The Secret to Why French Women Look So Good After Childbirth

The Secret to Why French Women Look So Good After Childbirth

Physical Therapist and author, Marianne Ryan explains why French women regain their pre-pregnancy figures so much faster then American women after childbirth.Learn how new moms in the US can prevent long term complications and look and feel better faster after childbirth.Pregnancy isn't all sunshine and roses. While it may be the most exciting time in a woman's life, it brings with it a long list of issues that most women simply aren't comfortable discussing, even with their doctors.That's right - I'm talking about a leaky bladder, pelvic pain, and a flabby stomach, just to name a few.In the US, there is top-notch prenatal care, but once a woman gives birth she is basically left to fend for herself with the often-overlooked postpartum issues I just mentioned.The attitude is that a woman's body will somehow magically "snap back together" after childbirth. Not true!

‍Even if a woman feels great after delivery, studies (1)  have shown that these problems can take years to show up and are directly related to childbirth. Did you know that nearly 50% of all women suffer with urinary leakage at some time of their life and 25% suffer with pelvic organ prolapse? A lot of these "unpleasant" problems can be prevented and resolved if women take their postpartum recovery seriously by doing a postpartum rehabilitation program for the pelvic floor muscles  and abdominal muscles. It doesn't need to be a grueling exercise program; a focused program that takes about 15 minutes a day can target those muscles and help women restore their bodies.The French are different!

‍Did you know the French Government pays for physical therapy treatment to help mothers restore strength in their pelvic floor and abdominal muscles?That's right; the French Government pays for women to rehabilitate their "lady parts" and flabby stomachs! Every woman is encouraged to go for physical therapy treatment after each and every birth. They don't wait months or years; mothers in France address these problems 6 weeks after they give birth. This not only makes them feel and look better, but it can potentially prevent developing complications years later. Now I call that taking postpartum recovery seriously!

The Solution In an ideal world, women should see a physical therapist that specializes in women's health for treatment after each and every birth. Studies have shown (2) that physical therapy treatment can prevent or cure many problems women may develop as a result of childbirth, like back and pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse, diastasis recti and a leaky bladder. These problems may arise right after having a baby or even years down the road.After childbirth most women's bodies do not "magically snap back together". Research has show that women need to address these issues as soon after childbirth as possible. All women can prevent developing or making certain issues worse, such as a leaky bladder and a flabby mommy tummy if they take postpartum rehabilitation seriously.

My best advice to Moms is not to wait for your health care provider to suggest going to a physical therapist for a preventative check up or treatment. It is not the norm here in the US, but should be. It is up to you to become proactive in your own health.As a mother and a physical therapist with over 30 years experience in women's health, I developed a passion for helping moms improve their health, before, during, and after pregnancy. An easy to follow program can be found in my book, Baby Bod - Turn Flab to Fab in 12 Weeks Flat. It was developed to help pregnant women prepare for childbirth and for moms, even if it has been years since they became a mother, to recover from the lingering physical issues caused by pregnancy and childbirth. (You can find the book on Amazon and the Baby Bod Exercise Tracker App on both iTunes and Google Play).To get a free preview of the Baby Bod book click here

[1] Sapsford R.  Rehabilitation of pelvic floor muscles utilizing trunk stabilization.  Manual Therapy. 2004 Feb; 9(1):3-12.[2] Dumoulin C, Hay-Smith J. Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Jan 20;(1):CD005654. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005654.pub2.