Golden period of postpartum recovery

Six months after childbirth is indeed the most efficient window for body function to rebound, but there is absolutely no saying that "if you miss this time, you will never recover well." The core influencing factors of recovery are the production method, personal pre-pregnancy physical foundation, and the scientific nature of postpartum recovery methods. The binding to time nodes is far less exaggerated than what is posted on the Internet.

I went with my sister for a 42-day postpartum check-up a while ago. While I was waiting for the consultation, I heard two mothers arguing next to me. One said that she had been practicing Pilates since her confinement and had returned to her pre-pregnancy jeans in 3 months. The other was crying and said that she was already 8 months old. I am still leaking urine. Is this going to be like this for the rest of my life? The nurse next to me shook her head and said that in the past six months, she had seen too many mothers who were trapped by "golden period anxiety". They either injured their bodies by practicing blindly, or simply gave up and gave up. Oh, it is really a pity.

In fact, regarding the postpartum golden period, the consensus in different fields is inherently different. In the traditional confinement culture, it is believed that everything will be fine after the first 30 days after delivery, and the rest will be relieved slowly. Many mothers of the older generation have indeed never done any systemic rehabilitation in their lives, and have not experienced serious functional problems. The mainstream view of obstetric rehabilitation in Western medicine is to designate 6 months after delivery as the priority window for intervention. At this stage, the body's progesterone and relaxin have not completely receded, whether it is pelvic floor muscle repair or rectus abdominis closure. It is still about posture adjustment. The intervention is indeed 30%-50% faster than one year later. This is supported by clinical data. However, the evidence-based rehabilitation school that has become popular in recent years is more relaxed. It is believed that as long as there are no pathological problems such as serious organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence within 2 years after delivery, and gradual strength training and rehabilitation, the ideal recovery effect can be achieved. There is no such thing as "irreversible".

I have met a mother before who had a cesarean section at the age of 38. After delivery, the rectus abdominis was separated by 3 fingers, and she was also accompanied by a mild cystocele. In the first half of the year, she devoted herself to night feeding and taking care of her premature baby, and could not spare any time for rehabilitation. I waited until the baby could sleep through the night at 10 months before starting to train with the hospital's rehabilitation therapist. Electric stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles was done twice a week, and she took advantage of the baby's naps at home every day. I did 15 minutes of abdominal breathing and Kegel exercises when I was a child. It took 8 months for my rectus abdominis to retract to half a finger, and my urinary leakage problem was completely cured. When I went for a follow-up examination, the doctor said that my recovery was better than that of many people who practiced hard for 6 months.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about the golden period at all. What’s most scary is that many people listen to the saying “recovery is required in 6 months” and make a fool of themselves. My best friend gave birth to a baby last year. After confinement, she followed online celebrity tutorials to practice Pamela and abdominal crunches. After practicing for half a month, the lochia that had been almost cleared came back, and she also started leaking urine when laughing. When she went to the hospital for a checkup, she found that the rectus abdominis separation was only 2 fingers, but she practiced it to 3 fingers. The doctor scolded her, saying that the rectus abdominis muscles were still relaxed in the first three months, and she could not do abdominal pressure-bearing exercises such as abdominal crunches. It was purely a good intention to do something bad.

If you really want to avoid detours in this most efficient window, it’s actually not that complicated. Don't think about losing weight in the first 42 days. Regardless of whether you have a vaginal or anal section, get rid of lochia first. Try to lie on your side when sleeping. Don't stand or sit for long periods of time. Don't try to lift your baby too high when you hold your baby. This is better than anything else. During the 42-day review, the pelvic floor muscles and rectus abdominis must be evaluated. If the separation exceeds 2 fingers, do not do exercises such as running, jumping, and crunching. Start with low-intensity exercises such as abdominal breathing and Kegels. When the separation drops to less than 2 fingers, gradually increase strength. If you really can’t spare the time, even if you do Kegels for 10 minutes every day while your children are sleeping, it’s better than applying for a recovery card worth tens of thousands and not doing it all at once.

I still feel that putting a "golden period" on postpartum recovery is essentially a harsh punishment for mothers - it seems that you have to restore yourself to the way you were before pregnancy in the time between raising the baby to be a qualified mother. But actually, is there any unified golden time? The day you can put your own feelings first and take time to take good care of your body is your best recovery time. After all, being a mother is tiring enough, so there is no need to add a KPI for yourself that "must meet the standard in 6 months," right?