To check how my body was recovering after baby no.2 I headed to @meps_uk for my Mummy MOT. Check out this article to find out more about the Mummy MOT and what is included in a postnatal health check.
Postnatal Body Changes
Giving birth and carrying a baby for 9 months causes lots of changes to our bodies, especially our posture, tummy muscles and pelvic floor muscles. As our bodies recover it’s super common for us to experience some (or all) of these postnatal issues:
🖤 Back pain
🖤 Pain in pelvic area
🖤 Worried about your bladder & bowels
🖤 Worried about your tummy muscles
After Ryan was born I really struggled with bladder control issues 🤭. Turns out so did many of my friends, but we were all too embarrassed to talk about it. My physio recommended I went for a Mummy MOT with a specialist women's health physio. I got a custom treatment plan and learnt all about how to strengthen my core and pelvic floor. Spoiler Alert - recovery goes way beyond just doing Kegels!!!
Six weeks after Abbie was born I booked in for my Mummy MOT. Had some pain in my pubic bone and my bladder control was shot to f*ck. I had a suspicion that I had a vaginal prolapse so was keen to get it checked out asap so I could get the treatment I needed.
What is a Postnatal Health Check?
The Mummy MOT is a specialist postnatal examination for women following both vaginal and caesarean deliveries. It includes a 60 min assessment with a women’s health physio (mine was the lovely Tara Scott). Before the session you’ll fill in a detailed questionnaire covering pregnancy, birth, plus any postnatal symptoms. Then you’ll chat through these during the session, along with:
🖤 Full postural screen
🖤 Pelvic floor assessment - to check you’re able to engage the muscles correctly and check for any pelvic issues like prolapse
🖤 Tummy gap check for ab separation
Tara made the session super relaxed, even when we were covering topics like bladder leaks and bowels. I mean nobody likes talking about these things, but getting the support you need to speed up your recovery is so important.
After the session you get a tailored treatment plan and exercises to help your recovery.
If you’re feeling any of the postnatal symptoms above, I would definitely recommend booking a Mummy MOT, especially before you start exercising 🏋️♂️.
You can find out more about the Mummy MOT on the Mummy MOT website where you can also search for a Mummy MOT Specialist