Hey there! This week’s newsletter is all about early postpartum recovery and what you can do in the first month or so after birth to support your long term healing.

First, our healing timelines after birth follow some common tissue healing patterns, BUT there is also a lot of variation depending on your pregnancy, birth, and even the support you have postpartum. Roxanne shares about her first month postpartum and how different it was from her previous three postpartum periods. This was the first birth where she didn’t have a hemorrhage, and it made a HUGE difference in her recovery timeline.

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Approaching Recovery After Birth

If your timeline feels longer, or you don’t feel ready to do structured movement at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum, know that this can be normal. Each of our timelines will be slightly different based on a huge number of factors that may or may not be within your control.

Some things that may help your postpartum recovery:

1. Prenatal Fitness for Postpartum Recovery

Your prenatal fitness--if you go into birth and postpartum at a higher level of conditioning, it can help with your healing timeline. We have had a number of clients reach out saying their birth was not what they had prepared for, but they were thankful for their prenatal fitness because it helped make their postpartum feel “easier.” Of course, there are circumstances in which exercising regularly is not realistic, or you may have a medical condition that makes exercise unsafe.

2. Prenatal Nutrition for Postpartum Recovery

Prenatal nutrition--this was a big difference for Roxanne this time. We cannot always prevent hemorrhage, but being depleted in certain nutrients can impact your body’s ability to clot after birth. Roxanne focused on nutrient dense foods that were rich in iron during this pregnancy, plus added vitamin D and iron supplements (which fluctuated based on her labs and trimester) from Needed. You can use code MAMASTEFIT for 20% off.​

Blog: Understanding Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnancy: What You Need to Know​

3. Roxanne's Personal Decision: Active Management of the Placenta

Pitocin can be part of the active management of the birth of the placenta and is one option to decrease the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, which had a big impact on Roxanne's prior postpartum recoveries. This can be controversial in the birth world depending on where you are getting most of your birth education. Pitocin is not necessarily needed for every single person in every birth. You are an individual after all. But due to her history of hemorrhage, Roxanne opted for a more active management of the third stage of labor with Pitocin. If you are worried about hemorrhaging, talk with your provider about your options after birth.​

4. Postpartum Support for Postpartum Recovery

It is definitely much easier to rest and heal if you have support postpartum, which of all these options may feel the least realistic. Sometimes you can coordinate family or friend support. Some of you may have paid leave options from work for you and/or your partner. Others may be able to afford to pay for help after birth.

​Our friend Daphne has some amazing resources (and her new book that just released) with more advice on how to navigate parental leave and your rights in the workplace.

Blog: Navigating Maternity Rights in the Workplace​

If support is your most limited resource after birth, trying to minimize what is on your plate as much as possible can help. Ask yourself, do you need to do the dishes right now? But there are also times when life still needs to happen, and supportive bloomers or garments can help provide extra support for your pelvic floor.

Postpartum Return to Fitness: The Movement Approach to Recovery

Now what movement can you do in the first month or so postpartum to support healing? Should you rush back to the gym?

Four to six weeks can feel too short to be back in the gym lifting weights, but also too long to do absolutely nothing.

You can absolutely add in low effort breathing, mobility, and gentle core work to start reconnecting with your core and pelvic floor. You can also schedule a pelvic floor PT appointment around 4 to 8 weeks postpartum. Some providers may even see you sooner. If seeing someone in person feels out of reach, virtual appointments can also be a great option so you do not need to leave your house.

If you want guidance on what to do during those early weeks, you can start with our free Early Postpartum Recovery Course. It walks you through simple breathing, mobility, and core exercises that are appropriate in the first few weeks after birth so you can begin reconnecting with your body in a safe and supportive way.

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And when you feel ready for more structured training, Roxanne is currently starting our Postpartum Fitness Program as she prepares to race a half marathon in October at 10 months postpartum. The program gradually rebuilds strength, core function, and endurance so you can return to lifting, running, and higher intensity exercise with confidence.

Stay Strong in Pregnancy and Motherhood!

MamasteFit is one of the only fitness training facilities in the country that exclusively works with in-person prenatal and postnatal fitness clients—and also provides hands-on birth support. Our prenatal and postpartum fitness programs aren’t random “safe” modifications pulled from the internet; they’re designed specifically for this stage of life, tested and refined with our in-person clients, and approved by our in-house pelvic floor physical therapists.

Our prenatal programs were created to keep you strong and pain-free throughout pregnancy with specialty exercises to help you prepare for birth with pelvic opening, pelvic floor, and birth prep movements.

Our postpartum programs were carefully designed with our in-person fitness clients and pelvic floor PTs to ensure there is a smooth transition from rehab and recovery to fitness. Many PTs recommend our programs for both pregnancy and postpartum because of how seamless they integrate with someone's 1-1 PT!