Learning to embrace your post baby body but not a weak pelvic floor

I’m going to start this post by asking you a question: Which of the below is ok?

1. Living with a post baby body

2. Weeing when you sneeze because of a weak pelvic floor

Well, the two are both things that many mums deal with in their post baby days, but here’s the thing. One of them is ok, the other is not. So which is which? Here’s the big reveal:

Living with a post baby body

– Definitely OK….in fact….something to be embraced not shunned.

Weeing when you sneeze

– Totally not ok and definitely not something we should be simply laughing off, as has become the trend.

These were the two key messages I took away from a recent event I attended hosted by MUTU System, a proven, medically recommended post-baby recovery program which focuses on strengthening your core and pelvic floor and healing your Diastasis Recti (which can leave you looking pregnant for months after giving birth!).

Our relationship with our bodies as women is a strange one that has been influenced by modern society and media. All you need to do is watch the documentary Embrace as we did at the event to uncover the epidemic of  body loathing and body shaming which has reached epic proportions worldwide among women to understand that. If you haven’t heard of Embrace The Documentary then here’s the trailer – I strongly advise every woman watch it because It has changed me.

What is crazy is how many women in the world hate on their bodies…maybe even you reading this now. But regardless of the ridiculous culture of lookism which now prevails in society, it is our fundamental right as women to have bodies that work, and that includes post birth more than anything.

We shouldn’t have issues of stress incontinence or urge incontinence post partum simply brushed off as “that’s part of becoming a mum”. We need to re-write the rules on this because laughing off a weak pelvic floor because you wee when you sneeze – as seems to have become the norm –  is no joke, especially when it’s something which can be reversed, not simply masked.

At the MUTU System event we had a taster of some of the exercises within the programme led by the founder of the programme Wendy Powell which made me realise:

    1. I had been doing pelvic floor exercises post-birth all wrong, probably doing more harm than good because I wasn’t releasing them first, thus making them essentially tighter and making my urge incontinence worse. Good grief!
    2. I had only been doing pelvic floor exercises focusing on one area only when in fact there are three different areas they need to be praticised on – yes, the middle bit but also the part which you wee through and also your behind….especially if you were told to push in labour like you were having the biggest poo of your life!!!

weak pelvic floor
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Although I’m four years post-partum if I’m honest I know that I’ve never been quite right down there – for a start I seem to need to go for a wee ALL the time and am often found running to the nearest loo because of that uncontrollable urge to wee. Now I’m going to be embarking on my own personal journey to strengthen my pelvic floor, get stronger and be more body confident with MUTU System and I can’t wait to share with you how I feel after the 12 week journey. Watch this space!

***For more information on MUTU System and what it can do for you see the MUTU website here.

8 comments

  1. I always wonder why I didn’t work on my pelvic floor more when I was pregnant, but now I do pelvic floor exercises every day. I’ve found Pilates has been such a great way of improving my pelvic floor. Yoga has been really good as well.

  2. I also skipped working on my pelvic floor – i should have done them , but thankfkully over the years my pelvic muscles returned to normal -my body didnt but i am working on loving it xx

  3. It’s not surprising that woman often struggle with weak pelvic floor because having a baby is no small task! Luckily, it isn’t something I personally struggle with but there is plenty of time yet!

  4. I’ve not heard of the MUTU system before. I definitely do have a really weak pelvic floor though. I’d like to say I’m starting to embrace my mum bod, but I definitely do need to work on my pelvic floor. x

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