This is an article I wrote for The Natural Parent Magazine. TNP now have digital subscriptions!
Floppy Bits, what pregnancy and birth does to your body and how to fix it up
Having a baby is a big deal. It’s a life-changing event that will change and challenge every aspect of your life. One aspect of this change is not given near enough attention. Pregnancy and birth have dramatic effects on your body and its ability to remain in alignment and balance. I’m not talking about your waistline and ‘losing the baby weight’; that’s all entirely arbitrary for the sleep-deprived, brain-fogged days after baby arrives. I’m talking about how your body functions on a structural and muscular level. All mammals have fairly dramatic changes to their bodies throughout a pregnancy but humans are the only mammal that walks upright all the time. This presents a unique set of aches, pains and problems for the human mama trying to stay upright against the force of gravity! Human mamas will experience more pelvic and spinal issues than quadruped species as they have to make far greater adjustments to remain upright against gravity. That entire baby is out in front and being pushed down by gravity, putting great pressure on the underlying structure of the body and on the abdominal and pelvic muscles.
You must rehab your body after pregnancy and birth or you can face a downward spiral of weak abdominal muscles, back pain, pelvic dysfunction and general disintegration of your posture and muscle balance. If you let those abdominal and pelvic floor muscles hang around doing not very much for too long after baby comes your brain will start to forget how to communicate with those muscles and they will stop working effectively, or at all! Postural muscles that don’t know how to work anymore are not going to do you any favors in subsequent pregnancies or in the active life you have to lead keeping up with a toddler.
When humans evolved as a species we were much more active than we are today, even fifty or sixty years ago presented a much more active lifestyle than we have today. That meant that people were fit and strong before pregnancy and got back into correct muscle functioning afterwards because living required being very active. Before you get pregnant is really the ideal time to make sure your body is functioning well and that you are strong and fit. It is very rare that I see any client in my practice that has generally good muscular balance and movement patterns. If your muscles know what to do before you get pregnant it will be much easier to get them back to normal afterwards. If you haven’t been active before pregnancy make an effort to start low-level fitness activities when you find out you are pregnant.
Here is a simple exercise that will help you start to reconnect with all the layers of your abdominal muscles and also activate your pelvic floor, whilst being safe for your back. You can do this exercise before pregnancy, at any stage of pregnancy so long as it is comfortable for you, and once you feel recovered enough afterwards. A caesarean delivery will require a longer recovery time than a vaginal birth.
Plank
Start with your belly on the ground and your elbows under your shoulders. Draw up through your tummy until your body is making a straight line from your tailbone to the top of your head. You are connecting your ribcage with your pelvis via your abs. Think bellybutton pulling up to spine. Think of drawing your shoulder blades towards each other. Hold as long as you can with good technique.
Where you should I feel it? Your tummy muscles and arms.
Where shouldn’t I feel it? Your back.
Floppy Bits, what pregnancy and birth does to your body and how to fix it up
Having a baby is a big deal. It’s a life-changing event that will change and challenge every aspect of your life. One aspect of this change is not given near enough attention. Pregnancy and birth have dramatic effects on your body and its ability to remain in alignment and balance. I’m not talking about your waistline and ‘losing the baby weight’; that’s all entirely arbitrary for the sleep-deprived, brain-fogged days after baby arrives. I’m talking about how your body functions on a structural and muscular level. All mammals have fairly dramatic changes to their bodies throughout a pregnancy but humans are the only mammal that walks upright all the time. This presents a unique set of aches, pains and problems for the human mama trying to stay upright against the force of gravity! Human mamas will experience more pelvic and spinal issues than quadruped species as they have to make far greater adjustments to remain upright against gravity. That entire baby is out in front and being pushed down by gravity, putting great pressure on the underlying structure of the body and on the abdominal and pelvic muscles.
You must rehab your body after pregnancy and birth or you can face a downward spiral of weak abdominal muscles, back pain, pelvic dysfunction and general disintegration of your posture and muscle balance. If you let those abdominal and pelvic floor muscles hang around doing not very much for too long after baby comes your brain will start to forget how to communicate with those muscles and they will stop working effectively, or at all! Postural muscles that don’t know how to work anymore are not going to do you any favors in subsequent pregnancies or in the active life you have to lead keeping up with a toddler.
When humans evolved as a species we were much more active than we are today, even fifty or sixty years ago presented a much more active lifestyle than we have today. That meant that people were fit and strong before pregnancy and got back into correct muscle functioning afterwards because living required being very active. Before you get pregnant is really the ideal time to make sure your body is functioning well and that you are strong and fit. It is very rare that I see any client in my practice that has generally good muscular balance and movement patterns. If your muscles know what to do before you get pregnant it will be much easier to get them back to normal afterwards. If you haven’t been active before pregnancy make an effort to start low-level fitness activities when you find out you are pregnant.
Here is a simple exercise that will help you start to reconnect with all the layers of your abdominal muscles and also activate your pelvic floor, whilst being safe for your back. You can do this exercise before pregnancy, at any stage of pregnancy so long as it is comfortable for you, and once you feel recovered enough afterwards. A caesarean delivery will require a longer recovery time than a vaginal birth.
Plank
Start with your belly on the ground and your elbows under your shoulders. Draw up through your tummy until your body is making a straight line from your tailbone to the top of your head. You are connecting your ribcage with your pelvis via your abs. Think bellybutton pulling up to spine. Think of drawing your shoulder blades towards each other. Hold as long as you can with good technique.
Where you should I feel it? Your tummy muscles and arms.
Where shouldn’t I feel it? Your back.
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