Postpartum recovery methods

There is no universal standard answer to postpartum recovery. The core principle is "staged, individualized, prioritizing physiological functions before pursuing appearance changes." All plans that require you to regain your pre-pregnancy weight in 30 days and close your rectus abdominis in 7 days are all IQ taxes.

My best friend gave birth to a 6-pound, 8-tael boy last year through a cesarean operation. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, a salesperson at the postpartum center gave her a "Golden 30-Day Recovery Plan," which required her to wear a corset for 12 hours a day, do 20 sets of abdominal breathing, and strictly control staple food within 2 taels. She persisted until the 12th day. Lochia suddenly increased and she also suffered from abdominal pain. When she went to the hospital for a review, she was scolded by the doctor: The most important thing in the puerperium is to restore the uterus. What are you messing around with?

Interestingly, the recovery suggestions given by the gynecologist who examined her and the doctors in the rehabilitation department of the hospital even conflicted a lot. This is also a common controversy in the field of postpartum recovery today: Should we stick to the 42-day puerperal period?

The gynecologist's view is more conservative and believes that except for necessary out-of-bed activities, all targeted rehabilitation movements and body fat control are not necessary before the 42-day review. In addition to supporting the wound when getting out of bed in the first 3 days after cesarean section, the abdominal belt will compress the internal organs and affect the independent recovery of core muscles. ； Even Kegel exercises must be done after 42 days of pelvic floor muscle evaluation to confirm that there is no muscle hypertension before doing them, otherwise it will aggravate the problems of urinary leakage and bloating.

However, doctors in the rehabilitation department feel that there is no need to be stuck like this. As long as there are no serious side incisions and tears during the vaginal delivery and the cesarean section wound is not painful, you can do lying abdominal breathing on the third day after delivery to help the uterus reset. If you do Kegel exercises without causing pain, doing two or three groups of 10 times a day can actually reduce the probability of late leakage and even mild rectus abdominis separation. Mild core activation during the puerperium can also speed up recovery. Waiting for 42 days will waste the early intervention window.

In fact, both sides of the argument are correct. Essentially, they target different groups of people: gynecologists have seen too many postpartum women who have troubled themselves and caused problems, so they will set the standards to be more conservative. Rehabilitation doctors deal with people who have a good recovery foundation and want to speed up the progress, so they will naturally recommend earlier intervention. Ordinary people can choose based on their own physical feelings, and there is no need to stand on a certain side.

Oh, by the way, in the past two years, I have accompanied no fewer than five friends around me to plan for postpartum recovery. The IQ tax I have seen the most is the so-called "manual pelvic repair" and "rectus abdominis closure technique." My cousin had a 2-finger rectus abdominis separation during a review 42 days after delivery. She was deceived by the agency and spent 8,000 yuan to do 10 manipulations. She grinned every time, saying that she could push the separated rectus abdominis back. However, when she went back for a review after the operation, the separation became 2.5 fingers. Later, she went to the rehabilitation department of a tertiary hospital for 3 weeks of core activation training, and it did not cost 2,000 yuan and it was back to less than 1 finger. To put it bluntly, the essence of rectus abdominis separation is that the belly is too big during pregnancy and the abdominal white line is loosened. It is useless to press the muscles. You have to practice your core to tighten the abdominal white line on its own. If the separation is less than 2 fingers, you don’t even need to deliberately intervene. Most people can recover on their own in half a year to a year. If it really exceeds 2 fingers, just ask a doctor from the rehabilitation department for evaluation. As for pelvic repair, it’s even more ridiculous. 90% of people feel that their hips are wide after childbirth. This is either due to fat accumulation during pregnancy or mild separation of the pubic symphysis. As long as the separation does not exceed 2cm, it can grow on its own in 3 months. Those who press your pelvis to make a clicking sound are basically just making the joints snap to fool you. For really serious separation of the pubic symphysis, you need to go to an orthopedic department. Ordinary rehabilitation institutions are not qualified to do it.

What many people don’t know is that the most effective “items” in postpartum recovery are actually sleep and a good mood. Before, my colleague was afraid of getting fat after giving birth, so he set an alarm every day to do aerobics, squeeze in time for breast feeding and exercise, and slept less than 5 hours a day. As a result, three months after giving birth, her hair loss was three times more than before the birth. My aunt was also confused, and her weight was stuck. After that, I simply stopped all exercise and slept with my baby every day. I ate when I was hungry without consciously controlling carbohydrates. In the second month, I lost 6 pounds, my rectus abdominis retracted 1 finger on its own, and my score on the pelvic floor muscle test was much higher than before.

To be honest, I have seen mothers who went back to run a marathon six months after giving birth, and I have also seen mothers who still occasionally leak urine and feel weak in the waist and abdomen 2 years after giving birth. Everyone’s delivery situation, physical constitution, whether there is anyone to help take care of the baby, and even the conditions for eating and sleeping are all very different. There is really no need to compare with the "recovery schedule" online, and there is no need to choose the "most scientific" plan. If you feel comfortable and go to the hospital to check all indicators, then that will be the most suitable recovery method for you. After all, giving birth to a baby is hard enough, so don’t put a shackle on yourself that “you must recover quickly.”