Pre and Post Natal is a busy time! You’re busy thinking about your pregnancy, birth, your new little bundle of joy and all the ins and outs of becoming a new mother. Sometimes we’re so busy thinking about this new little life, that we forget to take care of ourselves. I get it, I’ve had two babes, and I know sometimes our health and wellness, wether it’s intentional or not, takes a back seat. I’m here to encourage you to take care of you. Even when it feels like you’re too busy and you can’t make time, shift something, make it happen, because it is so important! Filling up your own cup and prioritizing your health and wellness not only makes you feel better in the short term, it also helps you avoid problems in the long term. And when you fill your own cup up, you can better serve the ones around you. And we all know children require a lot of servitude! So here is my list of 5 reasons why you must prioritize your health and wellness.

Pelvic Floor - I feel like this could be numbers one to five all by itself! It is that important! For those of you who don’t know, your pelvic floor is the group of muscles that sit at the base of your pelvis, and are responsible for contracting to prevent feces and urine coming out. When these muscles are weak, we have what is called incontinence, where we can’t control our bodily functions. Not fun! During pregnancy and childbirth, our pelvic floor weakens due to all the pressure exerted on it from the weight of the baby. And if we don’t actively focus on strengthening these muscles during and after pregnancy, there is a huge chance we will experience some form of incontinence. The Mayo Clinic estimates that half of women will experience incontinence, and this number jumps to 75% as we age! I work with so many women who think it is totally normal to pee themselves, to the point of not trying to fix the problem. The good news is, there IS something we can do about it! By learning different exercises we can strengthen our pelvic floor muscles, and reduce or eliminate the chance of incontinence. Our pelvic floor is just like any other muscle, if we don’t use it, we loose, it. Except that when we loose control of these muscles, it has some not so nice consequences.
Core Strength - During pregnancy, there are a lot of insecurities about when and how to use our core muscles, and when we don’t pay proper attention to pregnancy specific core exercises, we can increase our risk of Diastasis Recti. This is when our outer layer of abdominals tears and we have a separation in the middle. Around 50-60% of women expereince abdominal separation postpartum, so it is not uncommon! But learning best practices during and after pregnancy can help reduce the severity of abdominal separation, and put you on the road to a faster recovery.
Back Care - 50%-80% of women experience back pain during or after pregnancy! When we are pregnant, the extra weight we are carrying on the front of our bodies can pull on our spine and put us off balance, resulting in pain or tightness. And after pregnancy, our lack of core muscles can increase the risk of back pain (check out my blog on ‘how I fixed my broke back’ for more on this one!). The good news is, by focusing on specific exercises to mobilize our spines, strengthen our hips, and stretch the front of our shoulders and chest, we can find a lot of relief from back pain, or eliminate it all together.
Building Lasting Friendships - I loved teaching pre and post natal yoga while I was pregnant with my little ones, because it was such a great opportunity to grow a community of like minded mamas. I made some lasting friendships, and loved seeing others relationships grow. It can be a time of insecurity as our worlds get turned upside down, and having ladies in your corner who are going through it with you is invaluable.
Relaxation - Whether you’re a recent new mamma or you’re prepping to become one, there are a lot of psychological stressors. Is baby healthy, am I eating the right things, will childbirth go smoothly, am I producing enough milk, is baby growing like they should. The list goes on! Pre and Post Natal Yoga is a time to not only take care of your body, but also take care of your mental and emotional state. Learning to breath deeply, to press pause, and to only focus on the things you actually have control of, is invaluable. Our mind and body are connected so that when we feel stressed, our body tenses, and visa versa. When we can learn to quiet the chatter of our mind, and to breath into our anxiety, we also lower our stress hormones and reduce tension in our bodies. This will help us better serve our growing families during times of stress, and y’all know, there will be times of stress!

I hope this article helped you on your journey to self care! I see you mama, and I’m here to help. Please check out my class listings for group pre and post natal courses coming up, or my private yoga page for more info on getting 1:1 support. I truly love helping moms and moms to be on this wild ride that is motherhood. Leave a comment below if you found this article helpful!

If you’d like to learn more about easing into fitness postnatal, check out my FREE 5 Day Postpartum Checklist

Sending love,

Emma