Bouncing Back? More Like Bouncing Forward!
Hey, Mama! Ready to ditch the "bounce back" hype and give yourself the love and care you deserve post-baby? We’ve got your back (and your core, and your pelvic floor!). Let's talk about the amazing, and sometimes a bit bumpy, ride of postpartum recovery. Spoiler alert—it's not about snapping back to your pre-baby body in record time.
The Reality of Bounce Back Culture
Social media and maybe even your neighbor are all about that "bounce back" life, showering praise on moms who jump back into their skinny jeans weeks after birth. Your current self is navigating a new, beautiful, and constantly changing body while also rocking the whole motherhood thing.
Why Gradual Postpartum Rehab is Your New BFF
Bringing a new life into the world is an incredible feat that demands immense physical and emotional strength and patience. Postpartum recovery is a critical phase in your body's journey with returning back into physical fitness that requires a delicate balance between healing, rehabilitation, and self-compassion.
We get it. We know that the pressures and unrealistic natures of bounce back culture is out there all over social media and even within our smaller communities. Women are glorified for returning back to exercise and their “pre-pregnancy bodies” within weeks of giving birth. But let's keep it real, every woman's postpartum journey is unique. Comparing your progress to others or even to your pre-pregnancy self? Totally unfair.
We need to acknowledge that while some women’s bodies may appear to recover quicker than others, every woman’s journey in navigating a new and changing body is different. Having a gradual postpartum rehab program is essential for both physical recovery and emotional well-being as it helps us with understanding and honoring the changes our body has gone through.
Physical Changes During Pregnancy
First and foremost, pregnancy places a significant stress on our bodies and while some woman may have continued with their exercise intensity throughout their pregnancy, many have decreased or tapered off in how much weight they were lifting, how often they were exercising, or decreasing the overall intensity or length of their exercise. This can place us already at a physically deconditioned place moving into our postpartum period and we must honor that our muscular strength, cardiovascular strength, and bodies ability to tolerate getting back into exercise will be more reduced then it was before we were pregnant.
Not only that, but a pregnancy also puts strain on our abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, causing changes in our pelvic and low back positioning along with our internal organs getting shifted around to make room for baby.
Rebuilding Strength, One Step at a Time
Thinking of childbirth, whether vaginal or cesarean, there is a significant stress on the body. Muscles, ligaments, and tissues undergo immense stretching and strain during pregnancy as well the birthing portion itself, necessitating adequate time for healing and restoration.
Momday Early Postpartum Program acknowledges this reality by prioritizing exercises and movements that promote gradual postural strength-building, pelvic floor and deep core awareness, and teaching our new postpartum body how to complete functional and fundamental movements again.
Rushing into intense workouts or adhering to unrealistic fitness timelines can exacerbate postpartum complications, such as diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, and even mental health issues like postpartum depression.
Say Goodbye to Harmful Norms
Sadly, bounce back culture perpetuates harmful societal norms that prioritize aesthetic outcomes over the other amazing health benefits that exercise has to offer us. The pressure to rapidly shed pregnancy weight and attain a pre-pregnancy physique can lead to unhealthy habits, long term health issues, self-esteem issues, and an overall neglect of the profound physiological changes that occur during and after childbirth! Instead of focusing on what your body looks like, let's focus on how resilient it is!
Celebrate Your Unique Journey
Instead of fixating on external appearances or comparison to others, Momday calls you in to focus on your bodies independent abilities and encourages you to focus on nurturing you body, embracing your postpartum journey, and celebrating the incredible strength and resilience your body possess. Furthermore, a gradual postpartum rehabilitation program allows for a supportive and inclusive environment that acknowledges the diversity of postpartum experiences. Every mother's recovery journey is unique, influenced by factors such as delivery method, pre-existing health conditions, and individual physical capabilities.
Embrace the Postpartum Journey
The Momday Early Postpartum Rehab Program emphasizes gradual progression, education of general anatomy, physiological changes, and the symptoms to be aware of in your body, our program aims to empower mothers to listen to their bodies, honor their limitations, and prioritize sustainable health practices.
You’ve got this, Mama! 💪💖
If you need more guidance on how to return to fitness after having a baby and to reconnect with your core and pelvic floor you can join my 6-week Early Postpartum Rehab Program.
