The Post Baby MOT is a complete over assessment of your body after having your baby.
This is usually done once you have been all cleared by your doctor at the six week check-up. However, some new mums are eager to get started and can start with some low level pelvic floor activation to get things moving again. This depends very much on the type of birth and how fast you recover after the birth.
At Yummy Tummies we recognise that every person is different, every pregnancy is different, every birth is different and every recovery period is different. That is why there is no one size fits all approach. We offer highly individualised exercise and recovery packages to mums who deserve to be looked after. The starting point is the Post Baby MOT. Without this 90 minute assessment we would be guessing at what strategy would work best for you. Yes with 3 decades of experience, we would get most of it right. But we don’t want to get ‘most’ of it right. we want to give you the best possible solution to get you the results you deserve.
Throughout the Post Baby MOT we look at:
- Spine and pelvic alignment. This is the basis of where the body movements as throughout your pregnancy, this alignment can be thrown out. By bring the spine and very importantly, the pelvis, back into alignment, the muscles around here tend to function more effectively.
- Abdominal Separation. We check for diastasis recti. Through your pregnancy the main rectus abdominus muscles tend to separate to allow for more room for the baby to grow. Afterwards these muscles will come back together. However, this may take a bit of time and a lot depends on getting the correct muscles working to do this. If the wrong muscles are used to stabilise the abdominal wall you may tend to find this takes a little longer. However, by activating the correct muscles this will help this process.
- Abdominal activation, control and strength. We look at the deep abdominals and their ability to stabilise the pelvis and lower back. We look at what level of control you have and therefore give you exercises which are suitable for you level. Initially these muscles may be switched off a little and we may need to just get them working before progressing to harder exercises.
- Pelvic floor activation and control. Again, these muscles may be switched off a little after childbirth, so we need to assess where you are currently at. If you do exercises which are too hard for your body, too soon, you may increase the risk of things such as prolapses etc.
- Glutes and pelvic muscles.. By looking at your glutes and all of the muscles around your pelvis we can see what is working, what is not and what needs a little help. The pelvis is such a key area postnatally that we need to make sure these muscles are working effectively.
- Posture muscles. If you are breastfeeding and also the fact that you will be bending over a lot more picking up your baby, your posture and postural muscles may become weak and over stretched. We measure these and give you specific exercises to prevent neck and upper back pain.
- We also look at overall lifestyle patterns and nutrition to see if there is anything missing that you could be doing to increase your energy and also increase the quality of your sleep. This is a very tiring time and looking after your overall health will help you to create more energy and improve sleep quality
The MOT will factor in all lifestyle factors, including:
– Sleep patterns (baby and mum)
– Nutrition
– How much help you have
– Health status
– Complications during pregnancy
– Type of birth
– Complications during the delivery and postnatal period
- Your exercise history can have a huge impact on how quickly you adapt to exercise after having a baby. The type of exercise you have done in the past will determine how your nervous system is wired to respond to any new type of exercise. For example, if someone has done a very three-dimensional exercise such as dance or martial arts, they will respond quicker to someone who has done more two dimensional exercise such as running or cycling.
- Referral Network. Here are Yummy Tummies we realise that we cannot help you with absolutely everything. That is why we have an amazing referral network with specialists that can help you. Whether that be for Nutritionist’s, Women’s Health Physiotherapists. Osteopaths, Doctors or Psychologists.
The more information we gather about you during this Post Baby MOT, the more we have an understanding about your body and the best approach for you.
If you would like to see where you are currently at and work out a specific plan to help you to reach your goals, complete a form here and get in touch.
