The Ultimate Postpartum Healing Guide
Becoming a mom is a life-changing experience, and your postpartum recovery journey is just as vital as the pregnancy and birth itself. I get it—whether you had a C-section, vaginal delivery, or experienced perineal tearing, your body has been through a lot. At Align Movement, I’m here to support you every step of the way with exercises that are safe, effective, and tailored to your unique needs.
Understanding Your Postpartum Body
Before jumping into exercises, it’s important to appreciate how much your body has changed. Each birth experience is different, and so is every recovery. Here’s a quick rundown:
C-Section: There are 7 different layers that were cut into during this surgery, so your recovery will focus on allowing those incisions and deeper tissues to heal. Which include scar massage, diaphragmatic breathing and gentle core activation at first. If this was an emergency C-Section don’t disregard any feelings you may have about your experience, your mental health plays a vital role in how our bodies heal.
Vaginal Delivery: If you had a vaginal birth, you might be dealing with perineal tearing or an episiotomy, or maybe even use of instruments to get baby out. Stitches will need care, attention and rest. Maybe you didn’t experience any of these but are still dealing with a lot of swelling. Regardless of any situation, take into consideration your mental state as well, our bodies and minds play a huge role on how we heal.
First Steps: Gentle Movements and Self-Care
Rest, Hydration and Nutrition:
Rest: Your body needs time to heal. Find moments to rest even if it’s for a short amount of time. (I know easier said than done but set a timer if you have to and don’t be afraid to ask for the alone time!)
Hydration: Water is your best friend right now—which will help your tissue heal faster and help with milk supply if you are breastfeeding (you may not want to keep getting up to go to the bathroom, but this is extremely beneficial for your body, bowels and pelvic floor!)
Nutrition: Nourishing your body every 2-hours is extremely important for tissue recovery, energy levels and milk supply if you are breastfeeding. (Feeding your body with protein, fiber, carbs and an arrayment of fruits and veggies can go a long way!)
Mental State:
No matter which method you gave birth to your new little one don’t disregard your mental state. This can be about how your birth experience went vs what you expected, body image after baby, about baby and how you feel overall. Our bodies are so intelligent that they can feel when even the slightest mental shift isn’t quite right. Don’t be afraid to seek help and our bodies and minds will thank us for it in the end. Then healing can truly begin from the inside out.
Breathing Exercises: (This can start as early as day one if you are comfortable!)
Diaphragmatic Breathing: This is your starting point for reconnecting with your core and relaxing your body. Lie on your back, knees bent, one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Take deep, slow breaths, letting your abdomen rise and fall without your chest. Then focus on letting your chest rise and fall without your belly hand moving.
Pelvic Floor Exercises:
Pelvic Floor Connection: Childbirth does have the ability to weaken your pelvic floor, but starting with gentle pelvic floor connections can help you regain strength if it’s needed. Understanding how to do a pelvic floor contraction is where you start. The key to a pelvic floor contraction is that it needs to be just the pelvic floor contracting and nothing else. Remember this is just a starting point and only one way to assess. If any of these feel challenging at all it’s time to get assessed by a professional like myself or a pelvic floor pt. There are various reasons to why we may or may not feel a contraction and some of us might need more contractability than others. Understanding what exactly your pelvic floor needs is extremely important to pelvic health.
Walking:
Short Walks: Take short, gentle walks. It’s great for circulation and helps prevent blood clots, especially after a C-section. Start with a short amount of time between 10-20 minutes, listen to your body and increase as you “feel” like you can. (If there is any increase in bleeding or discharge be sure to lessen the activity for that day and for the following, it’s your bodies way of saying you did too much – reach out to your doctor if there is any pain or discomfort)
Gradually Reintroduce Postpartum Exercises
Once you’re feeling up for it and have your healthcare provider's okay, you can slowly start adding more structured exercises. You could have the potential to start earlier then you might have been led to think.
Core Activation
Strengthening Exercises
Stretching and Flexibility
Posture & Alignment
Lymphatic Drainage
The best treatment/massage you can get after a baby is lymphatic drainage. Lymphatic drainage is crucial postpartum because it supports the body's natural healing process by promoting fluid balance, reducing swelling, and enhancing overall recovery. First, it helps to eliminate excess fluids that accumulate during pregnancy and childbirth, which aligns with osteopathic principles of maintaining proper fluid circulation for optimal health.
Second, lymphatic drainage aids in detoxification, removing waste and toxins from the body, which is essential for restoring balance and homeostasis. Lastly, it supports the immune system by encouraging the flow of lymph, which contains white blood cells crucial for fighting infections—an important consideration as the body heals postpartum. These principles emphasize the body's inherent ability to heal when given the right conditions and support. Reach out to someone in your area like myself who is trained in lymphatic drainage that can expedite your healing process.
Tailor Exercises to Your Needs:
There are a no one-size fits all approaches here. But here are some tips on where you can start. If you’ve had a C-section, focusing on posture, body mechanics and avoiding lifting heavier things other than your baby until you’ve healed fully can be extremely beneficial (at least 6 weeks for healing-some individuals might need more time before doing anything too strenuous.)
For those with perineal tearing, breathing and prioritize healing of your stitches, using ice packs within the first 12-24hrs and slowly getting back into pelvic floor work and pressure management will benefit you greatly. For those of you who have neither tearing, or a c-section can focus on reducing swelling in the body, posture, breathing and re-engaging muscles again. Your body just did an AMAZING thing. Appreciate it, listen to it and move in the desired direction YOU want, it’s not a race, it’s your body and it is strong and powerful. Just like you Mama!
Integrating Osteopathic Principles and ELDOA:
As an ELDOA trainer and someone deeply rooted in osteopathic principles, I believe in working with your body's natural alignment and structure to promote healing. ELDOA exercises are specifically designed to create space in your joints and spine, helping you feel taller, lighter, and more balanced. Incorporating ELDOA into your postpartum recovery can help address pain, improve posture, and enhance overall well-being. Creating strength and lengthening that will forever change your world.
Seeking Professional Guidance:
Postpartum recovery can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. A postpartum specialist like myself can create a personalized plan that ensures you’re doing exercises safely and effectively. With the right tools you can get back to anything you desire. Which can leave you feeling even better than you did before pregnancy!
Rachael Van Schoick
Align Movement
LMT, Birth Doula, Prenatal and Postpartum Exercise Specialist, SomaTrainer and ELDOA Trainer
@alignmovement_therapy
