So you just had a baby? CONGRATULATIONS! Now, rehab your body like an athlete who just had ACL reconstruction. Well, not EXACTLY like that but the point is, rehab after having a baby is just as important to your quality of life and function as is rehabbing after a major orthopedic surgery. Why? Pregnancy and childbirth are beautiful and natural things that women have been doing since the beginning of human history but it is also 9 months of muscles stretching out, increased lordotic pressure on your low back, and ligaments becoming more lax, to name a few.
I’m a pelvic floor physical therapist which means I casually talk about the things that most likely make you uncomfortable: pooping, peeing, sex, orgasm, pain in your vagina and penis…..yes, I just said vagina and penis and sex all in one sentence. These words have become normal, everyday things that I talk about.
Have you ever wondered if there was a way to reduce your risk of experiencing a perineal tear during vaginal delivery? Well, there are things you can do proactively to try to prevent tearing but the jury is still out on whether it actually helps.
What do your pre-bed/sleep habits have to do with the pelvic floor? Well, not a TON but, I promise to make the connection. As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I teach that it is not a healthy sign if you have to get up to pee in the middle of the night. When a patient reports that they do get up once, twice, three times per night to go pee I will discuss things like bladder irritants, hydration intake before bed and teach habits to “retrain” the bladder.