Postpartum Recovery Tips

Having a baby is one of the greatest physical, emotional, and spiritual journeys a woman can go through. Pregnancy brings a wave of new challenges, experiences, and demands, along with careful planning. Yet, every moment becomes worthwhile when you finally welcome your little one into the world. Once the initial chaos settles into routine, only the mom can understand the difference between her pre-pregnancy body and postpartum body.

Throughout her pregnancy, a woman’s body undergoes a series of remarkable changes. Her organs shift up to make room for her growing baby, while her ribs expand and her diaphragm is pushed higher. Postural adjustments occur as her back muscles work overtime to compensate, and the added pressure on her pelvic floor increases. Additionally, her abdominal muscles are stretched significantly, often resulting in a condition known as diastasis recti. Once the initial chaos begins to slow down and routine starts to settle in, the difference between your pre-pregnancy body and your postpartum body becomes more noticeable. This is where understanding postpartum recovery tips can have a huge impact on healing and strength.

At the Center for Movement & Wellbeing, we are doing our best to support moms in their recovery after pregnancy. Most women don’t know what to expect postpartum or how to approach postpartum exercise. As little as 15 – 20 minutes a day of simple exercises can do wonders to support the restoration of the core, pelvic floor, and posture. The best part about it is that these tips are not only for new moms. There are women in our classes who are 30 years postpartum and still experiencing profound benefits. So no matter how far out from childbirth you are, it is never too late.

Our four goals of recovery are as follows:

• Activate the diaphragm
• Fire up the core
• Engage the hips
• Reset Posture

Activate the Diaphragm

Every pregnancy pushes the mother’s body into a paradoxical breathing pattern, in other words, breath has to go up into the chest instead of down into the diaphragm because the baby is taking up that space. Engaging in 360 Breathing allows a return of normal breathing, encourages a return of abdominal and back support and even engages the pelvic floor, making it a cornerstone of our postpartum recovery tips.

Fire up the core 

Abdominals are the foundation of our core and a crucial component to postpartum exercise. During pregnancy the abs are vital to supporting and carrying your baby and yet they have to stretch out to accommodate for the growth of the baby. The after effects of pregnancy require reenergizing those muscles and encouraging them to take their former shape. Breathing exercises teach pressure management and some modified planks reintroduce the abdominals to activity that promote the return to your flat tummy. 

Engage the hips

Hips are key to supporting the upper part of our body. As your little one grows into a toddler, they start to become a runner. A mom that is on the move needs to be able to keep up. In order to do this, we need to relearn how to correctly squat and lunge while activating the abdominals. These movements are a critical part of our postpartum recovery tips, setting you up for success to chase after your little one with ease.

Reset Posture

The majority of people have poor posture, and pregnancy only adds to the issue. During pregnancy the pelvis is tilted forward. This paired with rounded shoulders from nursing and carrying a baby is a perfect combination for bad posture. Improving posture is as simple as adding in a T-spine rotation and angel wings exercises. Many women can’t believe how stuck their posture is but with some gentle movement, they are well on their way to feeling strong and tall with their posture.

At the Center for Movement & Wellbeing, our postpartum classes are designed to help empower each mom with postpartum tips that help provide the guidance they need to recover. In our classes we learn how to restore breathing and encourage pelvic floor activation and abdominal engagement. Breath is healing. We coach each participant through 360 breath and see dramatic physical changes in all our clients no matter how long they have been postpartum. No matter how long it has been since birth, recovery is possible and achievable. 

Discover the benefits of postpartum recovery tips and join us on the journey to feeling strong, healthy, and capable again. Visit our website to learn more about our postpartum classes and how we can support you every step of the way.