Why Pelvic Floor PT is a must postpartum!
Congratulations! You’ve just had your baby and now you’re basking in the glow of new motherhood, well rested, and able to devote all the time in the world to your own self care. Well, hopefully, right? In reality you might be sleep deprived, sore, and unable to think about anything except whether you’ll be able to use the bathroom alone. You’re probably not thinking about your pelvic floor, other than, perhaps, wondering how it will feel when you get the all clear from your doctor at your 6 week checkup to go back to…well… everything.
But the truth of the matter is, there is so much we as pelvic floor Physical Therapists can do for you in the immediate postpartum period, and so much you can do for yourself to help your incredible body heal as comfortably as possible. No one should have to deal with painful intercourse, leaking with activity, back pain, or hip pain simply because they had a baby and are now told this is “normal”.
Pelvic floor physical therapists see patients post vaginal delivery as well as c-section. Your pelvic floor PT will help you gently reconnect to your core and pelvic floor, and teach you how to best support what can often feel like a completely different body. If you’ve had a c-section your therapist may instruct you on scar massage and soft tissue mobilization using hands or silicone cups to help reduce restrictions. And after a vaginal birth, there may be tearing or changes in the pelvic floor muscles that can be assessed externally as well as internally (with enthusiastic consent) by a pelvic floor specialized PT.
Every person is different, and every person’s postpartum experience is going to be different. When you come to pelvic floor PT we will perform an initial evaluation where we listen to your specific story and look at your muscles and movement patterns. We will then come up with an individualized treatment plan consisting of manual therapy, breath work, lifestyle changes, and exercises to help you get back to doing the things you love.
Here are some of our favorite gentle movements for the postpartum period*
Supine or seated snow angels:
Cat cow stretch:
*(these movements are not personalized to your specific needs, so do not perform these movements if they cause any pain)