Postpartum Recovery: How Water Workouts Help Moms Heal

Even though pregnancy is the most natural thing in the world, it brings about significant physical and hormonal changes to the female body. These are sometimes taken for granted or, in some cases, not even given any consideration at all. 

For 9 months you carry your child inside you and your body adapts to various changes, and then you give birth and all your focus is on caring for your new born baby, while little or no thought is given to your own body and what it has been through. 

During pregnancy your body goes through hormone changes - you have increased levels of oestrogen and progesterone, which can cause mood swings and nausea. Levels of the hormone relaxin surge during pregnancy to help loosen ligaments, especially in the pelvis to prepare the body for giving birth. Your posture will also change as your uterus grows, often causing back pain, and joints and ligaments become more lax.

After pregnancy (postpartum) your hormone levels drop sharply, leading to mood swings and even postpartum depression, and although your uterus begins to shrink back to its normal size over the course of about 6 weeks, your abdominal muscles may remain stretched or separated. 

Your pelvic floor muscles will be weakened, and this can sometimes causes bladder control issues or pelvic heaviness. Some women find pelvic floor exercises helpful in regaining strength. 

Gentle & Safe Exercise Options For Postpartum Moms

If you’re feeling sore, heavy, or simply exhausted, you’re not alone — these are common postpartum changes.

With all that going on in your body, and a very lively bundle of joy zapping all your energy, the last thing you want or need is a heavy workout in the gym. Your body needs some gentle exercise to help it heal and recover, and that's why water workouts are so effective. 

The buoyancy of the water supports the weight of your body and takes the strain off already-stretched and sore joints and ligaments, lessening any impact. It is much safer to perform aquatic or water exercises as they are gentler on the body and reduce the risk of injury or complications. 

High-impact work-outs like running, jumping, or other explosive movements can exacerbate existing postpartum issues like pelvic floor dysfunction or joint instability, and pose a risk of injury.

A Gradual Return To Exercise

No matter how fit you were before pregnancy, or how much exercise you used to do, your body has undergone significant changes and it needs time to heal and adapt. If you were an athlete who had to rest from a sports injury, you would not begin training again with the same intensity as before your injury. 

Your goal would be to build up weakened muscles and stiff ligaments slowly, to avoid the risk of further damage. It's the same postpartum, where a gradual return to exercise allows the body to heal and adapt, and low-impact activities allow for a more controlled and gradual return to physical exercise.

Improving Circulation And Reducing Stress

While low-impact exercises like walking and cycling are great ways to improve your fitness levels gently, water workouts offer further benefits for postpartum mothers. 

Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted from the water onto the body, so when you immerse yourself in water that pressure helps to compress blood vessels and move blood back to the heart. 

A common postpartum issue is fluid retention, and hydrostatic pressure can help alleviate swollen legs and feet. Any movement in water stimulates muscle contractions which helps to pump blood through the body and improve circulation. Improved blood flow helps deliver nutrients and oxygen around the body, clearing out metabolic waste from tired and sore muscles and helping to heal tissues.

Postpartum can also be an intense emotional period for many women, and the shear soothing nature of water can help ease tension and support mental well-being. Simply by easing discomfort and making movement easier, you will reduce your stress levels and tension. 

Any exercise triggers the release of endorphins (happy hormones), and performing water workouts in a group can be a mindful escape from your daily duties and offer social support.

Strengthening The Core And Pelvic Floor

The buoyancy and resistance of the water provides a supportive and challenging environment for exercise. Buoyancy decreases the gravitational forces that act on the body when you are on dry land, reducing the impact on the pelvic floor and making it a safer and more comfortable way to perform exercises postpartum. 

Water resistance naturally engages core muscles, including the pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles, and working out in water challenges the body to maintain posture and control in a dynamic environment, enhancing balance and stability without the risk of falling over.

Exercise, Energy And Mood

We all know the benefits of exercise, and even when we feel like not doing it, we know that exercise will give us energy and make us feel better afterwards. Exercising will also go a long way to helping shift those extra pounds you may be struggling to lose after giving birth. 

Water workouts are great for weight loss, muscle toning and stress relief, all of which will contribute to an improved mental well-being.

Improving your cardiovascular fitness will naturally increase energy levels, and releasing those endorphins will give you mood-boosting and energy-enhancing effects, which, as a mother, will certainly be beneficial. 

Physical activity can also improve sleep patterns, which are often disrupted postpartum, and can trap you in that downward spiral of being tired and having no energy to do anything.

Water workouts can include swimming, which is a great all-round exercise, but if you can't swim then water walking or jogging are great ways to improve cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength.

Providing water resistance, buoyancy and low-impact movement, prenatal aqua aerobics provides a full-body workout with all the benefits that a postpartum mother needs to heal.