Return to activity should be gradual. Allow healing, start slowly and gradually progress your activities. Post natal recovery is a rehab process and you must listen to your body. Your body is recovering from pregnancy and child birth and this will take some time. You are likely to have to adapt your activity dependant on tiredness levels, demands from baby, level of support from home, own health conditions, nutrition. So optimise these factors where you can. Eat well, take the support that people will offer you and make time for yourself to heal and recover both physically and mentally.
Advice for the early days after discharge from Hospital
Exercise progression is important. Ensure you can achieve the basics before progressing to the next stage. The following guidelines have been devised as an example for the postnatal runner but can be adapted for progression to most forms of exercise.
Week 0-2 reconnecting with your core is priority with pelvic floor and basic core exercises as seen in
Walking is a great way to regain physical activity and ideally out swinging your arms in reciprocal pattern will help rehab process.
Initially through the first 6 weeks use body weight as resistance such as squats and lunges. Then add low impact activity to potentially include static bike/static cross trainer and increase your strength training Then from 6 weeks on dependant on your recovery postnatally it may be that you can move onto resistance training using bands/weights for strength and start to increase your low impact activity eg power walking/cycling.
Through the next 6 weeks build on this to try to gradually return to your recommended 150 mins of physical activity per week.
If you find during your normal day to day activities or when gradually returning to activity that you are suffering from urinary or faecal incontinence, any vaginal heaviness or separation of your abdominal muscles please request a referral to pelvic health physiotherapy from either GP or community midwife/health visitor.
Post natal Physiotherapy
| Title | Date added | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Physical activity for women after childbirth | 25-10-2022 | Download |
| Examples of Exercise Progression in the Postnatal ... | 25-10-2022 | Download |