Four Common Postpartum Exercise Mistakes to Avoid
Postpartum recovery isn't straightforward or one-size-fits-all. It's more than just avoiding certain exercises. You have to do what is right for your unique recovery needs. Here are the most common mistakes new mothers make when returning to exercise after birth that often lead to injury and worsening of conditions like urinary incontinence, diastasis recti, and pelvic organ prolapse.
Starting too soon
One of the most common mistakes is beginning exercise too soon after childbirth. Wait until you receive clearance from your healthcare provider, which typically occurs around 6-8 weeks postpartum. Even with this clearance, it doesn’t mean that you should start high intensity exercise and running - for these activities it is recommended to wait at least 3 months after birth. However, you can typically get started on your pelvic floor and core recovery right away! The first step is to see your Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist for exercises that are specific to your recovery needs and fitness goals.
2. Ignoring pelvic floor health
Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles is essential for preventing issues like urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and diastasis recti. Doing Kegel exercises correctly and consistently is even more important. Schedule an appointment with your Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist after birth before jumping into exercise again.
3. Not modifying your exercises
Focusing on fitness instead of health and recovery will make you prone to injury and set you back. Modified doesn’t mean easy. Changing your workout style to adapt to your unique recovery will give you better results long-term. Always listen to what your body needs, including active rest days 2-3x/week.
Neglecting your deep core
Focusing only on outer abdominal exercises like sit-ups or crunches can place too much strain on the linea alba too soon and cause or worsen diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles). Instead, prioritize exercises that allow you to fully engage your deep transverse abdominis, eg. pelvic tilts.
I encourage you to see your Pelvic Health Physiotherapist after birth and seek out programs that prioritize core and pelvic floor recovery. I created Heal with Hayley, my online postnatal recovery program, for this exact purpose because I could not find a program that combined fitness with recovery in this way.
Send an email to hayley@pelvicgoddess.ca if you have questions about recovery after birth. Both 2 month and 4 month options for the program are available depending on your unique postnatal recovery needs ✨
