Returning to training post-partum: the reality as a first time mother
- Female Focus
- Jun 29
- 5 min read
By Olivia
Sitting on the couch 2 weeks post-birth we were in the most serene bubble, completely
awestruck by our little squish. The fresh baby scent wafting from his unwashed head, tiny limbs starting to slowly unravel from their once womb-squashed state - it was perfect.
If he was the angelic-cherub representation of life itself, I was the antithesis. Unbrushed hair, purple under eyes with red rimmed companions sitting above them, milk stained clothing and albeit my rather sleep pro child, I was existing outer body. Living in a vessel I no longer had autonomy over, I was left wondering where my abdominal muscles went and was my back ever going to return to an anti-prawn status?
Hindsight would have had me Brick the device that built up permanent residency in my hand every feed and night waking, but part of me thinks that mobile codependency would have manifested regardless. The only portal capable of anchoring you to your pre-child reality, with faces that I'd developed somewhat of a para-social relationship with, I found myself falling into the depths of cyclical short-form content.
It was as if my algorithm procured the following post-partum narrative options for my selection;
Tradwife baking sourdough 6 hours after birth
Pilates Princess adorning white activewear 4 weeks postpartum
OR
Muscle mummy with a gluteal presentation envied by nulliparous women around the
world
With minimal representation for the final character that is shunned by all society members alike, the dishevelled mother - simply unable to COPE with the most recent life-altering experience (sense my tone here and run with me).
This dystopian presentation was not only horrifyingly prevalent during my own experience but continues to plague the minds of women I have consulted throughout my career. This distorted representation of the post-partum experience on social media continued to gnaw at my self- mandated horizontal rest period. I was left grappling with my clinical understanding of the importance of honoring this period and the pressure to return to movement as quickly as possible.
Within an athletic population, 75% of women will return to running 8 weeks post-partum, with arbitrary literature reporting a safe return to impact sport from 12 weeks onwards. For some women, this timeline is bang on. Garnering; 6 hours of sleep a night, a normal vaginal delivery without any instrumental assistance or prolonged labour, pelvic floor muscle integrity and endurance, familial support, 6 weeks of relative horizontal rest post-partum, negligible abdominal separation and the lower limb symmetry on strength testing to be marvelled by their male counterparts.
These constituents for ‘on-paper’ successful return to sport and remain undisclosed from reels or posts of the sunrise run, marathon medal or perfect deadlift that is being carousel led across your glazed eyes at 2am.
This is not to discount that these individuals have earnt their ability to run, lift or train as they
have the ability to do. It is to make space for the women feeling like their goal is still miles down a road that is becoming harder to see with each day. It is to make space for the guilt associated with leaving your child in care to carve out a 30 minute gym session or booking an allocated slot with your partner for a 45 minute run. The maternal string that increases its pull the longer you are away from your baby, the pre-run pumping (help) or the questionable use of caffeine to get out the door. It is moving in a body that feels weaker, unsupported and empty. No longer bolstered by PB’s or the validation of strava kudos alike, these moments have varied outcomes of pride and a sense of fulfillment but also the unyielding thought of - is it all worth it?
The answer I'm sure lies somewhere between. The feelings of guilt, resentment and selfishness mutually exist with pride, achievement and satisfaction. The latter being the primary motivating factor to continue strapping on the running belt at 5am or 5pm 3x / week. I have vowed to continue layering this resilience, showing up for myself each day. Adding to the mental tenacity built during pregnancy and childbirth, now the physical manifesto.
The privilege I have to show my son the incredible powerhouse I am/ becoming. Showing him that exercise is both a priority and non-negotiable for our physical and mental wellbeing and that it is supported equally in our family.
Returning to sport remains a far from a linear experience for the vast majority of postpartum
women. I am writing this at 10 months post-partum, my longest run has been 7km and it has
only occurred once. I would have told you by now that that distance would have been closer to 21.1km but alas this is the reality of juggling work, life and a child that matches the energy of a petri dish of viral incubus plague, the journey couldn’t have been more jagged.
That doesn’t mean that we’ve been failed by the system - body, the hospital, the doctor or the myriad of contributing factors impacting our clearance for sport, but instead you’ve become a member of an exclusive club. The messiness that accompanies matrescence needs to be supported, nourished and held. The rebuilding of strength and a foundation for movement that exists in a new light. It is changing the rhetoric that surrounds post-partum recovery.
This narrative shift needs to include broadening the social expectation of the post-partum
recovery window beyond 6 weeks. In the way that an ACL reconstruction garners an awareness of tissue healing timeframes, the post-birth experience demands this same understanding and respect. The first 6 weeks is so often centred on infant health outcomes and arbitrary perineal assessments, the nuance of returning to pre-pregnancy activities is often missed.
The psychosocial impact, systemic mineral depletion and the life-altering shift that is
childrearing, requires an excess of support. From family, psychology, naturopathy, nutrition,
general practitioners, gynaecology and a women's health physiotherapist to hold your hand
through one of the most beautifully complex life experiences.
I’m unsure of what the future holds for my running journey, whether I have the desire to get back on the bike for triathlon or whether I just want to be able to outrun my child as he grows and inevitably demands racing me. I have recently been humbled by Gastro on the back of 2 months of sequential viruses, so consider my optimism and motivation dwindling.
What I do know, is that I owe it to myself to continue supporting my recovery and fostering a symbiotic relationship with movement. One that remains flexible with my life-context as opposed to obligatory compliance to keep up with what’s happening in the greater orbit.
References:
1. Selman R, Early K, Battles B, Seidenburg M, Wendel E, Westerlund S. Maximizing
Recovery in the Postpartum Period: A Timeline for Rehabilitation from Pregnancy
through Return to Sport. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2022;17(6):1170-1183. Published 2022
Oct 1. doi:10.26603/001c.37863
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