Google Play (Android) and through the App Store (iOS – note when searching for the app on an iPad select “iPhone only” from the top of the screen).

To initially download the app from the App Store or Google Play, you will require a wireless internet connection.