I’m a Physio who works only with women, and often with postnatal women… And this is what I ACTUALLY mean when I say to “REST” after birth….
I mean horizontal rest.
I don’t mean sitting.
I don’t mean standing around.
I mean lying down.
Horizontally.
Why?
Because, whether you’ve had a caesarian delivery or a vaginal delivery, your body has been through some stuff!
The tissues need time to recover and heal AND they love it when we support healing in the first 6 weeks with
💤rest (i.e not putting unnecessary strain not he tissue)
🧊ice (for vaginal births)
❤️🩹compression (garments)
↔️elevation (horizontal rest!)
Horizontal rest gives the healing tissue a break and also allows adequate drainage to occur 🙌🏼
➡️So instead of sitting to cuddle your toddler, try lying down.
➡️Instead of sitting to feed, try side lying.
➡️And instead of doing the dishes, get someone else to do it and say a physio you follow on Instagram told you to 😜