A Guide to Postpartum Care

Postpartum mothers face several issues. Physiotherapy can indeed help address postpartum stress in several ways.

Here's what Physiotherapy can help you with:

Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation: Pregnancy and child birth can weaken the pelvic floor muscles, leading to issues such as urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction. Physiotherapy interventions, including pelvic floor exercises such as Kegels, biofeedback, and manual therapy techniques, help in the recovery of perineal tears or episiotomies by improving blood flow and promoting tissue healing in the pelvic area, thereby reducing symptoms and improving quality of life.

Core Strengthening: Pregnancy can also weaken the abdominal muscles, leading to postural changes and back pain. Strengthening the core muscles can improve posture, alleviate back pain, and enhance overall physical function, contributing to a sense of well-being.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Relaxation Techniques: Physiotherapists often teach relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation to help manage stress and promote overall well-being.

Pain Management: Physiotherapy modalities such as massage, heat therapy, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), and gentle stretching exercises can help alleviate postpartum pain and discomfort, which can in turn reduce stress levels.

Mind-Body Connection: Yoga encourages one to be beneficial during the postpartum period when there are significant physical and emotional changes. Some poses that may help are the child pose, cat-cow stretch, seated forward pose, and bridge pose. Practicing slowly and gently without too much of a push will bring positive results.

This blog is written by Dr Karthik Janarthanan, Head of Therapy, Sukino Healthcare Solutions.