Tips for postpartum recovery

There is no "golden action" or "must-do package" for postpartum recovery. Prioritize the three core indicators of "pelvic floor function, rectus abdominis separation, and core strength." Adjust in stages according to your own production method and physical tolerance. Don't follow the trend or force yourself to spend less money and suffer less.

A while ago, I accompanied my best friend who had just given birth to a 3-month-old baby for a postpartum recovery package. She was deceived by a door-to-door salesperson right after she was discharged. She spent more than 20,000 yuan to buy 10 rectus abdominis manipulation repairs + pelvic floor muscle electrical stimulation. After three treatments, she only had a minor problem of coughing and leaking urine. Now she can't hold her urine even when walking quickly. After going to a tertiary care maternal and child clinic for a checkup, I found out that she had pelvic floor hypertonicity, and the agency gave her a stimulation program adapted to people with pelvic floor laxity. It was equivalent to the fact that the muscles were already so tight that they were clenched into fists, and you forced them to contract, but the more you did, the worse it would get.

Nowadays, the opinions about postpartum recovery are simply two extremes. The older generation always talks about "you need to lie down for 42 days during the confinement period and cannot go to the ground or touch the cold". Online fitness bloggers also shout that "you can run and jump to brush your waistcoat lines after confinement." In fact, both statements are correct, but they are suitable for completely different groups of people. It’s different: if you had a caesarean section with severe adhesions, or a vaginal birth with a third-degree tear, then it’s really not pretentious to lie down for more than two weeks. If you had a vaginal birth with no side incision and no tears, you had a long-term exercise habit before pregnancy, and you can walk slowly 6 hours after vaginal delivery. There is really no need to cover yourself with a quilt and get prickly heat.

Many people rush to the institution for testing as soon as they are discharged from the hospital. In fact, these two core indicators can be preliminarily tested at home, without spending hundreds of dollars in evaluation fees. To measure the rectus abdominis, lie flat and bend your knees, place your hands on the belly button, belly button, and below the belly button. Gently lift your upper body until the shoulder blades are off the bed. You can feel that your fingers are pinched by the abdominal muscles on both sides. If the gap is within two fingers, you really don’t need to do special repair projects. Do less abdominal crunches and don’t stand for a long time holding the baby. You will be able to go back slowly. My sister's rectus abdominis was separated by 1.5 fingers at that time, and she subconsciously tightened her core when breastfeeding. Within half a year, she returned to her pre-pregnancy state without even taking a repair course.

As for the Kegel exercise that everyone has heard about most, it is really not suitable for everyone. I once heard from the director of the maternal and child rehabilitation department that half of the people in the outpatient department use their abdomen and buttocks to perform Kegels. After practicing for a long time, it will put extra burden on the pelvic floor, especially for sisters who have pelvic floor hypertonicity. The more they practice, the more painful it will be, and it may even aggravate the bulge. If you really want to do it, go to the hospital for a formal pelvic floor assessment to find out whether you are loose or hypertonic before taking action. There is a little trick that you can use in your spare time. Stand while burping your baby. When you exhale, gently contract the muscles around the anus. Hold it for 3 seconds and then relax. You don’t need to take time to set an alarm clock to practice. You can accumulate enough training without realizing it. My best friend later practiced this way, and the problem of urinary leakage was completely cured after two months.

There is also the extremely controversial issue of abdominal corsets. I have seen too many people tighten their waistbands right after giving birth, as tight as if they were stuffing their waists into a can. They say they can tighten the belly and prevent visceral sagging, but in fact it really puts the cart before the horse. The pelvic floor is originally like a hammock supporting the internal organs. If you tighten your belly, it is equivalent to pressing down from the top. Can the hammock not collapse? Sisters who have had a caesarean section can wear a medical girdle for about a week in order to compress the wound and avoid pain when walking. Sisters who have had a natural birth can also wear a loose cotton girdle if their backs are sore from holding the baby, but don’t wear it for more than 4 hours a day and don’t pinch the stomach. Don’t touch the girdle that claims to be able to lose 10 centimeters in a month. If it is tightened for a long time, it will make breathing difficult, which will affect the recovery of core strength.

Oh, by the way, there is another little detail that almost everyone ignores: don’t hold in your pee! Many mothers hold their babies' nipples in their mouths when breastfeeding, and hold back the pee when they want to. Over time, the bladder becomes enlarged, which puts a lot of pressure on the pelvic floor. Even if there is no problem, holding it in can cause problems. I was always lazy like this two weeks before I gave birth. Later, I was scolded by the doctor during my follow-up checkup. Within a few days of changing my condition, most of the soreness and swelling I had previously felt was gone.

In fact, in the final analysis, there are so many magical tips for postpartum recovery. To put it bluntly, don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t be anxious when you see people on the Internet wearing navel-baring clothes after confinement. You have just given birth to a baby with all your strength. Your body needs to slowly recover. Take care of your own feelings first. It will be more effective than any standardized recovery method.