The early days and weeks after giving birth can be quite challenging for most new mothers. It will indeed be an awesome and beautiful time, but you will also experience several challenges such as sleep deprivation. Your newborn will be the center of attention, which is why some mothers often forget to take care of their health.
New mothers must undergo check-ups for their abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. This is one of the reasons why several health care providers recommend new mothers to visit not just an obstetrician and pediatrician but also a postnatal physiotherapist.
Most of the doctor visits will be centered around the newborn baby’s health as mentioned earlier. However, the mother will also need to schedule regular check-ups and visits to a doctor, particularly for the following things.
- Postnatal depression
- Conversation about family planning and birth control
- To check the healing of stitches from a C-section or either vaginal/perineal
Yes, of course, there will be exceptions, and new mothers should consider seeking the help of care providers whenever necessary.
The Importance of Post Natal Physiotherapy
An important thing to remember is that exercise prescriptions and musculoskeletal assessments are not really the domain of GPs, midwives, and obstetricians. Instead, they specialize in delivering babies and make sure that both the baby and mother are healthy and well.
Exercise prescriptions and musculoskeletal assessments happen to be the domain of a postnatal physio, who have undergone training to specialize in the Health and Continence of Women. If you are still wondering why new mothers should visit a physiotherapist, here are a few more reasons that will explain why.
Pelvic Floor Muscle Assessment
The pelvic floor muscles of women, who had a vaginal birth will stretch up to nearly 4 times the normal length for allowing the baby to be born. There are chances for muscles to torn or cut, which is why pelvic floor muscle assessment is necessary. New mothers who have had a cesarean are also not entirely in the clear.
During a pelvic floor muscle assessment, a postnatal physiotherapist will thoroughly assess the pelvic floor muscles. This will help you to know if you need any treatment or not, which is one of the major reasons why you should consider post natal physiotherapy.
If you have any of the following symptoms after giving birth, then it is best to get in touch with Entrust Care as fast as possible.
- Pain in the vaginal area
- Bowel or bladder incontinence
- Vaginal heaviness
Abdominal Muscle Assessment
When you opt for postnatal physiotherapy services, the physiotherapist will check for the presence of a Rectus Abdominis Diastasis or RAD. This will help them determine if your connective tissue and six-pack muscles has become normal after they were stretched during pregnancy.
In most cases, the physiotherapist will advise you to promote healing by resting and avoiding activities, which will repetitively increase abdominal pressure like heavy lifting, sit ups, chronic sneezing, and more.
It is crucial to note that natural healing will happen only during the first eight weeks after pregnancy. If the tissue in your body doesn’t become strong and thick by then, you may probably have to do certain exercises. This is where an experienced postnatal physiotherapist can help you, as he or she will be able to come up with a treatment plan or exercise regime that suits you.
Returning to the Normal
The postpartum goals of one new mother may significantly vary when compared to another. One of them might be planning to run a marathon in four or five months while another mother would want to be free of pain when taking care of her newborn and other kids.
It doesn’t matter what your postpartum goals are, it is crucial to discuss them with your physiotherapist. This will help you to get a clear idea on how achievable your postpartum goals are and what should be done to accomplish such goals safely.
Postnatal rehab should be considered similar to building a new house. This means that the foundation of the house should be strong and solid before you start to build the roof and walls. If that’s the case, then you will surely experience issues in the future.
Wrapping Up
During your initial visit to a postnatal physiotherapy clinic, the physiotherapist will conduct a thorough inspection of your body. This will in turn help the therapist to understand where you are currently with your core strength. The therapist will also be able to tell how effectively you can transfer load when you are doing loaded weights exercises, high impact exercises, and abdominal muscle exercises.
From the above statement, it will be clear that postnatal physiotherapy has a customized or individual approach. If you are looking for a reliable and cost-effective postnatal physiotherapist, your search ends here with Entrust Care.