What about the not so new mum and postnatal exercise? What state is your pelvic floor in 1, 2,3 or 4 years after birth?
“My child is 2 – I am over the Postnatal exercise period”……right or wrong?
Most people think that once their child is a certain age then their body has repaired and is strong again and they embark on Military style fitness classes.
However, your child’s age doesn’t determine how strong your body is.
The first year or so for mums tends to often be about laundry, sleep deprivation, sick, nappies and just getting used to a total life change! Then sometimes along comes baby number 2 and before you know it you realise it’s been 3 years since you really did any exercise. Then often you think in order to get strong again then you need to thrash it out at military type fitness classes, burpees, push ups and the like in a quest to lift that booty and get rid of the pouch your little ones left behind.
Stop and think!
However, STOP and think for a minute…. it’s about now some mums experience back ache, neck and shoulder pains, tight hamstrings etc. A lot of this is down to posture problems. Years of rocking baby, carrying baby on one hip or in a sling, nightly feeds all affect our posture. The other reason you get back pain is due to a weak core. Your core wraps around you and holds your back and pelvis in position. It’s very likely you may also have Diastasis Recti (tummy separation). Sadly tummy separation isn’t made better with time – the only thing that can make it better is the right type of tummy connecting exercises. 1 in 3 mums have tummy separation a good indication is a bad back, mummy pouch that looks a few months pregnant or for those slenderer mums in can look like a big gap in your abdominals which is more evident when you lie down.
That poor old pelvic floor!
A lot of mums notice that they aren’t as strong as they thought when they start to run with their toddlers! They often experience little trickles of wee or the sensation of their lady bits falling down when they do a deep squat, lift something heavy or jump around. All ladies should be able to jump on a trampoline without feeling like they are going to wet themselves!
When was the last time you thought about your pelvic floor? Pelvic floor exercises should be done regularly. A good way to remember to do pelvic floor exercise is to do them when you are brushing your teeth as you do this twice a day every day. The pelvic floor is a muscle and can be made stronger just like a bicep muscle can. In France, Postnatal recovery is a vital part of the childbirth process, with mums having to regularly attend sessions with midwifes to check that their pelvic floor is strong – they do this by inserting fingers into the vagina. Here, we just get discharged within few hours of birth and are told to do pelvic floors!!!!! A very different aftercare here in the UK.
So, the answer is YES,YES YES you do need to attend the Core classes if you have an older child. Sadly, however toddlers tend not to settle in the core classes so I would advise 121 sessions or the Saturday morning class. With regular sessions you should gain your strength quickly, I can check for Diastasis Recti and give you exercises to do at home. It’s a slow process, but a process well worth it in the long term. If you plan on having more children, then the risk of pelvic floor prolapse increases.
Children need a strong mum to be able to run around with them and throw them up in the air, without having to worry about their bits down below.
Next time you brush your teeth remember my advice, look and book the core classes or email for a 121.
You might also be interested in my postnatal nutrition programme which, coupled with postnatal exercise, can be hugely powerful to get you feeling and looking better.