AFTER BIRTH RECOVERY
Pelvic Floor Restoration: Kegels
Abdominal Toning: Lie on your back with knees bent and supported
by a pillow, feet resting on the surface. Place your left
hand on your tummy, and your right hand underneath your low
back. Inhale through your nose, feel your abdominals rising.
Exhale through a round mouth, pulling in your tummy, and pressing
down at your right hand with your low back. Tighten your seat
muscles. Repeat 5 times.
Reducing tension in your neck and shoulders: from a sitting
position rotate your right shoulder up, back, down, forward
and up in a circular motion. Change directions.
Feet, ankles: stretches
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Labor and delivery require a huge mentality adjustment because
they can’t be planned and controlled. You have to let go and
let your body do its work. It is easier if your body is prepared.
Labor and delivery preparation exercises will create solid grounds
for your big day.
PUSHING. Ever
wondered how to “push”? Drawing from my own delivery
experiences, I have developed a special routine for training the
transverse abdominis, the muscle that your body uses for
pushing. It might help you to avoid tears, episiotomy or a Cesarean
section.
BREATHING. Breathing
awareness practice. Learning to breathe supportively in pregnancy
is indispensable for coping with pain and stress of labor. Breathing
through contractions is like floating on ocean waves that will bring
you to the shore…
MUSCLE FLEXIBILITY. Muscle flexibility program. Did you
know that getting into one of the most popular birthing positions
is painful – not because of contractions, but due to tight
hamstrings?! The solution is simple: flexibility
exercises! “Opening up” the hips and pelvis, and
stretching your inner thighs and groin muscles will also help a
lot during labor.
“I hobbled up the stairs, clinging to the banister. The ligaments in my pelvis felt sore and tight. This was normal for me when I started up my running routine after having a long break, but a three block walk was hardly the equivalent of a three mile run, right? Maybe an outing so soon after having a baby hadn’t been such a good idea.
I stopped to stretch my legs. I had forgotten to take Motrin before I left the house and hoped stretching would alleviate some of the now familiar ache in my hips and legs.
Why hadn’t anyone warned me about this soreness? I’d heard, “Your life will never be the same after the baby,” but no one said, “You’ll never be able to walk again.”
-- Diana |
The first time I was in labor, so were other ten women stuck in the same room back in a Soviet hospital! Partners were not allowed, and epidural wasn't on the menu. I was unprepared and unfit. Fifteen hours, and what seemed like thousands of pushes and two tears later, I had my daughter Sonya (19", 7.5 lbs). It took me months to heal.
The second time, at SF's Kaiser, I took
a decision to go natural and breathing helped me to cope with
pain. Suddenly, the baby's heart rate slowed down dramatically
- his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck! But I remembered
to use transverse abdominis, and David (8.10 lbs, 22") was
born in two pushes! As a result, he did not suffer severe
complications from oxygen deprivation, and I had no tears
or episiotomy!
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