New moms are often encouraged to schedule their first postpartum pelvic floor PT visit after they've been cleared by their medical provider.
However, getting in to see your pelvic floor PT before this 6 week mark can have huge benefits on your recovery and overall wellbeing in the early postpartum period, and here’s why.
- An early opportunity to share your birth experience. While birth is an incredible and amazing experience for some, it is traumatic for others, and for many there are lots of unexpected things that happen that can take some time to process and digest. Having an early postpartum visit gives you an opportunity to share your experience without judgement, in an environment where the focus is on you and your well being.
- Early vitals checks. A pelvic floor PT can check your blood pressure and teach you how to self monitor this at home. This is especially important if you had high blood pressure or preeclampsia while pregnant. Even if you didn’t have high blood pressure in pregnancy, it can develop postpartum and is an important thing to catch early.
- A pelvic floor PT can check your vaginal or C-section sutures (without having to do an internal exam) for signs of infection and can teach you about gentle, early desensitization of scar tissue in these areas.
- Movement! While in the early postpartum period, your body is doing a lot of healing and recovering, however many new moms find this difficult to do while still having to take care of a newborn, and even more challenging if they have other kids at home. A PT can help you learn movement strategies that make activities of daily living easier, as well as positioning for breastfeeding. You don’t want to wait 6 weeks for this!
- Exercise! Postpartum recovery looks different for everyone. While some moms may want to wait the full 6 weeks to return to any kind of exercise, some may be feeling ready to start sooner, but unsure of how to do so. A pelvic floor PT can help educate you on what pelvic floor symptoms to look out for, how to manage them, and how to introduce exercise that meets you where you’re at and based on your individual needs. Does this mean you’re going to be lifting a heavy barbell before 6 weeks? Most likely no- but it does mean you may be able to initiate some bodyweight movements, breathing exercises, and mobility work depending on your recovery!
If you are unsure if pelvic floor PT is right for you or what it would look like postpartum schedule a call with our team today.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended a paradigm shit away from the singular 6 week visit postpartum visit, and towards a more well rounded, comprehensive postpartum care plan involving not only your OBGYN, but pelvic floor PT, mental health providers, lactation consultants, gym coaches/trainers, and more to provide woman-centered care that can start within the first 3 weeks.
ACOG reference:
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2018/05/optimizing-postpartum-care