April 29, 2025 • 26 mins
We’ve got to stop telling moms to “just wait six weeks and then you’re good to go.
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jena Bradley, a postpartum physical therapist and core restoration expert. Together, we’re unpacking the biggest myths around postpartum movement and Dr. Jena reveals what providers really need to know for effective core and strength recovery. Learn how to assess readiness for activity, why core health is about so much more than aesthetics and has everything to do with strength, energy, and functional healing. This conversation will reshape how you approach core rehab and early postpartum care and healing.
Click HERE to check out this episode on the blog.
Key Time Stamps :
- 01:16: myths about postpartum fitness
- 02:21: The importance of movement in initial six weeks postpartum.
- 06:17: Using pain as a key indicator for appropriate activity levels.
- 07:29: bleeding patterns as a sign of exertion in postpartum.
- 10:55: Critical assessment signs to gauge readiness for movement.
- 11:40: Identifying the source of pain (diastasis recti, pelvic floor, C-section scar).
- 13:20: Shifting from aesthetics to functional healing and core strength.
- 18:27: The interconnectedness of nutrition, sleep, nervous system regulation, and mental health in postpartum fitness.
- 18:50: The crucial role of nutrition in muscle rebuilding.
- 20:32: Addressing motivation and consistency in postpartum exercise.
Connect with Dr. Jena:
Dr. Jena Bradley is a physical therapist, postpartum core restoration coach, and proud mom of 4 girls. With over a decade of experience in physical therapy, Dr. Jena empowers moms with quick, effective workouts and expert guidance tailored to busy schedules. Her approach emphasizes core strengthening as the foundation for rebuilding a strong, healthy body after pregnancy.
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NEXT STEPS:
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📱Connect on Instagram!
📚Get a Copy of the BOOK: Reclaiming Postpartum Wellness
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
The postpartum care system is failing, leaving
countless mothers strugglingwith depression, anxiety and
autoimmune conditions.
I'm Miranda Bauer and I'vehelped thousands of providers
use holistic care practices toheal their clients at the root.
Subscribe now and join us inaddressing what modern medicine
(00:22):
overlooks, so that you can giveyour clients real, lasting
solutions for lifelongwell-being.
Hey, hey, everyone, welcome tothe Postpartum University
podcast Today Dr Jenna Bradley.
She is a physical therapist,postpartum core restoration
coach and a proud mom of fourgirls who understands firsthand
(00:46):
that challenges of balancingmotherhood, fitness and
self-care.
And she is joining us todaywith a decade of experience over
a decade of experience inphysical therapy and she's got a
passion for helping moms regaintheir strength and their
confidence and their energy andhas become a trusted voice for
postpartum wellness, which iswhy she is here on the podcast
(01:10):
today.
Welcome, I'm so glad you'rehere, jenna.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited for ourconversation today.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I am excited because we're going to dive into some of
the harder conversations aroundthis, because I feel like I've
talked to a lot of incredible.
You know PT therapists andoftentimes we go into that like
the nitty gritty of how Kegelsare not always like the best
thing and sometimes they can,you know, obviously cause more
damage than good and you knowall of those little nuances
(01:39):
about it.
But I feel like there's stillso much misinformation out there
when it comes to postpartumfitness in general and I want to
hear your take on like what'sone of the biggest myths
providers are still believingand how is this impacting moms?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, I think the number one thing that a lot of
moms are being told after havinga baby you know, we're in the
hospital or wherever you aregiving birth they're told don't
do anything and wait six weeks,wait six weeks to move.
But it's it's not that we.
We need to educate moms, andthis was something that I
(02:18):
struggled with when I had myfirst baby.
Even as a physical therapist, Ireally didn't know what to do
after I gave birth and I'mthinking well, I'm nervous to
move and you know I had sometearing, but what am I really
supposed to do now that I gavebirth, now that I'm home and I
have to take care of my baby,what am I supposed to do with my
(02:38):
own body?
And so I think it's importantthat moms and providers are
really aligned with what happensthat first six weeks and if we
can explain to the mom that it'sokay to move, don't be afraid
to move.
Movement is going to help yourbody heal and, as a physical
(02:59):
therapist, that's what we're allabout.
We're all about moving to healour body instead of being afraid
to move and letting our bodiesheal with just rest.
Yes, we do need to rest, butthere's a, there's a balance of
some rest with some movement,and I I hope that the providers
that are listening can be alittle bit more detailed, just
(03:21):
giving some explanation of whatmovement is good and what
movement is not good at thefirst six weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Yeah, let's, let's dive into that, because this is
a little bit different than whatwe normally talk about in terms
of like, resting and findinglike.
How do we find that balance?
What does that look like?
Because we want moms to restand oftentimes they're,
generally speaking, moving waytoo much and and most of our
opinions right they're three,four days postpartum and they're
(03:48):
going grocery shopping or, youknow, they're doing laundry and
they're up cooking and doingdishes, like, is that, is that a
part of this, or is there?
Is there something else that weshould be looking at, or is
that too much Like?
Let's, let's dive into this.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Let's dive into that.
So everybody's different.
I always take all of my clientsand I, you know I look at them
as just one person.
It's not a one size fits all.
So if you have someone who hada really traumatic childbirth,
they're going to need more restand someone who had the most
amazing childbirth and is up andwalking day one postpartum, we
(04:26):
might treat them a little bitdifferently and encourage them
to walk a little bit more.
And I'm not talking about bigworkouts.
We're talking about basicmovements, the deep breathing,
the breathing exercises that wetalk about, just walking alone.
You know we can classifywalking as cardio because it's
movement.
We're getting our heart rate up.
So things like that is what weneed to tell these moms and they
(04:51):
might think to themselves wait,I'm not allowed to do anything.
But if you just say you'reallowed to do breathing
exercises, they feel so muchbetter knowing that they're
allowed to do that.
Or we tell them yes, we wantyou to walk and do laps in your
house.
We're not talking about gettingon a treadmill, but walking and
doing laps in your house isokay to do.
You don't have to be afraid todo it if your body is telling
(05:13):
you that it's okay.
So we have to listen to ourbody.
If we can teach the moms fromthe get-go to listen to their
body and their body is going totell them what is allowed and
what's not allowed I think itwould be so much easier to teach
the moms what to do.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
I find the conversation of,like you know, listening to our
bodies sometimes very difficultand nuanced, because we have so
many societal pressures thattell us to get up, get your body
back, do the thing or you needto stay resting.
If you're not resting, thenyou're doing something wrong,
and so oftentimes, especially inpostpartum, like during this
(05:50):
very sacred, sensitive time,it's very easy to get lost, and
these are the things that I'vebeen taught over the years and
I've grown up to believe to betrue, or the things that I've
learned in my childbirtheducation class or whatever the
case may be, and then that kindof gets convoluted with.
Well, I think this is how it'ssupposed to be and therefore,
(06:10):
this is what my body wants.
And like, how do youdifferentiate between the two
when you're working with moms?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, yeah, I, I teach the moms to first look for
pain.
And if they're having pain,that is that is your body
telling you to slow down, tostop, to not do whatever it is
you're doing.
And if somebody is motivated intheir mindset, they're, they're
ready, they want to dosomething, then why not
(06:40):
introduce those gentle movementsof the breathing, you know?
And so let's, let's meet themom where they want to go.
You know, it's a, it's a, youknow, just a collaborative
approach with the provider andthe mom together to figure out
what's best for this person.
So, figuring that out, you know, after childbirth, whether they
had a C-section, of coursethey're going to be treated a
(07:01):
little bit differently or givendifferent advice versus someone
who you know is not having anytrouble at all.
So let's just look at everybodyindividually.
Also, not the six weeks.
Don't, don't do anything in thesix weeks, because moms will
(07:25):
completely halt, you know, halttheir bodies and not do anything
.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, that's a.
I love that point about pain.
What about bleeding?
Like?
Is that a good sign?
Like, if you're starting tobleed even more, that you should
probably step back and andrelax and rest even more?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, so what I like to do with the bleeding, because
it's hard for a mom tounderstand wait, I'm bleeding
this amount but I'm stillbleeding and like bleeding is
bleeding to a mom.
Right.
But I like to have a mom get acalendar and write down their
symptoms of the bleeding,whether it you know, just
putting it on a scale of minimal, moderate or a maximum amount
(08:03):
of bleeding.
You know, you know, justputting it on a scale of minimal
, moderate or a maximum amountof bleeding.
You know, they know what a lotof bleeding is.
But if they can track that on acalendar and write down, okay,
my bleeding's a little lesstoday, maybe rank it down in a
moderate range, or then one dayit's light, and then they can
see on a big picture you knowcalendar seeing that okay, this
(08:24):
bleeding is getting better,rather than it just being
classified as bleeding.
So I think it's good for a momto sort of observe the bleeding
and keep a close eye on it andthen go to their doctor and say,
okay, my bleeding is gettingbetter, I'm feeling better Now I
feel ready versus, wow, thisbleeding has not improved at all
(08:46):
and it's still pretty heavy.
I don't think my body's ready.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Hey, I know you are crazy busy, but if you just have
a second, could you simply hitsubscribe and leave a review for
us?
I'd be so grateful.
Subscribe and leave a reviewfor us, I'd be so grateful.
Yeah, I often see it,especially with exercise or
movement in general, where momsare like, okay, I'm ready to get
(09:15):
up and I'm ready to do things,and where I have to get up and I
have to do things right.
Sometimes it feels like it's nota choice to chase your toddler
you know toddler around and dothe dishes and the laundry, and
then they're like, oh my gosh,I'm starting to bleed even more
heavier because I am being moreactive, and I think that's often
a really good indicator.
You know, along with pain, thatthis is not what your body
needs to do and that there'smore rest.
(09:36):
But I want to.
I want to touch base on howmost providers are not getting
the type of training that youhave whatsoever right Like, or
PTA physical therapy.
This is not, you know,something that an OB or a
general practitioner or a momgoing to a six week checkup is
ever going to receive right.
So what are some of thecritical signs that somebody
(10:00):
maybe who's listening in.
Who does those six weekscheckup or sees mom and, in this
period of time, like whatshould they be looking for when
assessing a mom's readiness formovement?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, so many things.
Right, there's a laundry listof things, but the first thing
that I would look for is we'regoing to go with that pain, but
then that pain is going to guideus into what area are we really
focusing on.
So, as a physical therapist,one of the first questions I ask
everybody is how much pain doyou have and where is your pain?
(10:34):
And I get really specific notjust your back, but where on
your back, or yeah it's, it'shurting me in my stomach, but
wear in your stomach.
So we're going to starttouching our patients and
feeling around.
Where is this pain coming from?
And is it in their linea alba,which is the diastasis recti gap
?
We need to look to see if theyhave diastasis recti.
(10:56):
Is it pelvic floor pain?
Let's observe them internally,and so let's start with the pain
and figure out where it is.
So is it their C-section scarand their scar is not healing?
Or maybe it looks healed, butthe deep tissues underneath the
scar are, you know, causing someproblems and some internal pain
(11:16):
.
So let's just go one stepdeeper into them describing
their pain, which a lot of momshave a hard time describing
their pain.
They might just say I have backpain, but it actually might be
their hip.
So we need to ask maybe one ortwo or three more questions.
After they explain what theirpain is, go a little bit deeper
(11:39):
and then, when everything checksout and you figure out what
area they're struggling with,then we want to gear them
towards movement, specificallyfor that kind of patient, I
would say a patient.
So now they have some kind ofdiagnosis or some kind of
classification, well, let's gearthem in the right direction.
A C-section mom is going toexercise completely differently
(12:02):
than a mom who has diastasisrecti.
So we need to be able to steerthese moms in the right
direction once we figure outwhat is causing pain or what is
causing lack of movement intheir body.
Now, if everything checks outfine and they're not having any
pain, well then, give them thego-ahead to get started.
But I always start with thosegentle exercises.
(12:23):
So if you're not sure how toeducate the mom on how to get
started, I always tell them tostart with the core and some
light cardio.
We can go on and on about that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You know, I feel I'm so glad that you brought this up
because I feel like society isobsessed with the mom pooch and
they're obsessed with gettingyour body back and you know, we
have all of these harmful thingsthat moms say to themselves and
society says to mom.
And you know, oftentimes Ithink as providers, that's what
we hear in that first six weekcheckup and beyond Right, about
(13:02):
how moms are asking like OK,what do I do?
How do I do this?
How can providers shift thatconversation away from this more
aesthetic approach and towardthis deep conversation,
functional healing that needs tooccur?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I love talking about the corebeing the foundation to our body
.
It is not all the aestheticsand the clothing and the bathing
suits, but it's the foundationto every single movement we do
as human beings.
We can't move without our corebeing strong.
(13:38):
And so, if you think about it,if we have zero muscle strength
in our core, we're going to putit at a zero.
We would be slouched, floppedover, our shoulders would be out
of alignment, our hips wouldnot be functioning properly, and
then everything we call it thekinetic chain Everything from
that point on is not working andit's going to have injuries or
pain dysfunction.
(14:00):
We're going to be sluggishthroughout the day.
Everything stems from corestrength.
That's why I love it so much.
I am so passionate about corestrength, but a provider would
probably explain to the mom weneed to rebuild your core,
because your core muscles wereweak throughout your pregnancy.
Because your core muscles wereweak throughout your pregnancy
and the only way that you canstart feeling more energized
(14:22):
again after having a baby andbeing able to carry your baby
without the struggle is byrebuilding your core strength
again.
I always like to say theanalogy of you have this
all-star athlete who has an ACLinjury and there's no way that
after they have surgery or afterthey go through this traumatic
injury, which we would classifyas like childbirth right,
(14:43):
childbirth is somewhat traumaticthere's no way that the coach
would say, okay, you tore yourACL, but you're going to play
the rest of the season.
You got to go back in and justdo it.
Well, us as postpartum moms yes, we went through a little bit
of trauma, maybe a lot of trauma, after having a baby and we are
just put right back in the gameand we have to take care of our
(15:03):
baby without skipping a beat.
But we need to go through arehab process, whether you do it
with a physical therapist oryou do it at home.
We need to rehab our core backand get that strength back, or
fix our DR gap or fix ourC-section you know the incision
and just rehab our bodies backso that we can go back to doing
(15:25):
our daily lives of picking upheavy laundry baskets, picking
up the heavy carrier, the babycarrier, pushing the stroller up
the street.
There are so many things thatwe do that we have to engage to
the core and so if providersstart explaining it in that
realm of function rather thanthe way our stomachs look.
(15:45):
I think moms are going torelate more.
Every mom can relate to thestruggles of holding your heavy
baby.
As your baby is growing andgetting to be 30 pounds, it is
hard to carry your baby, but ifwe have a strong core it is so
much easier to hold our babiesand it makes life easier and
more fun, right?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, absolutely, and I I totally relate to this
because I'm a mom of four aswell, and three girls.
I know that you have four girls, which is so fun, but after my
first kid I specificallyremember I had I was a person
who loved to move, I ran all thetime, I was in kickboxing, I
(16:25):
played the clarinet.
For years I legit had a sixpack, my core was strong and I
was like that was like the mostimpressive part of my body.
You know, I was like in myearly twenties and I just
absolutely loved it.
And then I had I got pregnantand I had severe diastasis recti
and it was a lifetime Like Icould not do a lot of things.
(16:48):
I felt so weak, my back wasalways killing me and I didn't
like figure it out because, youknow, 15 years ago this wasn't
like a conversation that we wereall having.
But I remember specificallyhaving found somebody like
yourself pelvic floor physicaltherapist and we got to work
first with breathing exercisesand it was straight up like
(17:12):
learning how to breathe againand I remember being so
exhausted after my first sessionof focusing on breathing.
It was like mind blowing to me.
So I think that is like such abeautiful place to start and I
will tell you, I've never had asix pack ever again.
Like 20s are over, but I reallydo focus on those core
(17:36):
techniques that you'rementioning and because of those
core pieces, my life has been somuch better and I highly
recommend them.
So, I am also curious because somany other factors like
nutrition, nervous systemregulation, mental health they
all play a huge role in how wefeel about our bodies, how we
(17:57):
feel about postpartum fitness.
How can providers be educatingtheir clients on, like, the
nuances of all of those piecesand how they kind of come
together?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Let's start with nutrition alone.
There's no way I would be ableto work out if I didn't have
good nutrition.
We would feel so exhausted, andwhen we feel exhausted we're
not going to come back to ourworkout the next day.
We need to have the energy todo our exercise day after day
after day.
Now I'm not saying we have towork out every day of the week,
but just to have the energy toknow okay, I'm gonna be working
(18:30):
out three days a week.
I need to have good nutritionin place, I need to have protein
and you can speak more to thenutrition side of things but
there's no way that moms aregoing to have the energy to to
work out and also to build ourmuscle strength back.
If we don't have that proteinin our bodies, we're not
building our muscles, and sothose two go hand in hand, no
(18:51):
matter what.
Those two have to be sort oftaught at the same time, because
it's not a one size, it's just,it's not all fitness.
There's no way that we can justsay, oh yeah, you're going to
get, you're going to getstronger and you're going to
feel so much better just byexercising.
They're going to feel depleted,and so we have to put those two
together.
No matter what their repair,they go together.
(19:11):
And then with our nervoussystem if we are, you know, all
postpartum moms are lackingsleep.
It's just part of the game.
And so with the lack of sleep,it takes a hit on our nervous
system.
So I love to educate moms, oneof the first things that I,
besides talking about the coreand fitness, I go one step ahead
(19:32):
of that and that's gettingsleep.
If we aren't getting sleep,we're not going to have the
energy again.
Same thing with nutrition.
These all go together.
They all go together.
So we have to get our sleep tobalance our nervous system and
to take that stress response out.
And along with that is, youknow, with our mental health.
We need motivation.
(19:52):
I think one of the number onethings that people come to me
for they say they're strugglingwith consistency and they're
struggling with motivation.
And when we deal withpostpartum depression or any
kind of stress, we're not goingto be motivated to even roll out
our yoga mat and to just lie onthe floor and do these
breathing exercises or toactivate our core.
(20:13):
That simple step of justgetting our workout clothes on
or putting a sports bra on ishard enough for moms, and so we
need to get that motivation totake those early steps, those
simple steps to then work outand then to cook a healthy meal.
So all of this plays one bigrole together and we need to
(20:34):
address all of these areas atonce instead of just talking
about fitness alone, or talkingabout fitness alone or talking
about nutrition alone.
They all play a big roletogether.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
That's beautiful.
Okay, I have one other questionfor you, and I have recently
started asking people this whocome onto the podcast, and I
love the responses.
So I kind of want to keep it up.
I want to see how I just gonna.
I'm just gonna ask if we wereto completely rethink postpartum
recovery, what would that looklike?
(21:04):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Well, postpartum recovery I'm going to have to go
back into my memory of this was12 years ago.
My oldest daughter was 12 yearsago and what went wrong and how
would I change it up?
I would first start with takingthings a little bit slower
instead of thinking so far ahead.
So, postpartum recovery a lotof people ask me this how long
(21:27):
is postpartum recovery?
To me, it can last as long assomebody needs it to last, but
you know, when we're in it,we're thinking, oh, three months
or four months, or you know thefourth trimester, and then it's
over.
So I think a lot of times we puta timeline on it and we're
trying to rush through all thesteps.
You know our baby's changing sofast, but we need to slow down
(21:50):
right, and sometimes it's hardto slow down.
So I would say, for me,changing postpartum recovery
would be just living in themoment and taking it slower,
taking smaller baby steps,ignoring all the you know the
hype that you might see onInstagram or social media, and
just just paying attention toyour own body and and seeing the
(22:13):
little progress that you make,whether it is cooking a healthy
meal one day, or maybe it isthat extra 30 minutes of sleep,
just sort of embracing thoselittle changes and being proud
of yourself.
For, you know, taking one stepahead and just being in the
moment, don't think.
Don't think a year from now,think right now.
(22:35):
How can you just get a littlebit better, a little bit
healthier or feeling a littlebit better?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
I love it Okay, where can people find you and connect
in with you?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, I have a podcast called the fit
postpartum mom.
We talk about motivation andfitness to keep you exercising
all throughout postpartumrecovery, and I also have a blog
called live core strong andagain we talk about all the same
things.
I'm all postpartum fitness overhere and I have a free class
(23:06):
that if anybody wants to knowhow to start engaging their core
for the first time postpartumwhether you are, you know, newly
postpartum or five yearspostpartum I have a lot of moms
asking me how do I startengaging my core for the first
time?
So I have a free training.
It is at livecorestrongcomslash class and you can get that
free training and learn how toactivate your core in a safe and
(23:28):
effective way using my physicaltherapy exercises.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Beautiful.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
It's been such a pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
Thanks so much for being a partof this crucial conversation.
I know you're dedicated toadvancing postpartum care and if
you're ready to dig deeper,come join us on our newsletter,
(23:53):
where I share exclusive insights, resources and the latest tools
to help you make a lastingimpact on postpartum health.
Sign up at postpartumu theletter ucom, which is in the
show notes, and if you foundtoday's episode valuable, please
leave a review to help us reachmore providers like you.
(24:13):
Together, we're building afuture where mothers are fully
supported and thriving.
The postpartum care system is failing, leaving
countless mothers strugglingwith depression, anxiety and
autoimmune conditions.
I'm Miranda Bauer and I'vehelped thousands of providers
use holistic care practices toheal their clients at the root.
Subscribe now and join us inaddressing what modern medicine
(00:22):
overlooks, so that you can giveyour clients real, lasting
solutions for lifelongwell-being.
Hey, hey, everyone, welcome tothe Postpartum University
podcast Today Dr Jenna Bradley.
She is a physical therapist,postpartum core restoration
coach and a proud mom of fourgirls who understands firsthand
(00:46):
that challenges of balancingmotherhood, fitness and
self-care.
And she is joining us todaywith a decade of experience over
a decade of experience inphysical therapy and she's got a
passion for helping moms regaintheir strength and their
confidence and their energy andhas become a trusted voice for
postpartum wellness, which iswhy she is here on the podcast
(01:10):
today.
Welcome, I'm so glad you'rehere, jenna.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm excited for ourconversation today.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I am excited because we're going to dive into some of
the harder conversations aroundthis, because I feel like I've
talked to a lot of incredible.
You know PT therapists andoftentimes we go into that like
the nitty gritty of how Kegelsare not always like the best
thing and sometimes they can,you know, obviously cause more
damage than good and you knowall of those little nuances
(01:39):
about it.
But I feel like there's stillso much misinformation out there
when it comes to postpartumfitness in general and I want to
hear your take on like what'sone of the biggest myths
providers are still believingand how is this impacting moms?
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, I think the number one thing that a lot of
moms are being told after havinga baby you know, we're in the
hospital or wherever you aregiving birth they're told don't
do anything and wait six weeks,wait six weeks to move.
But it's it's not that we.
We need to educate moms, andthis was something that I
(02:18):
struggled with when I had myfirst baby.
Even as a physical therapist, Ireally didn't know what to do
after I gave birth and I'mthinking well, I'm nervous to
move and you know I had sometearing, but what am I really
supposed to do now that I gavebirth, now that I'm home and I
have to take care of my baby,what am I supposed to do with my
(02:38):
own body?
And so I think it's importantthat moms and providers are
really aligned with what happensthat first six weeks and if we
can explain to the mom that it'sokay to move, don't be afraid
to move.
Movement is going to help yourbody heal and, as a physical
(02:59):
therapist, that's what we're allabout.
We're all about moving to healour body instead of being afraid
to move and letting our bodiesheal with just rest.
Yes, we do need to rest, butthere's a, there's a balance of
some rest with some movement,and I I hope that the providers
that are listening can be alittle bit more detailed, just
(03:21):
giving some explanation of whatmovement is good and what
movement is not good at thefirst six weeks.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Yeah, let's, let's dive into that, because this is
a little bit different than whatwe normally talk about in terms
of like, resting and findinglike.
How do we find that balance?
What does that look like?
Because we want moms to restand oftentimes they're,
generally speaking, moving waytoo much and and most of our
opinions right they're three,four days postpartum and they're
(03:48):
going grocery shopping or, youknow, they're doing laundry and
they're up cooking and doingdishes, like, is that, is that a
part of this, or is there?
Is there something else that weshould be looking at, or is
that too much Like?
Let's, let's dive into this.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Let's dive into that.
So everybody's different.
I always take all of my clientsand I, you know I look at them
as just one person.
It's not a one size fits all.
So if you have someone who hada really traumatic childbirth,
they're going to need more restand someone who had the most
amazing childbirth and is up andwalking day one postpartum, we
(04:26):
might treat them a little bitdifferently and encourage them
to walk a little bit more.
And I'm not talking about bigworkouts.
We're talking about basicmovements, the deep breathing,
the breathing exercises that wetalk about, just walking alone.
You know we can classifywalking as cardio because it's
movement.
We're getting our heart rate up.
So things like that is what weneed to tell these moms and they
(04:51):
might think to themselves wait,I'm not allowed to do anything.
But if you just say you'reallowed to do breathing
exercises, they feel so muchbetter knowing that they're
allowed to do that.
Or we tell them yes, we wantyou to walk and do laps in your
house.
We're not talking about gettingon a treadmill, but walking and
doing laps in your house isokay to do.
You don't have to be afraid todo it if your body is telling
(05:13):
you that it's okay.
So we have to listen to ourbody.
If we can teach the moms fromthe get-go to listen to their
body and their body is going totell them what is allowed and
what's not allowed I think itwould be so much easier to teach
the moms what to do.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
I find the conversation of,like you know, listening to our
bodies sometimes very difficultand nuanced, because we have so
many societal pressures thattell us to get up, get your body
back, do the thing or you needto stay resting.
If you're not resting, thenyou're doing something wrong,
and so oftentimes, especially inpostpartum, like during this
(05:50):
very sacred, sensitive time,it's very easy to get lost, and
these are the things that I'vebeen taught over the years and
I've grown up to believe to betrue, or the things that I've
learned in my childbirtheducation class or whatever the
case may be, and then that kindof gets convoluted with.
Well, I think this is how it'ssupposed to be and therefore,
(06:10):
this is what my body wants.
And like, how do youdifferentiate between the two
when you're working with moms?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Yeah, yeah, I, I teach the moms to first look for
pain.
And if they're having pain,that is that is your body
telling you to slow down, tostop, to not do whatever it is
you're doing.
And if somebody is motivated intheir mindset, they're, they're
ready, they want to dosomething, then why not
(06:40):
introduce those gentle movementsof the breathing, you know?
And so let's, let's meet themom where they want to go.
You know, it's a, it's a, youknow, just a collaborative
approach with the provider andthe mom together to figure out
what's best for this person.
So, figuring that out, you know, after childbirth, whether they
had a C-section, of coursethey're going to be treated a
(07:01):
little bit differently or givendifferent advice versus someone
who you know is not having anytrouble at all.
So let's just look at everybodyindividually.
Also, not the six weeks.
Don't, don't do anything in thesix weeks, because moms will
(07:25):
completely halt, you know, halttheir bodies and not do anything
.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, that's a.
I love that point about pain.
What about bleeding?
Like?
Is that a good sign?
Like, if you're starting tobleed even more, that you should
probably step back and andrelax and rest even more?
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, so what I like to do with the bleeding, because
it's hard for a mom tounderstand wait, I'm bleeding
this amount but I'm stillbleeding and like bleeding is
bleeding to a mom.
Right.
But I like to have a mom get acalendar and write down their
symptoms of the bleeding,whether it you know, just
putting it on a scale of minimal, moderate or a maximum amount
(08:03):
of bleeding.
You know, you know, justputting it on a scale of minimal
, moderate or a maximum amountof bleeding.
You know, they know what a lotof bleeding is.
But if they can track that on acalendar and write down, okay,
my bleeding's a little lesstoday, maybe rank it down in a
moderate range, or then one dayit's light, and then they can
see on a big picture you knowcalendar seeing that okay, this
(08:24):
bleeding is getting better,rather than it just being
classified as bleeding.
So I think it's good for a momto sort of observe the bleeding
and keep a close eye on it andthen go to their doctor and say,
okay, my bleeding is gettingbetter, I'm feeling better Now I
feel ready versus, wow, thisbleeding has not improved at all
(08:46):
and it's still pretty heavy.
I don't think my body's ready.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Hey, I know you are crazy busy, but if you just have
a second, could you simply hitsubscribe and leave a review for
us?
I'd be so grateful.
Subscribe and leave a reviewfor us, I'd be so grateful.
Yeah, I often see it,especially with exercise or
movement in general, where momsare like, okay, I'm ready to get
(09:15):
up and I'm ready to do things,and where I have to get up and I
have to do things right.
Sometimes it feels like it's nota choice to chase your toddler
you know toddler around and dothe dishes and the laundry, and
then they're like, oh my gosh,I'm starting to bleed even more
heavier because I am being moreactive, and I think that's often
a really good indicator.
You know, along with pain, thatthis is not what your body
needs to do and that there'smore rest.
(09:36):
But I want to.
I want to touch base on howmost providers are not getting
the type of training that youhave whatsoever right Like, or
PTA physical therapy.
This is not, you know,something that an OB or a
general practitioner or a momgoing to a six week checkup is
ever going to receive right.
So what are some of thecritical signs that somebody
(10:00):
maybe who's listening in.
Who does those six weekscheckup or sees mom and, in this
period of time, like whatshould they be looking for when
assessing a mom's readiness formovement?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah, so many things.
Right, there's a laundry listof things, but the first thing
that I would look for is we'regoing to go with that pain, but
then that pain is going to guideus into what area are we really
focusing on.
So, as a physical therapist,one of the first questions I ask
everybody is how much pain doyou have and where is your pain?
(10:34):
And I get really specific notjust your back, but where on
your back, or yeah it's, it'shurting me in my stomach, but
wear in your stomach.
So we're going to starttouching our patients and
feeling around.
Where is this pain coming from?
And is it in their linea alba,which is the diastasis recti gap
?
We need to look to see if theyhave diastasis recti.
(10:56):
Is it pelvic floor pain?
Let's observe them internally,and so let's start with the pain
and figure out where it is.
So is it their C-section scarand their scar is not healing?
Or maybe it looks healed, butthe deep tissues underneath the
scar are, you know, causing someproblems and some internal pain
(11:16):
.
So let's just go one stepdeeper into them describing
their pain, which a lot of momshave a hard time describing
their pain.
They might just say I have backpain, but it actually might be
their hip.
So we need to ask maybe one ortwo or three more questions.
After they explain what theirpain is, go a little bit deeper
(11:39):
and then, when everything checksout and you figure out what
area they're struggling with,then we want to gear them
towards movement, specificallyfor that kind of patient, I
would say a patient.
So now they have some kind ofdiagnosis or some kind of
classification, well, let's gearthem in the right direction.
A C-section mom is going toexercise completely differently
(12:02):
than a mom who has diastasisrecti.
So we need to be able to steerthese moms in the right
direction once we figure outwhat is causing pain or what is
causing lack of movement intheir body.
Now, if everything checks outfine and they're not having any
pain, well then, give them thego-ahead to get started.
But I always start with thosegentle exercises.
(12:23):
So if you're not sure how toeducate the mom on how to get
started, I always tell them tostart with the core and some
light cardio.
We can go on and on about that.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You know, I feel I'm so glad that you brought this up
because I feel like society isobsessed with the mom pooch and
they're obsessed with gettingyour body back and you know, we
have all of these harmful thingsthat moms say to themselves and
society says to mom.
And you know, oftentimes Ithink as providers, that's what
we hear in that first six weekcheckup and beyond Right, about
(13:02):
how moms are asking like OK,what do I do?
How do I do this?
How can providers shift thatconversation away from this more
aesthetic approach and towardthis deep conversation,
functional healing that needs tooccur?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, that's a great question.
I love talking about the corebeing the foundation to our body
.
It is not all the aestheticsand the clothing and the bathing
suits, but it's the foundationto every single movement we do
as human beings.
We can't move without our corebeing strong.
(13:38):
And so, if you think about it,if we have zero muscle strength
in our core, we're going to putit at a zero.
We would be slouched, floppedover, our shoulders would be out
of alignment, our hips wouldnot be functioning properly, and
then everything we call it thekinetic chain Everything from
that point on is not working andit's going to have injuries or
pain dysfunction.
(14:00):
We're going to be sluggishthroughout the day.
Everything stems from corestrength.
That's why I love it so much.
I am so passionate about corestrength, but a provider would
probably explain to the mom weneed to rebuild your core,
because your core muscles wereweak throughout your pregnancy.
Because your core muscles wereweak throughout your pregnancy
and the only way that you canstart feeling more energized
(14:22):
again after having a baby andbeing able to carry your baby
without the struggle is byrebuilding your core strength
again.
I always like to say theanalogy of you have this
all-star athlete who has an ACLinjury and there's no way that
after they have surgery or afterthey go through this traumatic
injury, which we would classifyas like childbirth right,
(14:43):
childbirth is somewhat traumaticthere's no way that the coach
would say, okay, you tore yourACL, but you're going to play
the rest of the season.
You got to go back in and justdo it.
Well, us as postpartum moms yes, we went through a little bit
of trauma, maybe a lot of trauma, after having a baby and we are
just put right back in the gameand we have to take care of our
(15:03):
baby without skipping a beat.
But we need to go through arehab process, whether you do it
with a physical therapist oryou do it at home.
We need to rehab our core backand get that strength back, or
fix our DR gap or fix ourC-section you know the incision
and just rehab our bodies backso that we can go back to doing
(15:25):
our daily lives of picking upheavy laundry baskets, picking
up the heavy carrier, the babycarrier, pushing the stroller up
the street.
There are so many things thatwe do that we have to engage to
the core and so if providersstart explaining it in that
realm of function rather thanthe way our stomachs look.
(15:45):
I think moms are going torelate more.
Every mom can relate to thestruggles of holding your heavy
baby.
As your baby is growing andgetting to be 30 pounds, it is
hard to carry your baby, but ifwe have a strong core it is so
much easier to hold our babiesand it makes life easier and
more fun, right?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, absolutely, and I I totally relate to this
because I'm a mom of four aswell, and three girls.
I know that you have four girls, which is so fun, but after my
first kid I specificallyremember I had I was a person
who loved to move, I ran all thetime, I was in kickboxing, I
(16:25):
played the clarinet.
For years I legit had a sixpack, my core was strong and I
was like that was like the mostimpressive part of my body.
You know, I was like in myearly twenties and I just
absolutely loved it.
And then I had I got pregnantand I had severe diastasis recti
and it was a lifetime Like Icould not do a lot of things.
(16:48):
I felt so weak, my back wasalways killing me and I didn't
like figure it out because, youknow, 15 years ago this wasn't
like a conversation that we wereall having.
But I remember specificallyhaving found somebody like
yourself pelvic floor physicaltherapist and we got to work
first with breathing exercisesand it was straight up like
(17:12):
learning how to breathe againand I remember being so
exhausted after my first sessionof focusing on breathing.
It was like mind blowing to me.
So I think that is like such abeautiful place to start and I
will tell you, I've never had asix pack ever again.
Like 20s are over, but I reallydo focus on those core
(17:36):
techniques that you'rementioning and because of those
core pieces, my life has been somuch better and I highly
recommend them.
So, I am also curious because somany other factors like
nutrition, nervous systemregulation, mental health they
all play a huge role in how wefeel about our bodies, how we
(17:57):
feel about postpartum fitness.
How can providers be educatingtheir clients on, like, the
nuances of all of those piecesand how they kind of come
together?
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Let's start with nutrition alone.
There's no way I would be ableto work out if I didn't have
good nutrition.
We would feel so exhausted, andwhen we feel exhausted we're
not going to come back to ourworkout the next day.
We need to have the energy todo our exercise day after day
after day.
Now I'm not saying we have towork out every day of the week,
but just to have the energy toknow okay, I'm gonna be working
(18:30):
out three days a week.
I need to have good nutritionin place, I need to have protein
and you can speak more to thenutrition side of things but
there's no way that moms aregoing to have the energy to to
work out and also to build ourmuscle strength back.
If we don't have that proteinin our bodies, we're not
building our muscles, and sothose two go hand in hand, no
(18:51):
matter what.
Those two have to be sort oftaught at the same time, because
it's not a one size, it's just,it's not all fitness.
There's no way that we can justsay, oh yeah, you're going to
get, you're going to getstronger and you're going to
feel so much better just byexercising.
They're going to feel depleted,and so we have to put those two
together.
No matter what their repair,they go together.
(19:11):
And then with our nervoussystem if we are, you know, all
postpartum moms are lackingsleep.
It's just part of the game.
And so with the lack of sleep,it takes a hit on our nervous
system.
So I love to educate moms, oneof the first things that I,
besides talking about the coreand fitness, I go one step ahead
(19:32):
of that and that's gettingsleep.
If we aren't getting sleep,we're not going to have the
energy again.
Same thing with nutrition.
These all go together.
They all go together.
So we have to get our sleep tobalance our nervous system and
to take that stress response out.
And along with that is, youknow, with our mental health.
We need motivation.
(19:52):
I think one of the number onethings that people come to me
for they say they're strugglingwith consistency and they're
struggling with motivation.
And when we deal withpostpartum depression or any
kind of stress, we're not goingto be motivated to even roll out
our yoga mat and to just lie onthe floor and do these
breathing exercises or toactivate our core.
(20:13):
That simple step of justgetting our workout clothes on
or putting a sports bra on ishard enough for moms, and so we
need to get that motivation totake those early steps, those
simple steps to then work outand then to cook a healthy meal.
So all of this plays one bigrole together and we need to
(20:34):
address all of these areas atonce instead of just talking
about fitness alone, or talkingabout fitness alone or talking
about nutrition alone.
They all play a big roletogether.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
That's beautiful.
Okay, I have one other questionfor you, and I have recently
started asking people this whocome onto the podcast, and I
love the responses.
So I kind of want to keep it up.
I want to see how I just gonna.
I'm just gonna ask if we wereto completely rethink postpartum
recovery, what would that looklike?
(21:04):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Well, postpartum recovery I'm going to have to go
back into my memory of this was12 years ago.
My oldest daughter was 12 yearsago and what went wrong and how
would I change it up?
I would first start with takingthings a little bit slower
instead of thinking so far ahead.
So, postpartum recovery a lotof people ask me this how long
(21:27):
is postpartum recovery?
To me, it can last as long assomebody needs it to last, but
you know, when we're in it,we're thinking, oh, three months
or four months, or you know thefourth trimester, and then it's
over.
So I think a lot of times we puta timeline on it and we're
trying to rush through all thesteps.
You know our baby's changing sofast, but we need to slow down
(21:50):
right, and sometimes it's hardto slow down.
So I would say, for me,changing postpartum recovery
would be just living in themoment and taking it slower,
taking smaller baby steps,ignoring all the you know the
hype that you might see onInstagram or social media, and
just just paying attention toyour own body and and seeing the
(22:13):
little progress that you make,whether it is cooking a healthy
meal one day, or maybe it isthat extra 30 minutes of sleep,
just sort of embracing thoselittle changes and being proud
of yourself.
For, you know, taking one stepahead and just being in the
moment, don't think.
Don't think a year from now,think right now.
(22:35):
How can you just get a littlebit better, a little bit
healthier or feeling a littlebit better?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
I love it Okay, where can people find you and connect
in with you?
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, I have a podcast called the fit
postpartum mom.
We talk about motivation andfitness to keep you exercising
all throughout postpartumrecovery, and I also have a blog
called live core strong andagain we talk about all the same
things.
I'm all postpartum fitness overhere and I have a free class
(23:06):
that if anybody wants to knowhow to start engaging their core
for the first time postpartumwhether you are, you know, newly
postpartum or five yearspostpartum I have a lot of moms
asking me how do I startengaging my core for the first
time?
So I have a free training.
It is at livecorestrongcomslash class and you can get that
free training and learn how toactivate your core in a safe and
(23:28):
effective way using my physicaltherapy exercises.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Beautiful.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
It's been such a pleasure.
Thank you for having me.
Thanks so much for being a partof this crucial conversation.
I know you're dedicated toadvancing postpartum care and if
you're ready to dig deeper,come join us on our newsletter,
(23:53):
where I share exclusive insights, resources and the latest tools
to help you make a lastingimpact on postpartum health.
Sign up at postpartumu theletter ucom, which is in the
show notes, and if you foundtoday's episode valuable, please
leave a review to help us reachmore providers like you.
(24:13):
Together, we're building afuture where mothers are fully
supported and thriving.
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