How much does everyone love a new baby? The family can’t wait to visit and enjoy cuddles, and friends buy gorgeous outfits for the newest member of the family. But what about mum? Pregnancy is a huge transformation—it’s a gradual change over nine months. Then, in a matter of a few hours (give or take about 30 hours), your body undergoes massive changes.
Osteoaths like those at Northside Therapies are passionate about supporting new mums through their postpartum recovery. Whether you give birth vaginally or via a planned or unplanned caesarean section, your body and pelvic floor still experience significant changes.
Let’s explore the key changes that could be happening in your body post-birth.
Breathing: A key to postpartum recovery
Did you know that your breathing patterns often change during pregnancy and that simple breathing exercises postpartum can significantly speed up your recovery?
Ensuring good breath mechanics helps with more than just getting oxygen into your body. Your breath, and particularly diaphragm movement, plays a key role in promoting lymphatic (fluid) movement. This helps reduce fluid congestion and supports tissue healing.
Good breathing patterns can also aid in pelvic floor healing after birth and improve the recovery of your core muscles and abdominal tissues, helping to speed up your overall postpartum recovery.
Perineal healing after birth: Tips for new mums
Birth can sometimes result in injury to the tissues of the perineum or vulva, either via tearing or an episiotomy. These tissues often heal remarkably well, but for some, the scars and tissues can remain painful.
Early advice for managing pain and healing includes cold compresses or sitz baths to soothe the area, improving breathing to help the circulation of the area, as well as osteopathic treatment to reduce any fascial restrictions, more common when stitches have been required.
Pelvic health after birth: Recovering with care
We all understand that when you have a vaginal birth, there is a lot of stretch and forces applied to the pelvic floor and perineum. However, you may not know that regardless of whether you had a vaginal birth or a caesarean birth, your pelvic floor underwent changes in preparation for birth. Whilst vaginal births may be associated with an increased risk of pelvic health complaints, good pelvic health care is important for all.
Common symptoms that women experience in the postpartum period include incontinence, bulging sensations in the vagina, pain, difficulty with urination or bowel movements.
Pelvic health osteopaths are trained to assess and treat pelvic health complaints and consider the whole-body influences on your complaint, along with any psychosocial factors. At Northside Therapies, we offer both internal and external pelvic health assessments and treatment as part of your postpartum recovery. We will work with you to ensure the best recovery for your pelvic floor. This includes ensuring you are breathing well, that your pelvic floor and core are working together effectively and that the whole body is functioning well. Advice on avoiding constipation, toileting habits, exercise, sleep and social support are all important factors to consider as well.
Caesarean scar recovery: Postpartum healing
If you have had a caesarean birth, you have had major abdominal surgery. A caesarean section typically cuts through seven layers of tissue, including the skin, subcutaneous fat, fascia, muscle, peritoneum, uterine wall, and the amniotic sac.
Recovering from a C-section is more than just scar healing. It’s getting you feeling comfortable in your body again, reducing scar sensitivity, ensuring good breathing mechanics and movement patterns through your body. It’s about support, both physical and emotional, while you recover and restore!
Mental health and postpartum blues: Support for new mums
Being a new mum should be all sunshine and roses, right? Sure, it’s a really exciting time, but sometimes we just don’t feel that great. In fact, up to 80% of new mums experience postpartum blues. This usually starts 1-3 days post birth and can last from 10 days to a few weeks. You may feel anxious, moody, teary or have trouble sleeping. This usually passes without treatment. However, for some mums, the feeling can become more intense or last longer. Those with a history of mental health issues, past trauma, loss or a lack of family support may be at increased risk. This is why it’s important to check in on your mental health and seek further help from a medical professional if required.
Research also tells us that one in three new parents often or always feels lonely, and anxiety rates are higher in the postpartum population than in the general population. Our bodies, hormones and brains (yep, our brains actually go through a huge rewiring process too; to make us better attuned to our baby’s and their needs) have undergone huge shifts, and we need to be kind to ourselves and to other new parents around us, as we adjust to life as a parent.
Breastfeeding support for postpartum mum
Some mums cruise through breastfeeding, whilst for others, it does not come so easily. This can be physically and emotionally challenging, but there is support available. At Northside Therapies, we can assess you and your baby and provide treatment and advice where indicated to help improve your breastfeeding experience. We also have a great referral network of Lactation consultants that we can recommend for additional assistance.
Postpartum support garments for recovery
Did you know that many cultures have used abdominal binding to aid postpartum recovery? Cultures in ancient Egypt, Southeast Asia and South America have used different methods of belly binding post-birth to help postpartum recovery. Correctly fitted support garments can help provide support and stability to the abdominals and spine in the early postpartum period. This can reduce pain and improve healing and recovery; this can include post-caesarean recovery.
At Northside Therapies we stock SRC recovery shorts and Belly Bands and can advise on correct sizing and fitting. (Poorly fitted abdominal binding/supports can increase pressure onto your pelvic floor and you DEFINITELY DO NOT want this!)
Postpartum exercise: Get moving safely after birth
Whether you’re an exercise junkie or just want to get out moving with your baby, feeling confident to get back into exercise can be a challenge for many new mums. Let’s face it, our bodies are still in the recovery phase of pregnancy. Remember, your body had nine months to slowly adapt to the growing human in your tummy. It takes time for our muscles, fascia and organs to settle and readapt post-birth. We all want to feel confident and capable of being active and caring for our kids, and that can start with looking after ourselves.
That’s where osteopathy for new mums can be particularly beneficial. First, we want to make sure that the body has recovered from birth and introducing exercise is not going to cause more harm than good. Then, we can devise an individual return to exercise plan, because we know we are all different, and we all have different interests and goals when it comes to exercise. Plus, sometimes we need to be creative in how we find time around our parenting responsibilities – you know, a growing baby gives us a steady increase in muscle loading when we use them as an added weight!
Sleep and recovery: Helping new mums rest and heal
Sleep? What’s that word? The newborn phase (and beyond) can be extremely challenging for new mums (and dads/partners), as they deal with disrupted and reduced sleep. It’s tough, there’s no denying it.
Sleep is essential for physical, cognitive and mental wellbeing, and our healing capacity is at its peak when we sleep. But getting enough sleep and quality sleep with a newborn is hard. It’s normal for a baby to feed during the night, usually several times.
Napping during the day when your baby sleeps, trying to go to bed earlier, or using family and friends to assist are options to help. Be kind to yourself, don’t feel pressured to get things done during the day, and dishes can wait. Prioritise you!
If your sleep is further disrupted by pain or an irritable baby, then it may be time to seek some osteopathic care for you and or your baby. Osteopathic treatment can help reduce body aches and pains, reduce tension and improve sleep. For babies who have feeding issues, irritability or head preferencing, they may be experiencing tension and restrictions within their tissues, too. At Northside Therapies, we can treat babies and children to address restrictions in their tissues. This can improve issues such as freedom of neck movement or the ability to open their mouth and coordinate a good latch and suck.
Dealing with birth trauma: Support for mums
We all plan for the perfect arrival of our new baby, but sometimes things don’t go to plan. Sadly, in Australia, one-third, or more, of women describe their birth as traumatic. If you have had a traumatic birth, then being supported to process your feelings and emotions is important in healing. Our team have a great referral network for postpartum care in North Brisbane and can refer to other health professionals as required.
Building your postpartum support
We all know the saying, it takes a village to raise a child, but it’s not always easy finding your village to support you as you journey into new motherhood and beyond. Family is great, but many of us do not have family close by. Connecting with mothers’ groups, community activities and postpartum care services are an important part of your village. Remember that to look after your baby, you need to look after yourself too. Find your tribe and don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed.
If you would like to know more about osteopathy for new mums, then feel free to visit Northside Therapies or an osteopath near you – Find an osteo. The only silly question is the one you didn’t ask! We would love to help support you through this amazing time.
This blog has been reproduced with the permission of Simone Keddy at Northside Therapies