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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and therefore cannot prescribe, treat, or diagnose. I’m a mom and health coach sharing my knowledge and experiences for educational purposes. This does not take the place of any professional medical advice.
After having my baby, I realized I knew nothing about my pelvic floor. The scenes of new moms being wheeled around in movies finally made sense to me. It turns out, the pelvic floor muscles endure a lot during labor and delivery! Let me walk you through what you might expect.
I’m here to inform you, not scare you. You’ve got this! Knowing this information will help you prepare.
After giving birth, simple tasks like sitting, standing, walking, adjusting in bed, using the toilet, and standing or sitting for extended periods can become challenging. This is because the pelvic floor muscles have been stretched, strained, and sometimes even torn during labor.
So this is when you discover your pelvic floor muscles help you control easing your body down to sit and lifting your body up to stand.
I ended up popping two stitches just trying to re-adjust myself in bed, so be very gentle with yourself, ask for help, and take things slowly.
I didn’t sit normally on a toilet seat for quite some time because doing that pulls the muscles apart, which is not at all comfortable when those tissues are trying to repair themselves. So you’ll probably be sitting lopsided on the toilet for a little while, and guess what? That’s okay.
The other thing you’ll notice is how little control you have over your bladder. This is part of the reason why freshly postpartum moms are wearing diapers or incontinence pads. I remember feeling the urgency to go, and since my pelvic floor muscles were so wiped, I’d have little control over when my bladder actually started to empty. It’s a strange feeling to lose control over this, but don’t worry. This is completely normal and you, of course, get this control back.
Speaking of going to the bathroom, you’ll want to avoid wiping and opt for a peri bottle instead. This does make using the bathroom anywhere but home (or where you delivered Baby) a bit more difficult.. and messy since you’re spraying water like a handheld bidet. And speaking of that, you’ll also want to make sure the water you’re squirting out to clean yourself is nice and warm, not too hot or too cold.
It’s crazy how the simple act of standing requires the pelvic floor to work. You may notice your pelvic muscles start to feel sore, and you’ll want to listen to your body and either sit down on your nursing pillow (providing support in all the areas that aren’t sore to the touch) or lay down in bed.
Padsicles will also be your beloved companion at this stage. I’ll give you more details on how that works in the next blog.
This may sound like a lot. Let me assure you your sweet baby is so worth it. Don’t worry, Momma, You got this! And be sure to follow the 555 Rule as best you can.
xo, Mary
P.S. You can read about strengthening your pelvic floor here.