"Postpartum" women

Did you know that most people overlook the fact that once a woman has had a child, she is postpartum forever? In our country, most people consider a postpartum woman as usually having had a baby within the first year. Actually, once you have had a child, you are part of the "hood"—Motherhood, to be exact!

Most women are given clearance to resume normal activities and exercise after their routine 6-week postpartum checkup; however, minimal instruction is provided on where to begin their fitness journey. A clearer set of guidelines needs to be issued for a safer and more individually appropriate way back to their pre-pregnancy fitness levels.

In my previous interactions with women in the Physical Therapy setting, I noticed many women coming into the clinic for back pain, stress incontinence issues, posterior chain, and core weakness all had one thing in common. They were all postpartum, and some had previous C-sections or some type of abdominal surgery, leaving them with weakened pelvic floor muscles or TA (transversus abdominis muscle).

Unfortunately, a large percentage of new mothers lack the knowledge or even the free time to perform proper pelvic floor or appropriate general strengthening exercises with the added physical, emotional, and mental daily demands that motherhood brings. These women will continue their daily routine without proper core and pelvic floor strength, causing some physical problems down the line.

My mission at Schaurer'd with Wellness is to help guide these women, safely, at their own pace and in the comfort of their own homes, back to their pre-pregnancy fitness levels or help them meet their new fitness goals.