I never dreamed that my pregnancy and childbirth would go smoothly. My health, and especially my “women’s” health, had a lot of prerequisites for problems before and after childbirth:
Not to mention my emotional state – the tendency to blame everyone around me for everything, depression, apathy and stress. Something had to be done! Preferably, taking into account the fact that long cardio workouts and classes with weights in the gym were contraindicated to me.
In this article I will tell you exactly why I stopped at yoga, and what health and emotional problems it solved. We will also discuss the major changes that you should be prepared for even before you make the important decision to give the world a new life.)
Let’s understand what happens to a woman’s body and condition after childbirth. During the period of childbirth, mothers gain an average of 10-20 kg. Getting back into shape turns into a whole adventure – to some it is given easily, and to some with great difficulty after months and years. Here are the main reasons:
Changes occur in the spine, pelvis and lower extremities. Some have changes in posture, girls begin to hunch over. Some women’s knees hurt after childbirth, and their feet become swollen and flattened. In general, a bunch of new “lovely” sensations, especially if the body was not prepared. In this case, yoga in pregnancy can help.
Abdominal muscles after natural childbirth recover in 6-8 weeks (if there is no diastasis), after a cesarean section longer. Full recovery with regular physical activity occurs within a year. If there is a large diastasis after childbirth, surgery may also be required (depending on the distance of the divergence).
At about 6-8 weeks, the uterus contracts and takes its place in the pelvic area (generally, the entire period may be a discharge of lochia from the uterine cavity).
Breasts during the lactation period can increase by 2-3 times. But there are also disadvantages – tissues stretch, the skin thins, and after cessation of lactation often occurs omission of the breast (ptosis).
After childbirth, the levels of progesterone and estrogen drop drastically, it leads to a decrease in the intensity of metabolism. Women can gain weight.
So, even if you were active, the full recovery of the body takes up to a year.
Immediately after the birth of the baby, almost all girls experience an emotional lift (many even euphoria). But on the second or third day the mood drops, there is uncertainty, confusion, and some sadness. Some want to cry for no particular reason, some feel annoyed.
Many begin to feel depressed, overwhelmed, anxious and sometimes even aggressive.
What may be the cause?
All of this can add up to a state of stress and even lead to depression.
Not all moms are lucky – our great-great-grandmothers, if they experienced fatigue and moping, simply glossed over it. Complaining or asking for a break wasn’t the way to go. People did not visit the psychologist’s office, and spiritual and physical practices that helped to survive this condition (like yoga) were not used.
If there was silence about this condition, it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen at all!
What usually happens?
The easiest version of a bad mood, the so-called “Baby Blues”
– short-term deterioration in the first weeks, can last up to a month.
Symptoms are similar to PMS: irritation, nerves, unwarranted tears, mood swings. There is no need to treat it – ask your husband and family to give you more attention, to give you free time to recover and rest.
If the symptoms have lingered and you’ve been in this state for a long time, look carefully at the signs below and seek help (there’s no shame in that!):
Example: Mom is constantly experiencing unwanted and unpleasant thoughts, images, or urges that cause anxiety and the desire to do something ten times over. For example, the mother is afraid of hurting the baby, worries about the quality of sterilization of the bottle, often wakes up at night to check if the baby is breathing.
As you can see, the effects can be both almost imperceptible and quite noticeable. Be attentive to any manifestations and changes in behavior, because the well-being of not only the mother, but also the baby, and the family as a whole depends on it.
After we’ve talked at length about how serious problems can occur during pregnancy and after having a baby, I want to add a drop of honey to this barrel of tar.
The good news is that problems, if they are not hereditary, can be prevented on their own. Given all of the above in two parts, I was in for a painful pregnancy with a bouquet of back pain, bad moods, whining and apathy.
Childbirth, I can’t even imagine, would have been a living hell. And I think the first baby was the end of it. Well, after delivery, I would have been embraced by diastasis with its companions in the form of back pain, additional digestive problems, and, of course, the prolapse of internal organs. My back would have twisted even more and I would have been embraced amicably by postpartum depression.
What changed after I started doing yoga while pregnant:
After starting regular yoga classes, the number of pills began to decrease and before my first pregnancy, I noticed that I stopped taking pills altogether and could comfortably endure mild lower abdominal discomfort.
After my regular yoga sessions, the podiatrist was amazed that
A person with this kind of foot had good mobility in their toes! Usually people with bulging bone in the foot cannot move their toes separately.
After the second birth, my legs were not covered with a terrible mesh of vessels with bulging veins. Moreover, with proper training, I could even run a marathon.
Constipation during pregnancy and hemorrhoids after delivery also bypassed me. They were supposed to be my companions during this period. Varicose veins on my legs were associated with aesthetic discomfort, but the real problem was hidden in the pelvic area.
Because of regular exercises to strengthen and stretch my back muscles, of which there are a lot in yoga, as well as asanas to open my chest and work on the lower back, I managed to keep my back in a healthy state.
Of course, it can be hard now too, but I know where I get my inspiration, trace the true cause and get back on track. Nutrition from the postpartum recovery program, self-care and regular breathing and meditation practices played a huge role.
Thanks to yoga, sports, and a healthy diet, I had no problems with both conception and postpartum. My two pregnancies were so easy that even my husband sometimes forgot that I was pregnant at all! The delivery was natural, without any anesthesia or ruptures, and at the visit to the gynecologist after the examination I heard the phrase: it was as if I had never given birth, how well everything was tightened and restored inside.
Dear moms, I really want all the symptoms and problems of pregnancy and postpartum to go almost unnoticed for you. I believe that pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood are a special light mission for women. In the next article, we will take a closer look at the topic of postpartum depression and how to help yourself with this condition.
On my Postpartum Mom course, I share my other tips on how to benefit not only myself, but also the baby.
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