Early Postpartum Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
During your pregnancy you make sure to sign up for all the classes - childbirth, breastfeeding, CPR. And of course a newborn essentials class because you want to make sure you can give your newborn the care they need and deserve! There is just one thing missing… preparing to take care of YOU.
It’s baffling to me - you are told to avoid sex and exercise x 6 weeks, if you had a c-section you are told not to lift anything (and your baby + their carseat usually weigh more than that…), you are trying to keep up with your toddler at home, and then at 6 weeks you are told “all clear!”
You have more questions than answers:
“What if I have to put my toddler in the crib?”
“What if I want to do some gentle yoga at week 3?”
“Is walking okay?”
“Does this mean I can go back to Orange Theory at week 6?”
“Should I still be taking stool softners?”
“Are these hemorrhoids ever going to go away?”
“How long does it take to ‘feel normal’ down there again?”
“What do I do about the back from being hunched over feeding at all hours?”
“Is it normal to pee everytime I sneeze?”
The truth is, you aren’t going to do nothing for 6 weeks, and it’s often not realistic to be “back to normal” at only 6 weeks postpartum.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help bridge the gap between discharge from the hospital and your 6 week appointment.
I cannot say enough about how much I love doing early postpartum virtual visits.
These allow you to get all the answers to the questions you have, and help keep you from having to DIY your own recovery during an already intense phase of life.
I recommend that about 2 weeks postpartum you have a virtual check in for several reasons:
➡️6 weeks is too long to go without support for your physical recovery
➡️early postpartum lays the foundation for your postpartum recovery
➡️there are usually some (relatively) easy solutions to some of the challenges you may be having!
Here’s what a session can look like:
🤰checking in on YOU, baby, and what the end of pregnancy, birth, and recovery have looked like
❤️🩹talking about strategies for management of csection incisions, perineal tears, any of pains you may have
👶talking about day to day life - positions you are in for feeding, changing, etc. and how you can best support your own body while you care for baby
💩bowel and bladder health: positioning, avoiding pressure on incisions or stitches, hydration for bladder health, what’s normal and what’s not
🚶♀️what activity can look like, getting back to walking
🫁breathing strategies for reconnecting with your core
This session is all about meeting your current needs to support healing, while laying the foundation for postpartum recovery.
