What You Should Know About Your Postpartum Health
With Jade Lucas Read, Qualified Womens Health Physiotherapist
Do you ever think how awesome it is how much your body has changed after pregnancy and childbirth?!
As a Women’s & Pelvic Health specialist Physiotherapist I have come across many issues that arise due to childbirth and how tough women can be on themselves to put their bodies back together after birth.
Realistically, it takes at least a year before most new mums start to feel like they are a fraction of their former physical self. Unfortunatly, post partum & pelvic rehabilitation care often go neglected. It is so important for all mothers (regardless of how many childbirths they have had) to be well educated on what to expect and more importantly what is safe to do post partum.
NO AMOUNT of peeing when you cough, sneeze, or exercise is normal!
Postpartum urinary incontinence typically comes in two forms: stress and urge incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs when you leak urine after you forcefully laugh, cough, sneeze, jump, run, or lift weights. Urge urinary incontinence (UUI) occurs when there is a sudden urge to urinate and accidental leakage occurs before getting to the bathroom (even though the bladder may be nearly empty). UUI is also referred to as having an ‘overactive bladder.’
Safely working on your post-baby belly is important to avoid separation of the 6 pack muscles
The pressure of the growing uterus on the abdomen can cause the ‘six-pack’ muscles to separate sideways, also known as Diastasis Recti. When the abdominal muscles move apart, they become weak causing a loss of support for the internal organs and spinal column. This places more pressure on the pelvic floor muscles. For this reason, special care needs to be taken with movements and exercises to correct the separation, regardless of long you are postpartum. Once postpartum always postpartum!
Protect your organs!
During pregnancy, hormonal changes soften the supporting structures in the pelvic floor making them more elastic. Along with carrying the weight of the baby for approximately nine months, these muscles can easily weaken which can lead to a condition known as pelvic organ prolapse (POP). This is the descent of the pelvic organs (i.e. bladder, rectum, cervix, and uterus) into the vagina. Various factors can increase the risk of POP including; traumatic delivery, chronic constipation, pelvic floor muscle weakness and menopause.
Jade Lucas-Read is a Womens Health Speicalist Physiotherapist and works in Canadian Medical Centre- Abu Dhabi. She is running a FREE distasis workshop on 18 October and a Mummy MOT workshop on 18 November, both at Bodytree Studio. Learn more about your postpartum health – email info@bodytreestudio.com for full details and bookings.
Renz Path
November 6, 2018 at 5:53 amI never knew that it takes about a year before the mother feels they’re back to normal. Since postpartum gives the mother urinary incontinence as well, it is not really easy for mothers to feel comfortable especially when they leak urine after laughing or coughing. Since that is the case, I will tell my daughter who is giving birth next month about that and advise that she seek the help of a physiotherapist instead to deal with an upcoming postpartum blues.