Regarding exercise after birth, I’m a cheerleader for ANYONE wanting to get back to it. But in the professional world, there’s some controversy surrounding what that looks like. Some believe once you are postpartum, things like sit ups, heavy lifts, and jumping are out of the question. I’m here to tell you they are not. My goal for a postpartum woman is to help her achieve whatever she wants as safely as possible.
Certainly there are a few things I watch for as we progress toward her goals.
- Does she show good muscular control (coning, doming of the ab muscles)
- Does she have symptoms as she tries to accomplish the movement (leaking, pain, etc.)
- Does she
An important thing to note is that any one of the symptoms is not a red flag to stop this activity forever and ever. These symptoms don’t scare me. It’s a sign to stop and work on the problem before moving to the next step. Current research tells us that we can hold our muscles to a higher standard postpartum than we have in the past, and that is a wonderful thing.
Big takeaways here:
- If you’ve been told you can’t get back to your favorite activity, come talk to me
- If you have a diastasis recti, let’s chat about how to resume activity safely
- You are strong, and being pregnant did not make you weak!
Dr. Rachel Atufunwa PT, DPT