People think I’m crazy when I say recovery starts before six weeks, not at six weeks. Most moms are told to rest, wait for their six week appointment, then get “cleared” and go right back to their old workouts. So when I say you should be moving long before that appointment, I get some looks 👀. But hear me out. I’m not talking about intense workouts. I’m talking about gentle, intentional movement in those first days and weeks: 1. Breathing that reconnects your diaphragm and pelvic floor 2. Gentle core activation 3. Walking a little more each day 4. Simple mobility to ease the tension from feeding and holding your baby 5. Learning how to manage pressure when you lift, stand, and carry I was moving gently just days after birth, and it’s exactly why my recovery went the way it did. It’s also important to remember that every recovery will look slightly different depending on the intensity of your delivery!! BUT, I still stand by the belief that you can (and should) move before 6 weeks. Here’s the part people really think is crazy: your six week clearance isn’t a green light. It’s a checkpoint. Your body doesn’t just flip a switch at six weeks and decides it’s ready for pre-pregnancy exercise intensity. Your six week appointment is really just designed to ensure your stitches (if you had any) are healed, and that your uterus has returned to its normal size. It should be a REQUIREMENT to start pelvic floor rehab by 6 weeks postpartum, but it definitely is not. That’s why I built Movement Through Early Postpartum. It gives you 12 levels of daily movement and recovery education, with tracks for both vaginal and cesarean births, starting from day one. Save this and send it to the mama who’s counting down to six weeks. #pelvicfloorpt #postpartumrehab #postpartumrecovery #fourthtrimester #postnatalfitness - @dr.maehughes