The Physical Impacts of Birth Nobody Warned You About
This guide is for Mothers struggling with physical impacts of birth on the body that are significantly interrupting their quality of life.
Contributed By: Alyse Lopez-Salm, MPH · Women’s Health Advocate, Mom
The Core Challenge
For most women in the U.S., maternity leave is far shorter than the time it takes to physically, much less mentally, stabilize following the seismic shift that giving birth often represents. Professional women may return to work where they are seated or on their feet for long hours, others may engage in physically-demanding tasks. Depending on their birth experience and other factors, many may be grappling with pain and/or discomfort in ways they’re largely or totally unfamiliar with. Issues that are common but often isolating for women include
Feelings of heaviness in the pelvis, as though something were hanging or “falling out,” often signaling uterine, bladder, and/or rectal prolapse
Lingering abdominal discomfort, sometimes linked to issues like diastasis recti
Painful intercourse/reduced sexual pleasure rooted in more than postpartum exhaustion
Key Insight
Common physical impacts of birth are still surrounded by stigma and are often poorly explained, even to the people experiencing them. While better screening, treatment, and access to care are still needed, effective interventions and tools already exist. Leakage, pelvic heaviness, difficulty exercising comfortably, long-term abdominal discomfort, and painful or unfulfilling sex are not symptoms mothers should be expected to ignore or simply accept as the cost of motherhood.
Practical Strategies
Ask your doctor for a referral to a physical therapist with expertise supporting women recovering from birth. Be aware that you may need to try different PTs until you find the right one for your unique circumstances. While there are many fantastic and committed PTs, trust your gut. If you/your PT suspects you have a pelvic floor injury/disorder, you should be given the option of an internal exam to properly diagnose your condition and offer tailored treatment. And if the treatment you are given is limited to kegel exercises and electrical stimulation (e-stim) only, read up on what else is available—kegels work but are not a panacea and are not for everyone.
Consider following Sara Reardon, PT, DPT, at https://thevagwhisperer.com/ and on Instagram for accessible pelvic health education. Her V-Hive app, book, and TED Talk may be useful starting points for learning about pelvic floor symptoms and exercises. As with any online resource, use these tools as education rather than a substitute for individualized medical assessment and care.
Follow “getmomstrong” on Instagram, an empowering account for exercises that feel good and strengthen your body in this new stage of life. Again, this is not a substitute for professional screening and care, but rather a complement to these.
Be kind to yourself and seek mental healthcare. The changes our bodies go through giving birth are often treated solely as physical impacts, without consideration for the way these interact with our mental wellbeing and self-image.
For some with pelvic organ prolapse, the idea of inserting a pessary may be daunting. Keep an open mind, given that this is one of the devices that brings the most relief to people living with this condition. Ask your doctor about the Reia Pessary, a relatively new pessary device—the first new pessary available since the 1930’s (unbelievably!). Pessaries are not new. Women have used them for prolapse for thousands of years.
A Small First Step
Don’t ignore your symptoms or let earlier generations of women tell you that these are normal consequences of motherhood (i.e.. don’t let the suffering of our foremothers normalize yours). In the age of AI and incredible scientific advances, society can certainly do better by birthing people than offering us only pity. Set up an appointment with your primary care doctor. If you don’t have one, watch Sara Reardon’s TED Talk or visit her Instagram: @the.vagina.whisperer to get started.
As a mother, women’s health advocate, fundraiser, and public health leader, Alyse is guided by the principle: “Make women’s lives easier.” She brings more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, program implementation, research, and work that centers voices and issues too often sidelined. She is particularly focused on improving awareness, reducing stigma surrounding women’s bodies, and encouraging timely care for birth-related pelvic floor symptoms and injuries. This focus stems from her own birth injury and from a conviction that ongoing gaps in postpartum care leave too many birthing people without the information, screening, and support they need.
For more resources, visit https://wearethemis.org/
