After an entire pregnancy of focusing on our baby’s arrival, they are finally here! So, now what? There may be this urgency to get back to where we were pre-pregnancy, especially with all the changes that come with postpartum.
We may have a shift in our family dynamic with a new baby, between us and our partner or with siblings. We may have a change in our work environment; some of us choose to stay home or adjust our hours to focus on our baby. We may have paused a lot of our workouts during pregnancy and are anxious to get back to our gym and workouts.
But we need to be patient with our postpartum recovery! Which can be challenging as we figure out our new identity as a mother.
Let’s explore three things we can do right away to support our healing postpartum!
3 Ways to Support Early Postpartum
Immediately after birth, and for the first several weeks, we need to remember that we have a fairly large internal wound where our placenta detached from our uterine wall.
This approximately 8-in or dinner plate size wound needs time to heal after birth!
Keeping this in mind, here are three things we can do immediately postpartum to support our early postpartum recovery:
- Rest to support this initial healing process
- Breath work to reconnect with our Core and Pelvic Floor
- Mobility to stay comfortable
1) Rest
Remembering that we have this approximately 8-inch internal wound can help us better understand why REST is so important the first few weeks postpartum.
During the first two weeks postpartum, if you have the opportunity, focus on resting in supportive positions such as reclined or seated as you bond with baby.
This is not always possible depending on if you have maternity leave from work, if your partner is available to provide support at home, or if you have a social system set up to help with older kids and household tasks.
But, if you can emphasize rest the first two weeks, do so!
This course breaks down what to expect postpartum from the moment your baby is born to the first few weeks postpartum! Learn what options you have available to you in your care!
- 2-hr webinar
- PDF of PowerPoint
- Upcoming Live Webinar & Q&A
- Watch on Mobile Device
If you can’t focus on rest due to life demands, wearing a belly band or support garment to provide some initial stabilization can be helpful. (use code MAMASTEFIT for 15% off your Bao Bei orders for postpartum support garments)
You can also try to prioritize activities that emphasize restful positions for you, as opposed to doing ALL the things that you would normally do in your routine. Such as, maybe skipping taking the older kids to their activities for two weeks or ordering takeout or prepping meals ahead of time to limit how much you need to be on your feet.
2) Reconnect with Our Core and Pelvic Floor
While you are in your restorative positions, we can focus on reconnecting with our core and pelvic floor to begin our healing process.
Breathing is one of the first core exercises you can do postpartum, which may be hard to believe! When we breathe, we move our core through its full range of motion:
- The core and pelvic floor lengthen and expand with inhalations
- The core and pelvic floor contract and shorten with exhalations
While in your supportive positions, such as supine or side-lying, we can focus on inhaling to expand gently in our abdominal cavity (abs, back, sides, and pelvic floor) and then gently exhale to lift up and in.
This can be the first step towards reconnection after birth!
This mini-course guides you through the first month postpartum as you begin your recovery after birth! This program includes weekly guidance on how to reconnect with your core and pelvic to support your healing.
- Breathing and Core Connection Exercises
- Mobility Exercises to Relieve Common Discomforts
- Gentle Core Exercises
- Watch on Mobile Device
Watch the video below for a breakdown of a supine breathing drill you can do day 1 postpartum!
In the upcoming weeks, we can increase the challenge by coordinating our breath to movement. We can coordinate our breath to movement as our arms and legs move in supine or floor-based positions, then gradually progress to being more upright!
Read this blog for some more early postpartum core exercises and learn more tips on how to approach recovery the first month postpartum in our early postpartum recovery course.
3) Mobility to Stay Comfortable
Early postpartum, we may find ourselves “stuck” in specific postures for prolonged periods of time, which can usually be the culprit of discomforts we are feeling in our neck, upper back, and body overall.
Lack of movement tends to be the cause of our discomfort! So, we can do mobility exercises to help release tension and find movement again.
Places we can focus on:
- Chest Mobility
- Thoracic Mobility
- Quad and Hip Flexor Mobility
All of the mobility breakdowns below can be done early postpartum, and will hopefully provide some immediate relief postpartum!
Other professionals you can seek out if you need some more help with discomfort could include:
- Massage Therapist to do a postpartum or breastfeeding-focused massage
- Webster Certified Chiropractor usually around 2 weeks+ postpartum
- Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist usually around 4-8 weeks postpartum
- Occupational Therapist around 4-8 weeks postpartum (especially if you are having issues with “mom thumb” or pain in your wrists or hands)
Chest Mobility
The first area we can focus on is chest mobility! Early postpartum, we tend to be in a more rounded position as we are constantly holding and feeding your baby. This can cause some restriction or shorten in the chest, so chest mobility can help release it!
Using your door frame, place your forearms on each side then push the chest forward without arching in the back. You should feel a ton of relief immediately!
Thoracic Mobility
Next up is thoracic mobility! The thoracic spine moves in three directions:
- Front to Back (Sagittal Plane)
- Rotationally (Transverse Plane)
- Laterally (Frontal Plane)
Usually, when we think thoracic mobility, we think rotation. But rotation is usually the last plane of motion we should focus on! We also need to remember the sagittal and frontal plane!
One of my favorite frontal plane thoracic mobility exercises is the side seated side body release! This helps to lengthen in the side body that tends to be compressed postpartum.
Watch the breakdown video below to try out my favorite thoracic frontal plane release exercise! This can be done in your bed early postpartum!
Quad and Hip Flexor Mobility
Continuing with the front side of the body, we can focus on releasing tension in the quads and hip flexors that may become tight as we sit most of the day. Get on the floor to try this quad release with an uneven pelvic tilt! This can help find movement in the pelvis and lower back + release tension on the front side of the legs that may be tighter early postpartum.
Curious about what to do after the first month postpartum to support your recovery and return to fitness? Check out our postnatal fitness programs!
We offer our programs in the Teambuildr app in a more traditional delivery as a list of exercises with short demo videos.
And we also offer our postnatal program in an on-demand format where you can watch a video as you work out at the same time.
Support Your Early Postpartum Healing
After giving birth, you may have a sense of urgency to “bounce back” or to regain a sense of identity in a transformative time of your life.
But, we need to pause to allow ourselves to recover after birth!
We can focus on resting, reconnecting with our core with restorative breath work, and mobility to stay comfortable as we heal these early days.