Why we need to do better

In 2018 I wrote a petition to parliament asking for the UK government to “provide women’s health physio to all post natal women for pelvic health advice”.

It gathered almost 5500 signatures over six months and people reacted to the need for such a service throughout the whole of the UK.

⁣Do I need to see a women’s health physio post birth?

Why would I need to see a women’s health physio post birth?

What do they do?

That is a very good question and I will advise you to read my Pelvic health page to see what type of problems we can treat and help with, the list is long!

It is well researched and documented that post pregnancy and birth, women are much more likely to have pelvic floor dysfunction which could mean leaking wee, wind or poo for the first time without being able to control it or potentially having a pelvic organ prolapse where the vagina muscle walls have weakened and the bladder, uterus or bowel descends into them feeling like a “heaviness or bulge” down below.

For more information about these please have a read of my Pelvic Floor page and Prolapse page.

Also post baby, we may have weak tummy muscles which is perfectly normal as we have grown and stretched these muscles over 40+/- weeks and for the majority of us sadly, we don’t pop back into shape once the baby is born.

Women’s health physio’s can help assess and treat your abdominals, help with any lower back or upper back pain that the majority of us get from holding, feeding, carrying a little one around most of the day and night!

The other really important thing post natal people need is guidance about returning to exercise. When, how, what and where? There are some excellent return to running guidelines that were published in 2018 by Goom et al which you can access here.

Even if you don’t want to run, they give a clear framework about which exercise to start first and how to progress them. Strengthening up your muscles is key to returning to sport and after growing a baby they certainly need that bit of extra care and attention.

This page includes some videos I have filmed about posture, breath work and core in the early days post natal, is your pelvic floor run ready after birth and modifications of functional exercises that you can see how to progress or regress if you need to.

Always listen to your body.

Seek help and guidance if anything doesn’t feel right or is painful. It can be common, but it’s not normal.

Work your glutes (bum muscles)!

After pregnancy and birth, as a sweeping generalisation we could all do with a bit more GLUTEAL STRENGTH.

Here’s some exercises for you to try out…

Please make sure you listen to your body and watch your posture/aligment when performing these exercises. It’s imperative you can breath throughout and don’t hold your breath.

If you are struggling please seek a pelvic health physiotherapist or pelvic health fitness professional for help and guidance.