PostpartumPostpartum Fitness
A WORD OF CAUTION AND SOME ADVICE
As moms we discourage our daughters from comparing their bodies to those of celebrities and models in magazines or on the internet, so why don’t we hold ourselves to the same standard? Many of us at 6 weeks postpartum start looking at our bodies in the mirror with despair and, might I say, sometimes with disgust. We compare ourselves to the fitness stories of success popping up on our screens.
Beauty, fitness, and fashion industries financially count on our vulnerability and dissatisfaction with our postpartum bodies. In angst we are often lured into purchasing intense postpartum boot camps and beach body ready fitness regimes on the web promising to get rid of our mummy tummies in 6 weeks or less. For a few individuals, these programs may be appropriate and result in the changes they desire. For many, their core and pelvic floor are unable to meet the demands of the fitness program, often resulting in bulging of the abdomen, incontinence and sometimes prolapse.
Please be aware that there is no governing body holding web-based programs accountable to the promises they make, the proclamations they claim, or the results they guarantee you. The DRA fixes that pop up in your Facebook newsfeed always show a picture of a woman when she was pregnant and then her “postpartum body.” How do we know that was not a picture of her in her early 20s before she had kids? They are so quick to show the fabulous results their programs offer, but I have yet to see in their advertising pictures of them when they had a DRA. Where is the proof that they ever had an unresolving diastasis recti postpartum? DRA programs market and often profit off of fear.
Next time you see a bikini shot of Beyonce 8 weeks after giving birth to twins, remember that celebrities can afford a full-time nanny, night-time nurse/nanny, makeup & hair stylist, personal trainer, cook, and plastic surgery.
Carrying a child in your womb as it grows and develops is nothing short of miraculous. See this video for a quick 5 second clip of some changes to your organs to accommodate a growing baby. Mom, give yourself some grace. Having a baby changes us in every way. Why wouldn’t that include our bodies? Continue to love the children you created and gave life to! In return, love the person your children have helped you become both emotionally and physically.
©Lynn Sweeney, Physiotherapist
Bsc. Kin, MPT
