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5 Tips for Pooping after Birth
If you have ever given birth (vaginal or c-section), you know how scary that first poop is. And we didn’t mean from the baby either! Some women say it was even more scary than delivery. Besides taking a bunch of stool softeners, there are other tips to help! We sat down with a certified pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist to talk about the five best ways to help you poop better after birth. Katrina Oakley helps moms around the world to regain a functional core after giving birth. Being a posture specialist (NPI - National Posture Institute) she emphasizes how important our posture is. “Poor posture can actually cause your belly to protrude and look bigger than it really is! It can cause your upper body to round forward and eventually over time lose height. And most importantly of all, poor posture can cause a wide variety of physical aches and pains. It is the number one cause of back, neck and joint pain.” So how does posture, specifically their poop-going posture, affect how women heal and regain a functional core? “Constipation can be a very common postpartum (and at other times), which can in turn worsen diastasis recti and pelvic floor issues. This is because if you strain or bear down whilst pooping, it creates a bulging pressure in both the pelvic floor and the abdominal wall, forcing your abs further apart, and more pressure down on your pelvic floor.” Katrina outlines the five adjustments women can make to their bathroom habits to help them poop better: 1. Poop at prime pooping times. Prime time is within 15 minutes of waking and within 15 minutes of eating. 2. Don’t sit on the loo for too long. 5-8 mins at most (in prime pooping times if you are having issues going). You don’t want to place too much strain on the pelvic floor by relaxing too long.NOTE If you have hemorrhoids or significant prolapse, sitting with a relaxed pelvic floor may do harm – so see a pelvic floor PT for an assessment. 3. Raise your feet! This improves your poop-going angle, so it is straight versus a twisty ride. Raising your feet helps your body approximate a deep squat, which naturally opens the pelvic outlet.I suggest a squatty potty to my clients, as it is a great height, hides away perfectly so you aren’t tripping up on it, and it is great for little ones to get up on the loo too! 4. Lean forward. By leaning forward with the feet elevated, you further mimic a squat allowing the body to use gravity to ease the process.NOTE if you have significant prolapse you may find this opening of the pelvic outlet causes some downward pressure - if this is the case, lower the feet, and see a pelvic floor PT for an assessment. 5. Breathe! Inhale through your nose, filling air into ribs, back and belly, exhale letting the air out through your mouth. DO NOT hold your breath and strain. Your pelvic floor should relax and open on the inhale and then contract on the exhale - this will help you gently bring the poop down. “Above all else…please remember not to strain or push. This can increase postpartum complications like diastasis, prolapse and hemorrhoids, AND pushing actually causes your pelvic floor to tighten.” We hope this can ease your mind regarding your postpartum poo and overall pelvic floor health. Website: Katrinaoakley.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoreFitnessforMoms Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corefitnessformoms/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreFitnessForMoms/ Katrina’s Free beginners program link http://drbeginnersprogram.katrinaoakley.net
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Pooping While Pregnant
This is a post about how the Squatty Potty changed my life. I don’t know how or why I didn’t let this beautiful stool into my life sooner. I had many opportunities, as I owned one for a few years before I actually tried it. Maybe I was playing hard to get? I regret the time we lost, but I can for sure say it’s the real deal now. True love. I hate to admit it, but I was desperate the first time I used the Squatty Potty. We have a strong relationship now, but our love blossomed out of a last resort situation. I have IBS that comes and goes with constipation. Sometimes I’m ok to eat that grilled cheese sandwich and sometimes it clogs me up for days. No one likes a stomach full of poo. In fact, it’s on my list of top 5 least favorite things. And then I became pregnant. Yikes. My nurses, as well as all my pregnancy apps warned me of possible bowel complications that come with hosting another human being inside of you. There is only so much room to get things moving, if you know what I mean? I think I was just so happy to be pregnant, and I’ve already dealt with poo troubles from my IBS, so it really can’t be THAT bad, right? Oh, and my anti-nausea medication causes MORE bowel issues? It’ll be ok, I’m having a baby and it’s all going to be awesome! Wrong. Ok ok, the having the baby part is still awesome. The difficulty pooping? Not so much. I started taking stool softeners which helped about half the time. I was struggling. My husband suggested I finally try the Squatty Potty. Me, being hormonal, thought this was a dumb idea and nothing could save me from the poo plugged abyss. But remember, I was desperate. For goodness sake, I was practically getting a hernia! I pulled out the Squatty Potty from under my toilet and sat for a moment. Never rush a poo. Little by little my bowels were relieved from pregnancy poo’s evil grasp. It was a miracle! I no longer had to strain to poop! As our love grew and grew, I realized I had to take a trip out of town and couldn’t bear the thought of leaving my Squatty Potty behind. This was really the only way to poop easily and effectively for me, especially in my pregnancy! Guess what? The Porta-Squatty exits just for this purpose. I never knew I had this much love in my heart for a poop stool. I had to tell all of my friends and family what they were missing out on. I could not keep this love for myself! A lot of them are pregnant as well and they have all found such sweet, sweet relief from using the Squatty Potty.
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