Those first few weeks.

Well done, you had your baby!

There are so many emotions you may be feeling right now, happy, overwhelmed, tired, clueless, teary and probably still in pain. The key thing for you to do at this stage is rest, recover, look after baby and yourself.

There is quite a lot of fear when it comes to postnatal rehab and I'd like to clear things up for you. There are some very basic and simple exercises you can start with that can help your recovery. It is common to believe you can't do anything until your 6 week check but this isn't true. As long as you carry these exercises out in a painfree way you will be fine.

Reconnect Phase: BPC

Breathing

Probably the most important thing you can relearn post birth. Your diaphragm has been squashed up due to baby taking up all the space in your abdomen. It's important that you allow this diaphragm and ribcage to relax back down so you are able to take deep and full breaths again as this is the key to pelvic floor activation.

Lying on your back with knees bent up to 90 degrees and feet hip distance apart, or sitting on a chair (wherever is most comfortable) put your hands around the bottom of your ribcage. Try and take some nice breaths in and out. As you breathe in you should feel your ribcage expand under your hands, allow your tummy to relax as you take this breath. As you breathe out, feel your hand draw back in towards each other.

Repeat for 5-8 breaths.

Pelvic Floor

Once you have mastered your breathing we can try and reconnect you to your pelvic floor.

Again, lying on your back with knees bent up to 90 degrees and feet hip distance apart, or on a chair, however is most comfortable, take some lovely breaths in and out. This time, on the breath out gently draw up your pelvic floor. The best way to do this is to draw in the back passage as if you are holding in wind and then continue the contraction to the front of your pelvis. It should feel like a draw in and up. On the in breath let this contraction fully go and relax the pelvic floor back down.

There are so many cues that mums find helpful to get the contraction right....for example, imagine you are picking up a blueberry with your vagina, hold it up there for a the breath out and then drop it back down as you breath in.

These are gentle contractions, don't hold your breath whist doing them, relax your shoulders.

Repeat 5-10 times

Core

Lying on your back as above, take a breath in to relax and then on the out breath gently draw your pelvic floor up and at the same time draw your tummy muscles in. This is just a gentle contraction, do not clench and brace your tummy muscles. On the in breath fully relax the pelvic floor and tummy.

Repeat 5-10 times.

Once you have got to grips with getting reconnected to your pelvic floor and core that's when we can progress your exercises a little further and you can start working on the coordination of these muscles alongside your other pelvic muscles. Once you are pain free this is also a great time to start doing some stretches.

Disclaimer: This is not individual advice and if you are experiencing any pain or discomfort or have any concerns about your postnatal recovery please seek advice from you GP, midwife or book a full assessment with me.