Finding Neutral Alignment Postpartum
The overwhelm you feel with a new baby is totally natural. Some of the worries ease over time as you get to know your baby, improve your confidence, and find a family rhythm. A lot gets easier with practice and that includes holding your baby!
The physical toll of caring for my little one after his birth was a bit more complex than I expected. I had lots of practice before I had my son including being the on-call babysitter for my brother who is seven years younger than me, caring for my nieces who are now 3 and 6, and nannying for three young kids throughout graduate school. So, I thought I was set. I neglected to consider what it would be like to hold my baby when my abs weren’t firing, I had forgotten how to breathe, and I wasn’t getting good sleep. You know, the recovery part of postpartum.
With my son it became incredibly important to move mindfully and often slowly. Doing so helped reduce some of the aches and pains that I was experiencing as a new parent. The reality of caring for a baby is that babies are heavy! They squiggle around and push and pull and move and they don’t care about your neutral spine, so flexing out of that is also necessary.
A neutral and supported posture is key when in one position for a long time - like nursing or bottle feeding, walking, or driving. Finding your neutral and having the confidence to return to that position also helps you know what props you need and behaviors you need to watch out for. Maybe you over arch your back when you are sitting like I do. Having a pillow behind my back and taking a moment to roll my pelvis forward and back is helpful for me when I feed my son.
I also need to readjust my pelvis and watch the alignment of my ribs when I work on the computer. When I get fatigued - sometimes even after a few minutes- I notice my back sometimes rounds and my ribs are no longer positioned in a neutral alignment. This means I can’t breathe as well, which makes my fatigue worse!
At night too I need to be careful. My baby still does one late feed at around 10 PM and I need to hold him for 20 minutes post feeding to help reduce reflux. When I am not careful I notice myself pushing my head forward when I am holding him and resting his head on my shoulder. Pretending I am holding a grapefruit under my chin is a helpful check to remind me to bring my chin back in space.
These body habits of mine may be totally different from the ways you cope. The first step is to pay attention without judgement to your body throughout the day. Do you arch your back when you are sitting or flare your ribs? Do you push your chin forward? Try looking in a mirror while you are holding your baby so you can see if one hip goes out to the side or if you push your belly out to support your little one. Try to notice your tendencies before you try to correct them.
Then think about what tools can serve as helpers, like a wrap to keep your little one closer to midline to avoid relying on your hip. Find little cues to remind you to return to your home base throughout the day, like trying pelvic tilts at lunch or doing 30 seconds of a mountain pose after brushing your teeth!
As Jenn has said, ‘once postpartum, always postpartum,’ so even if your little ones aren’t so little anymore, finding your neutral spine alignment will be helpful for your daily movement.
Want help finding neutral? Watch Jenn demonstrate it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5uXRtrnn8g
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