Let's break down postnatal movement myths together!
👊🏼I’m here to break down those myths & keep guiding women to be empowered by the knowledge they deserve to have about their bodies.
1️⃣ I had a big baby - there’s no evidence that size is the issue, it’s more about how the baby came out & what happened during your labour. (And this from someone who had a 10lb 5oz baby who really wants to blame it all on him!) So a long pushing stage & an assisted delivery with forceps or ventouse are major factors.
2️⃣ Yes you will run again 💫 - if you commit to regaining strength to connect your whole body in preparation. Running requires strength so specific targeting helps you get back to it.
3️⃣ Stopping the flow of pee is not a good way of strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. The muscles around the urethra are only one part of the pelvic floor and we need to involve the whole lot to get good connection. Also stopping the urine flow means you may collect urine and not end up emptying properly leading to infection. You’re also teaching your PF muscles to work at a time you don’t want them to & timing is everything here.
4️⃣ Kegels work. But they only work if you do them correctly & many women haven’t been told how & why to do them effectively. Kegels with whole body connection are even more effective by using all the muscles that integrate with the pelvic floor to help it work more effectively.
5️⃣ “Just in case wees” prevent you from healing because you are sending your brain and bladder signals to empty when your bladder is not full. Our brain likes regular signals so it gets used to letting you know when your bladder is only half or quarter full and so you end up going a lot more regularly. Your pelvic floor then isn’t able to hold against a bigger strain with a fuller bladder. We want to be going around every 2-4 hours depending on what we’ve been drinking etc. More regularly & it’s unlikely you actually need it - see if you can distract yourself for a bit longer.
6️⃣ This is not it I promise! I’ve worked with women who have really struggled and been contemplating surgery but actually what they needed is someone to listen, explain & support them while they worked through all the holistic changes they need.
