pre + postnatal
Return to Exercise After Baby
Exercise is extremely beneficial for both your physical and mental health in the postpartum period. It is not only great for your body to recondition and strengthen after pregnancy, but also releases happy endorphins, making us feel good!
Every women’s body will recover at a different rate; thus, it is important to seek an individual assessment with a Women’s Health Physiotherapist before returning to exercise. Your body needs adequate healing time and It is important to build a foundation first by working on your underlying pelvic floor muscle strength.
Exercise post-delivery should be graded and based upon what your body can tolerate at the time. Returning to exercise too early can be detrimental to your recovery & may increase your risk of injury, exacerbate or create pelvic floor symptoms such as incontinence and vaginal heaviness.
If you are unsure about the type or amount of exercise you should be doing please get in touch. We can provide tailored education and advice for you when returning to exercise. A postnatal assessment of your pelvic floor is especially important to ensure your pelvic floor is ready to meet the demands in which exercise places in it.
Incontinence, pain, bugling, heaviness or feeling like a tampon is falling out when you exercise, is your bodies way of communicating with you and saying it is not ready yet. Our ultimate aim is to get you back to doing what you want to do safely and prevent any future dysfunction.