Now that I have had nine children, I am extremely protective of my pelvic floor muscles, as well as my abdominus recti muscles. These are two areas of the body that are quickly stressed, worn out, and even damaged by pregnancy, child-bearing, and postpartum recovery.
After the birth of my fourth child, I discovered a particular household chore that needed to wait. This specific chore would not only strain my pelvic floor muscles, but it also increased my postpartum bleeding (a sure sign that I was over-doing it).
Avoid This Chore- Protect Your Pelvic Floor During Postpartum Recovery
The household chore that I recommend that any new mom not do for at least 6 weeks is…
Vacuuming.
And to a lesser extent, sweeping and mopping.
All three of these chores require that you engage your abdominal muscles (specifically the abdominus recti) in order to carry out the task. You are asking the same muscles to engage that have held your baby up and in for 9 months, and that just went through a long, strenuous labor to get your baby out.
Your abdominus recti is so tired, strained and stressed at this point, that asking those muscles to re-engage for housework can cause more damage than good.
At best, you could have extra bleeding and a sore back. At worst, you may end up contributing to real damage down the line.
Let’s be clear here. I’m not telling you that if you vacuum your floors you are going to have a uterine prolapse. But I am suggesting that taking your recovery seriously will only provide you with benefits.
It took your body nine months to grow your precious baby. The whole pregnancy and birth process does take a physical toll. Slowing down and truly giving your body the chance to heal is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.
So, to recap, if at all possible, avoid using the vacuum cleaner for the first 6 weeks postpartum. If you need to sweep or mop, really take it easy. Do your best to gently engage your abdominals first, and then take it slow.
Need some help figuring out why your new baby is crying? I’ve made a resource just for you that should do the trick!
More Postpartum Resources:
How to Survive the Baby Blues
How to Make A Strong Recovery After Birth
Oh I never even thought of this…although it does make sense now that I think about it. Well, this sounds like even more reason to have the hubby do the vacuuming when once we have baby number two! 😉
My nurse recommended that I not vacuum and I listened. I’m glad I did. Recovery is already pretty rough. Thank you for letting ladies know.