If you've recently given birth, getting back to regular activity can be a bit of a challenge. But try not to think about it that way and focus on the benefits that daily exercise will bring you. It's not about running a marathon, but about gradually improving your physical condition and mood in small steps. A good place to start is to find out how your pelvic floor is doing.
Why is it so important?
Due to pregnancy (oh, that gravity!) and after giving birth, the pelvic floor tends to be weakened, which can lead to incontinence and other health problems. Shortly after giving birth, urine leakage is very common and essentially a physiological phenomenon: one in three women will experience it. But if you don't want incontinence to limit you in life permanently, you need to start taking care of your pelvic floor.
Appropriately chosen activity and exercise help prevent incontinence and other health problems, but they also bring other benefits:
- Endorphins are released, so you will feel happier and more satisfied.
- Physical fitness improves and you will gradually regain your shape.
- Harmony with your own body: you will learn to listen to your body, its needs and limits.
What activities to start with?
1. Walking
Try to gradually include it in every day. During the first weeks with your baby, it is an ideal activity. A light walk through a quiet part of town, a park or a forest brings peace of mind and slowly gets the body used to regular exercise.
2. Breathing exercises
Consciously connecting with your body may not be easy shortly after giving birth, but if you learn to notice your breath, you are on the right track. In a free moment, while putting your baby to sleep or on a bench outside, try to slowly activate and relax your pelvic floor muscles with the help of deep, smooth inhalation and exhalation. This simple but effective method helps keep your pelvic floor muscles in harmony.
3. Yoga
Yoga calms the mind and has a number of positions that are very beneficial for the pelvic floor.
4. Squats
They are simple, you can do them anytime, anywhere, and in addition to being one of the most effective movements for maintaining the balance of the pelvic floor muscles, they also shape your figure beautifully. Start slowly and gradually increase the number of repetitions.
5. Swimming
Summer weather literally invites you to swim, but you can do it all year round. Swimming is one of the most suitable forms of exercise after childbirth: it helps strengthen weakened pelvic floor muscles and contributes to their harmony. Swimming improves posture, water provides gentle natural resistance, and when moving in it the whole body, including the pelvic floor muscles, is strengthened without putting excessive strain on the pelvic floor.
Everyone's body is different, so it's important to respect your body and give it enough time to recover. There's no point in rushing. Returning to an active life does not have to be the goal, but a journey on which you will discover your pelvic floor and find out how crucial it is for your long-term health and well-being.
