What is the 4th Trimester?

The 4th trimester is the first three months postpartum. Currently it is a time heavily focused on baby’s health and wellbeing, but it is also a very important healing time for Mom. Society today puts a lot of pressure on new mothers to “get their body back” and not enough emphasis on healing and recovery. During this important healing time, women are given little to no guidance on how to exercise while appropriately caring for your healing tissues despite being released for exercise at about six weeks postpartum.

Common impairments that physical therapy can help with include: pelvis and low back pain, hip pain, stress incontinence (loss of urine with cough, sneeze, or exercising), urge incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti, painful intercourse, perineal and cesarean scar tissue management, general orthopedic aches and pains, and getting back into a healthy exercise program. Pelvic health physical therapists are trained to evaluate the pelvic floor to ensure the muscles are activating appropriately, instruct in strengthening exercises, and provide modifications to exercise programs while considering a healing body.