Schedule an Appointment
Menu

vaginal birth

choose your own postpartum adventure

What to do when you have leakage postpartum

, , , , ,

Picture it now…

You’ve had a baby (it’s so cute, BTW). It’s been a few weeks (or months) and you FINALLY feel ready to return to class. 

You say hello to all of the friends you’ve missed. 

You complete the warm up and start the work out.

And then it happens…

…you pee your pants.

“WTF?!? Is this really what I signed up for?” you ask yourself. What are you supposed to do if you have symptoms right off the bat?

Where do you go from here?

There are a few things you can do. 
You can say “F*%& IT!” and go homeYou can say “Damn the torpedoes” and full send the workout
​Now, once we get past the emotions of the situation, we can explore a third option…
Pick one thing. Just one thing. And focus on that. 
Maybe it’s your breath and core control. 
​Maybe it’s modifying the exercise so you have better control over the movement (think hopping in place instead of jumping jacks or kneeling planks as opposed to full plank). 
​Maybe you do less reps. 

Pick one thing and play with your variable. And if there’s a place where you can play around and have fun, GO HAVE FUN! Because I hear from moms who return to class and try to fix all the things at once and they completely lose their joy. 

Accept that you may have symptoms but know that you are actively working on it. Who knows! That may snowball into faster progress than you anticipate! 

Is Your Postpartum Programming a Mess?

Is Your Postpartum Programming a Mess?

, , , ,

This time of year, I love to gather information. Activities for summer break. Things for the kids to do. Vacations to take. Places to go. And sometimes it all gets to be too much. 

I think this type of overwhelm happens for moms who have had a baby and are looking for information on getting back to running and to workouts. What is THE right way?

It’s so easy to see a great idea on social media, try it for two seconds, and then move on to the next great idea you see. Before you know it, you’ve accumulated this giant mess of tips and tricks that may or may not have a place in YOUR road to postpartum recovery. 

Because I’m in this space, The Algorithm thinks I need to see ads for these types of things. And lately, they’ve all been for how you should run. Typically, it’s someone with a tagline like “use these quick tips to fix your postpartum running!”

“Run with your head forward!” 🥴

“Run with your chest forward!” 🤨

“Lean your whole torso forward!”  😟

“Run more upright!” 🤬

When you’re trying to get back to running after a baby, and things don’t go as planned, that’s when you start looking for information. And these quick hits don’t work for someone with complex issues. And this is why I have my day job. 

You need to understand the reasons why you have prolapse or leakage or pelvic pain BEFORE you can address what will help you fix them. 

We are so much farther along than we were 20 years ago, but that doesn’t negate the fact that these issues are still complex. 

If you’re reading this and you feel called out…you’re the one who saves every reel you come across, and tries every tip you hear…and nothing is working…YOU ARE NOT BROKEN!

But when you keep doing things that weren’t actually meant to help YOUR problem, you’re setting yourself up to fail. 

why do i have pelvic floor issues

Are online programs appropriate for your pelvic floor issues?

, , , ,

Think back to three years ago…

Did you have a kid? Pelvic floor issues? 

Would you have purchased an online exercise program or taken an online class? 

What about now, post-pandemic? Are you more open to the virtual world?

For me, purchasing something online or looking to social media for solutions would have NEVER crossed my mind. But now, one of the most common questions I get in my DMs is “I’ve already purchased so many online courses/programs/guides and nothing has worked. What now?!?”

When you purchase a product, you purchase the promise. You’re buying based on whether you like the person who is selling the product. Generally speaking, the products that are meant for you in the early weeks (1-12) postpartum, they’re the same. Sorry. 🤷‍♀️

One of two things will happen, you’re going to pay, and it will be great, and you’ll move on with your life…or…the program will not fulfill the promise. 

If you do already have issues, those basic problems won’t be what you need. 

If you don’t know the why behind your symptoms, you’re throwing darts at a dart board, hoping something sticks. 

Over and over again, I get DMs from these women who are trying to patchwork together a solution like it’s a DIY project from Pinterest. 

There is more than one cause of leakage. 

There is more than one cause of prolapse. 

There is more than one cause of pelvic pain. 

It’s just not that simple.  The answer isn’t always “get a stronger core.”

If you’re trying to get to workouts and your approach is the $39.95 .pdf, chances are high you’re not going to get what you need. You’re trying to armchair expert a complicated and nuanced situation. 

Part of my superpower is to see the patterns (because this is my literal day job) and lay it out so we can make a plan for improvement. We start with the why so we can get the right how. 

If you’ve already gotten to the point where you’ve tried things without results, let me know about your experience. 

does a perfect birth exist

Does a Perfect Birth Exist?

, , ,

“I had a natural birth.”

“I wanted a natural birth but I had a c-section.”

“I’m planning for a natural birth.”

I hear the term “natural” a lot from women coming to my office. 

What they mean by “natural” is an unmedicated, vaginal birth. But there is A LOT of unpacking that needs to happen with this term – from unmet expectations to the reality of what comes with it. 

I wish that birth were simple. The story I heard growing up was my mom made my dad his birthday dinner, then he took her to the hospital and I was born (Yes, my dad and I share a birthday.)

I think many of us can attest to how NOT SIMPLE birth can be. Things don’t always go according to plan. 

The common theme is that birth is hard. I don’t care how much you did or didn’t plan. 

We all need to get something out of the experience. If you are the type of person who feels the need to laminate your birth plan (I’m the poster child for that idea), you’ll want to work on embracing flexibility.

But at the same time, if you don’t know anything, you don’t want to get caught off-guard. 

This idea of meeting people where they are also comes into play with physical therapy. We need to have an idea of what’s normal so we know when it’s time to ask for help. 

If problems like leakage or pubic pain do arise during pregnancy, we may not be able to fix it, but we’ll have an idea of what to look for in postpartum. 

People want to share their birth stories, which I love, because I don’t think that was common with our parents’ generation. And it’s important, because the more stories we hear, the more likely we are to hear a story similar to ours and it can help us feel less alone. 

If things didn’t go according to plan, and you logically know the comparison game is unhelpful, you still need to unpack that experience, both physical and mental. Ideal, this needs to happen BEFORE you decide to get pregnant again. 

Birthing a child is a holistic experience and we need to treat it that way. 

If you feel like you’re alone, you’re probably not. And being open to sharing can help you process. 

If you’ve given birth, I would love to hear your birth story,

If you’re pregnant, I would love to hear your expectations!