- First be kind enough to your body to prioritize rest, and ensure you have clearance from a medical professional before you consider working out.
- Next, it’s helpful to realize that some patterns may be getting in the way of the healing we’re hoping for.
- Excess pressure, pushing too hard too fast, movement patterns, posture habits and stiffness in certain areas can all contribute to postpartum symptoms.
- With this understanding, you need to start building awareness of how you’re moving (and become more patient with your body).
- Then you can add simple techniques to begin reducing excess pressure and engage your core .
- Next you can take concrete steps to repattern your movement and posture to support your healing body.
- After that it’s time to work on becoming more mobile and functional in your core and pelvic floor.
What’s happening in your body may be
feeling a little overwhelming right now.
That’s totally normal.
Your body has just been through a pretty significant physical challenge (no matter if this is baby #1 or #5,6,7).
Often, women don’t talk to other women about the changes they experience in their bodies after a baby so you might be feeling blindsided by some symptoms or a diagnosis. And even if you did know this was possible, having it actually happen to you is a completely different thing.
But you’ve found yourself in just the right place. We work with this every day.
We have spent 20+ years working with exactly what you’re going through right now.
So, we’ve got the answers to your questions, and more than that, we’ve got a place where nothing you could experience or say would shock us.
So… on to what’s happening in your body.
As women our symptoms are
as unique as our personalities.
Postpartum recovery can look a whole lot of ways for a whole lot of women.
You may be experiencing one or more of these symptoms:
- Painful sex
- Back pain
- SIJ/SPD pain
- Sneeze pee
- Struggling to run or move freely without leaks
- Pain or discomfort in your vagina, rectum or abdomen when having a bowel movement
- Feeling like there’s an ‘air bubble’ in your vagina
- Feeling like there’s a tampon stuck or falling out
- A bulge in your belly you can’t seem to shift
- A belly that feels swollen
- Bloating (especially in the center of your belly)
- Gaping in the center of your belly
None of these are cause for panic. All of them are very common and TOTALLY normal… it’s actually just your body recalibrating from being stretched to new limits.
Healing is something your body is totally capable of and there are definitely things you can do to support it. You’ll probably need to adjust to your body’s timeline a bit though.
If you’ve already got a diagnosis of one of one of the following, we have a rich resource center for each, so do check those out.
DIASTASIS RECTIRESOURCE CENTER PELVIC ORGAN PROLAPSE
RESOURCE CENTER
If postpartum pelvic floor pain is your main concern, you can
read more about that here.
And if you aren’t quite sure if you have a prolapse but are worried you might have some sort of
postpartum prolapse, there’s some
helpful information here too.
When you’re postpartum, it’s not just your pelvic floor that’s under pressure.
You’re also responsible for a whole new human right now. You’re trying to do the best job you can
with that, and you’re likely feeling this added pressure from within and all around you to
“bounce back.”
“Bounce back” to your pre-baby body. “Bounce back” to your pre-baby weight. “Bounce back” to
being able to workout as much as you want. AND also be the perfect mum, wife, girlfriend,
daughter, aunt, everything.
It’s overwhelming and it’s not kind, supportive or honoring to your body and what it’s been
through.
We don’t encourage women who come to us to even think about working on strengthening their core
and pelvic floor with our program until at least 8 weeks postpartum. There are more gentle
movements you can do before that (in a program like BRM®) but NOTHING like what you might be
feeling you want to in order to “bounce back.”
You are healing right now
Our bodies are incredibly adaptive and ever-changing. And they heal. They respond to stimulus, load, habits, movement patterns and yes, even stress. So take a deep breath and steady yourself for this healing journey.
We’re often asked, “What can I do to help my body heal postpartum?” Our first answer is, ‘“Rest! Stay hydrated! Eat to support your healing, and then some more rest. For the first 8 weeks only very gentle exercise, like in Body Ready Postpartum.”
Once that time’s up and your body’s had a minute to adjust, you should be sure to step slowly back into being active. Many women who come to us do so wishing they’d started out more slowly to begin with and saved themselves time and re-injury in the long run.
If you’re looking for postpartum exercises you can find some safe options here.
There’s also some yoga that’s safe to do postpartum. Just be mindful of what your body’s gone through and make informed choices about which poses to include. You can find a helpful resource about postpartum yoga here.
There’s no need for despair
(no matter what you’re experiencing in your body right now)
This is not how it’s going to be forever. With the right support, and some simple daily exercises, you can slowly regain your full body function.
So, how do you heal your
postpartum body?
You may choose to go for postpartum physical therapy and/or you may choose to follow proven steps with the right guidance at home. Here are some steps that have worked beautifully with the thousands of women we’ve worked with.
You can do all of this with carefully chosen and sequenced exercises that take you through each of the steps in this specific order.
Every woman’s body is different.
But the truth is, when you follow these steps, you can get back to being as confident and comfortable moving as you were before (or even MORE than before). You can get back to trusting your body and feeling prideful and confident.
There IS a method…
that’s carefully curated to help you heal your postpartum body, long term.
This method will guide you to build a respectful and responsive relationship with your body by carefully following the steps outlined above.
Introducing…
Restore Your Core®—The proven method for regaining your strength and confidence, long-term.
RYC® is carefully designed to give you everything you need to safely do YOUR part in your healing process.
Your true healing happens in the small choices you make every day about how you move.
RYC® uses the CARE model to guide your postpartum healing.
Core confidence:
Regain your confidence to move, exercise and return to what you love. No fear mongering. No dogmas. No judgment. Just a clear path to healing.
Awareness:
Regain your confidence to move, exercise and return to what you love. No fear mongering. No dogmas. No judgment. Just a clear path to healing.
Responsive:
To optimize your movements and activities, you need to first ensure your core and pelvic floor are responsive and functional. RYC® uses dynamic whole-body core stability workouts to accomplish this.
Empowerment:
Feel empowered with tools to be confident, aware of your body, and to move on to activities more complex without fear.
No more feeling lost, confused and in the dark about your injury and what it takes to heal.
No more feeling lost, confused and in the dark about your injury and what it takes to heal.
Find Out MorePostpartum healing with
RYC® looks like:
Steffanie Frandsen
Brittany Czekaj
Callie Huft
Felicitas Rapp
Sophie P.
Erin
Christina Freeman
Erin Stark
With RYC®
you can…
- move effortlessly without worry or fear
- lift your kids
- have fewer aches and pains
- listen to your body and respond
- embrace full body healing
- enjoy sex, pain-free
- workout harder with more intensity
You can feel strong, confident and capable again with RYC®
10,000+
women healing
300+
Certified RYC®
Teachers
30,000+
Active Community
Members
80+
Countries
5
Continents
2015
Since
RYC® has helped thousands of women find postpartum healing…
We’d love to help you too.
As seen in:
Lauren Ohayon
Founder and program developer, RYC®
Laura Gregg
Silje Vold
Hanna Sandvig
Ivy Goldmann Garr
You’ll get
You’ll get
- Forever access to the program and all updates
- 16 Exercise videos with detailed personal instruction
- 4 Standing-only classes for those times when getting on a mat is just not possible
- 24 Take-back-your-body tutorials explaining alignment, how to have a healthy spine and pelvis, optimal breath, ideal core engagement, and more
- 12 Instructional PDFs that help you understand prolapse, the role of your psoas, and tips for all day movement
- A 10-15 minute express workout for each stage of the program
- Private facebook group (for women only), constant access to Lauren herself, and all your personal questions answered all the time
- Bonus videos, tutorials, tips and classes
Got Questions
During the postpartum period, it is common to experience a pelvic organ prolapse. The tissues and muscle structures that support your pelvic floor may have been weakened over the course of your pregnancy and during delivery. The weakness in the pelvic region can cause some of your pelvic organs (bladder, bowel, uterus) to slip into the vaginal canal or rectal walls.
Yet, though it is common for women to experience a prolapse post-pregnancy/childbirth, pelvic floor therapy can help improve the condition. In many cases, the initial presentation of prolapse can resolve on its own as you continue to heal – yet, there can still be complications in the future. Some of the most common types of pelvic organ prolapse post-childbirth include: Uterine prolapse –uterine prolapse involves prolapse of the cervix and uterus down into the vaginal canal. Bladder prolapse (cystocele) -involves a prolapsed bladder into the front wall of the vaginal canal
Bowel prolapse (rectocele) is the prolapse of the rectum into the back wall of the vaginal canal.
In some cases, these prolapses may coexist. For example, you may experience both a uterine prolapse and bladder prolapse simultaneously.
Yet, though it is common for women to experience a prolapse post-pregnancy/childbirth, pelvic floor therapy can help improve the condition. In many cases, the initial presentation of prolapse can resolve on its own as you continue to heal – yet, there can still be complications in the future. Some of the most common types of pelvic organ prolapse post-childbirth include: Uterine prolapse –uterine prolapse involves prolapse of the cervix and uterus down into the vaginal canal. Bladder prolapse (cystocele) -involves a prolapsed bladder into the front wall of the vaginal canal
Bowel prolapse (rectocele) is the prolapse of the rectum into the back wall of the vaginal canal.
In some cases, these prolapses may coexist. For example, you may experience both a uterine prolapse and bladder prolapse simultaneously.
There are many options out there to help you recover from postpartum pelvic organ prolapse. It is important that after your delivery (once you've received clearance by your medical professional), to begin a form of postpartum rehab.
Offerings can include physical therapy, physiotherapy, or movement specialists (Restore Your Core®). In many cases, you would treat this condition like any other physical injury: REST and light movement. You may also need to treat any other underlying conditions contributing to the prolapse.
Offerings can include physical therapy, physiotherapy, or movement specialists (Restore Your Core®). In many cases, you would treat this condition like any other physical injury: REST and light movement. You may also need to treat any other underlying conditions contributing to the prolapse.
It depends; there is no right answer as it will be different for everyone. Some people may have back pain when they sleep on their backs; others experience shoulder or hip discomfort when side sleeping. Using additional pillows to support the body while sleeping can help; pillows behind the knees when lying on the back and pillows between the knees and/or arms when side sleeping.
Whole body exercises that target the core and pelvic floor can help to ease the pain and discomfort of prolapse by strengthening muscles that provide more support for pelvic organs. For rectal prolapse, your specialist may recommend bowel movement retraining which helps prevent strain by using relaxation exercises. They may also teach you how to identify, tighten, and release your pelvic floor muscles.
Your treatment will depend on how severe your symptoms are. If your pelvic organ prolapse isn’t causing you constant distress, then you can often treat it without surgery (i.e. a rehab program like RYC®, diet, monitoring, etc).
However, if symptoms get worse and significantly affect your quality of life, more extensive non-surgical and surgical treatments are also available for this condition.
However, if symptoms get worse and significantly affect your quality of life, more extensive non-surgical and surgical treatments are also available for this condition.
Scientifically, there is little evidence supporting a prolapse worsening due to multiple deliveries. If a prolapse is already present, it is not common for the prolapse to get significantly worse after delivering another child.
If you have been using appropriate maintenance protocols, exercising correctly, and managing symptoms well, you can continue to have children even with a prolapse without worrying about any significant health concerns.
However, if you’ve been considering repairing your prolapse via surgery, you’ll need to be sure that you’re completely done having children before having the procedure.
This is due to an increase in potential risks and complications if you continue to experience a prolapse due to a post-surgery delivery. Talk with your healthcare provider or OB/GYN if you have any concerns regarding a prolapse procedure and delivering future children.
If you have been using appropriate maintenance protocols, exercising correctly, and managing symptoms well, you can continue to have children even with a prolapse without worrying about any significant health concerns.
However, if you’ve been considering repairing your prolapse via surgery, you’ll need to be sure that you’re completely done having children before having the procedure.
This is due to an increase in potential risks and complications if you continue to experience a prolapse due to a post-surgery delivery. Talk with your healthcare provider or OB/GYN if you have any concerns regarding a prolapse procedure and delivering future children.
For many women, postpartum prolapse can correct itself over the course of their postpartum recovery. Lifestyle changes, proper diet, and choosing exercises or movements that support your body to heal are the first steps toward prolapse recovery.
After giving birth, your pelvic floor and core muscles will be in the process of healing for at least a year.
Although many women may begin being active again after the first 6-weeks postpartum, often, women will continue to face pelvic pain and symptoms for months after delivering their child.
Both your core and pelvic region have gone through significant changes to accommodate your growing baby and changing body. Trying too quickly to get back into an exercise or workout routine that doesn’t take these things into account can add to your pain and place unnecessary pressure and strain on your core and pelvic floor muscles - especially when they are already strained.
Every woman is different and the length of recovery is different for everyone and can change depending on many factors. Healing can take anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on whether or not there are underlying conditions which may be increasing the pain and symptoms. While there are no overnight success stories, there are many, many success stories of women like you, who have healed their pelvic organ prolapse by taking these steps slowly and surely.
Although many women may begin being active again after the first 6-weeks postpartum, often, women will continue to face pelvic pain and symptoms for months after delivering their child.
Both your core and pelvic region have gone through significant changes to accommodate your growing baby and changing body. Trying too quickly to get back into an exercise or workout routine that doesn’t take these things into account can add to your pain and place unnecessary pressure and strain on your core and pelvic floor muscles - especially when they are already strained.
Every woman is different and the length of recovery is different for everyone and can change depending on many factors. Healing can take anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on whether or not there are underlying conditions which may be increasing the pain and symptoms. While there are no overnight success stories, there are many, many success stories of women like you, who have healed their pelvic organ prolapse by taking these steps slowly and surely.
Loose skin after pregnancy is not something that can be fixed overnight. Diet and exercise postpartum are key to reducing the appearance of loose tummy skin, though it will take time for your body's shape to return back to a healthy, restored state.
It is important to understand that a slim body is not the sole sign of strength, health, and restoration.
It is important to understand that a slim body is not the sole sign of strength, health, and restoration.
No matter how you give birth, never underestimate the need for recovery.
Your body has been stretched and stressed to the max during pregnancy, labor, and delivery so it needs a chance to rest now! The first six to eight weeks postpartum are considered the standard recovery time.
You may have had an easy pregnancy or childbirth, but your body is still recovering from the disruption of pregnancy and childbirth. There's no quick fix/solution after giving birth. Healing can’t be rushed.
We recommend you wait at least 8-10 weeks before starting RYC or longer for more strenuous and demanding exercises, such as running or heavy lifting. Your body needs time to recover.
Your body has been stretched and stressed to the max during pregnancy, labor, and delivery so it needs a chance to rest now! The first six to eight weeks postpartum are considered the standard recovery time.
You may have had an easy pregnancy or childbirth, but your body is still recovering from the disruption of pregnancy and childbirth. There's no quick fix/solution after giving birth. Healing can’t be rushed.
We recommend you wait at least 8-10 weeks before starting RYC or longer for more strenuous and demanding exercises, such as running or heavy lifting. Your body needs time to recover.
As mentioned previously, a hernia is usually only fixed with surgery. However, some studies have shown that exercise may help reduce any post-surgery complications. We have had clients close their umbilical hernias using RYC® but it is less common.
Prehabilitation is an effective way to begin healing the muscles in your abdomen and may help prevent future complications.
However, it is important to remember that certain exercises may further compromise abdominal health. At Restore Your Core® we offer a variety of restorative exercise and rehabilitation programs for those suffering from compromised abdominal health.
Prehabilitation is an effective way to begin healing the muscles in your abdomen and may help prevent future complications.
However, it is important to remember that certain exercises may further compromise abdominal health. At Restore Your Core® we offer a variety of restorative exercise and rehabilitation programs for those suffering from compromised abdominal health.
Diastasis recti is a common post-pregnancy complication. When the muscles of her abdominal wall separate, it can be difficult for them to come back together on their own and you may need physical therapy if they don't heal within 6 weeks to 3 months following delivery. Using the RYC® method greatly increases your likelihood of being able to heal without surgery. Surgery is usually only considered in extreme cases if the gap doesn’t close within a year of physical therapy.
Yes! There have been many women who have completed my program and seen their diastasis recti close considerably, if not all the way. It is possible to not only heal a diastasis without surgery, it is also possible to restore function and ability to your core and your body without the need of invasive surgeries.
In the first few weeks after birth, it can be considered normal to leak pee unexpectedly (incontinence); if you’re 8+ weeks postpartum and still experiencing incontinence, you want to investigate further. Incontinence in women postpartum (and beyond) is common, but it doesn’t mean it’s normal.
Incontinence indicates that your core is not responding appropriately to your movement demands. Postpartum incontinence is almost always curable when you address alignment, movement and breathing patterns that exacerbate pelvic floor dysfunction.
Incontinence indicates that your core is not responding appropriately to your movement demands. Postpartum incontinence is almost always curable when you address alignment, movement and breathing patterns that exacerbate pelvic floor dysfunction.
Still got questions? Lauren’s got answers!
Reach out to her here and she’ll get back to you
