The Journey of Pregnancy and Postpartum

Pregnancy and childbirth is quite the journey. A beautiful, challenging and often traumatic journey. There tends to be a lot of emphasis on preparing the body to carry and deliver the baby. Then the emphasis naturally shifts to devotional care of your child.

But what about mom? The one who just powered through an intense labor. The one who was stretched to her max, torn, stitched, manipulated to created two bodies from one. This transitional period where baby adjusts to life outside the uterus and mom gets used to body without baby is called the fourth trimester.

Postpartum Rest, Recovery, and Consulting an OBGYN

Rest and Recovery is so important during the first six weeks postpartum. If you had any tearing, a c-section or any instruments used during your delivery, such as vacuum or forceps, do not begin any exercise routine before getting guidance from your OBGYN or pelvic floor physical therapist. A lot of times the pelvic floor muscles can actually become too tight and not be able to fully relax following a traumatic birth.

Tight pelvic floor muscles can lead to incontinence, urinary urgency, pain with sex, constipation, etc. If you start doing kegel exercises and your pelvic floor muscles are too tight, it will worsen your symptoms over time. You cannot assume your pelvic floor muscles are weak. Make sure to have your pelvic floor muscles assessed by a trained pelvic floor physical therapist before deciding to begin kegel exercises on your own.

If your OBGYN agrees and clears you to begin exercise at the six-week mark, you may be advised to begin doing pelvic floor muscle strengthening.

KWELL EM1

If you have been told your pelvic floor muscles are weak and you need to strengthen them but are unsure how to the KWELL EM1 may be for you. Everyone's birth story is different and there is no cookie cutter program for pelvic floor muscle strengthening.

Postpartum Recommendation from a Physical Therapist

In general, I will recommend at six weeks postpartum to do six to eight pelvic floor muscle pulses (quick gentle pelvic floor muscle contractions) three times per day, and to increase one second per week, for holds, until you reach 10 second holds.

How Does KWELL EM1 Work?

The EM1 is a specially designed EMS device that stimulates your pelvic floor muscles to contract via a small probe. It is a pain free and effective way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles with six pre-programmed workouts. It is a great option for busy moms because you can use it on-the-go and it can assist in regaining the connection you have to your pelvic floor muscles so you can learn how to contract on your own.

With all these new tasks on your plate, along with sleep deprivation and hormonal chaos, the last thing on your mind is your pelvic floor muscles. But if you prioritize your pelvic health now, you can enjoy your life as a mom leak free! 

Written by Dr. Magdalen Link PT (Instagram l TikTok)

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