New mums! 9 things your Women’s health physio wants you to know

1.  It’s taken you 9 months to stretch into your pregnancy shape, you’ll need AT LEAST 9 months to feel things are going back in the right direction. Expectations are everything.

2. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Ever. No honestly, stop it.

3. Exercise when your baby is awake. When your baby is asleep that’s prime time for getting your head down yourself or doing the stuff you haven’t been able to do while they are awake. Once they are fed and happy to kick about, get some music on and wow them with your routine.

4. SOMETHING, however brief, is better than NOTHING. Don’t wait to start exercising until you have the time. Start with 3 minutes regularly and you’ll see a difference. Trust me, owt is better than nowt.

5. Breathe deeply and slowly. Often.

6. Avoid sit ups. There are soooo many great abdominal exercises to choose from that you won’t miss these. For one thing they tend to push everything ‘south,’ and they won’t encourage your abdominals to pull back together again either.

7. There is never a good way to carry a baby in a car seat. They are heavy, awkward and can give you back pain. However they are great for car travel. Does what it says on the tin….car travel NOT carrying.

8.  Raise your feet up when feeding, either on a box, step, coffee table, whatever is at your disposal. It’s a great tip for easing upper back pain….try it, you’ll feel the difference.

9. Think of pelvic floor muscle exercises as an investment for life. Rather like a pension. The sooner you start them the more benefit you will get in the long term.