Amy Carmody Yoga

C-section recovery protocols & timelines 📝

If you’re having a baby this year, save this recovery timeline breakdown so you can come back to it!

Weeks 0-2
✅ REST
✅ NERVE STIMULATION
✅ BREATH MECHANICS
✅ GENTLE MOBILITY

Weeks 2-4
✅ COMPRESSION
✅ FRESH AIR, SHORT WALKS & VIT D
✅ PELVIC FLOOR & CORE REHAB
✅ SEATED OR PRONE PF EXERCISES, ROTATION, PALLOF’S, BIRD-DOG, HEELS SLIDES

Weeks 4-6
✅ SILICONE THERAPY
✅ PROGRESS & PRIORITISE PELVIC FLOOR & CORE THERAPY
✅ COORDINATION, STABILITY & PRESSURE MANAGEMENT WORK.

Weeks 6-12
✅ DAILY SCAR & BELLY MASSAGE
✅ CONTINUE POSTNATAL SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING ALONGSIDE APPROPRIATE RE-INTRODUCTION IE STRENGTH, PILATES, YOGA
🩹 MOST WOMEN NEED MORE STRENGTH TO BEGIN RUNNING AGAIN.

Save this so you can refer to it later and hit follow so you can learn more perinatal/cesarean education 🙏🏻

If someone dared to say to me “you didn’t technically give birth” 🤯😮‍💨 I’d be a wanted woman!

Diastasis recti: Let’s chat about it 🤗

(And watch me in the video 👀 demonstrate a lack of core integrity:pressure mismanagement vs better core recruitment!)

DR is the separation of the abdominal muscles, where the connective tissue between them has been stretched and weakened to accommodate a growing baby during pregnancy.

We all experience it, to some degree, when we carry to full term.

Healing isn’t just about “closing this gap” because 1) it may not ever fully close, which is okay, but it’s not the only measurement of recovery.

The bigger goal is creating strong, resilient tissue between the separation that can manage pressure and transfer force effectively.

We do this via:

✅ Correct core engagement:
Learning to activate the abdominal wall without excessive gripping, bearing down, or creating unnecessary outward pressure.

✅ Optimal pressure management:
Coordinating your breath and core during movement, lifting, coughing, getting up and exercising so pressure is distributed effectively.

✅ Advancing your core strengthening:
Gradually loading the abdominal muscles and connective tissues so they can adapt and become stronger. Don’t get stuck on deadbugs for 2+ years.

✅ Whole-body strength development:
Because your abdominals don’t work in isolation guys! Training the hips, back, pelvic floor and larger muscle groups helps the core work as part of an integrated system rather than in isolation.

✅ Consistency + appropriate progression:
Tissues need time and repeated, appropriately challenging exposure to become stronger. Avoiding movement altogether isn’t the goal, progressively rebuilding capacity is 👏🏻

Any questions, pop them below 👇🏻

5 things that help your c-section scar 👇🏻

1. Nerve stimulation & desensitisation - it’s super helpful for numbness, settling the nervous systems response to touch and helping the surrounding areas ‘feel’ normally again.

2. Silicone - gel or sheets (use for a minimum of 6-12 months!) really helpful soften, lighten and flatten scars.

3. Scar massage - improves tissue movement & Fascial glide, helping to restore function in the abdominals.

4. Healing diastasis-recti - abdominal separation definitely impacts how the scar looks & feels.

5. Specific mobility & stretches - all post-operative scars are tight! Keeping the area mobile means less pain and better function.

Send this along to a c-section mum & if you have any questions, pop them below!

When are we going to stop comparing ourselves? And non-stop judging other women’s experiences?

Being triggered or confronted by something you see on the internet is okay. We’re allowed to feel a bit funny or hold our own perspectives on the matter. But we need to remember that our own experience doesn’t = EVERY woman’s experience.

Me being ready for some gentle rehab at two weeks post birth doesn’t mean ALL women are ready.

Just like me lifting 50-80kgs while pregnant doesn’t mean all women should be doing that.

I am a huge advocate for rest. I plan, and in fact spend my hard earned money, on the privilege of being able to rest after having a baby.

It truly depends on the woman and her own personal circumstances as to when she feels ready for movement again in postpartum. And we are all going to move along a VERY different timeline.

For example, I can’t even FATHOM running in the first twelve months postpartum. And some of my friends are back running by three months. Neither is wrong.

My job is to educate women on HOW to safely exercise throughout her pregnancy and how to recover after birth. I’ve found lately, especially the more this page grows, I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t.

I love creating educational posts for women, if and when they feel ready to begin. And I’ll continue to do so even with the random opinionated judgements.

We are all on our own timeline. Don’t compare yourself to women on the internet. Hell, don’t even compare yourself to your friends. Especially don’t compare yourself to women whose job is related to fitness!

You’re doing amazing job. Truly. I am honestly so proud of my friends and the women in this community. We are all doing our best. Instead of judging, just be a positive beacon for people. Be there cheerleader.

Rest is essential, but so is good proper postnatal recovery. If you can, prioritise both ✌🏻

C-section shelf massage tips 👇🏻

1. Try lying down so you’re not working against the force of gravity.

2. Use one hand to pull & pin the belly upward, so your other hand can freely massage your incision.

3. Don’t just massage the external incision (the one you can see 👀) ensure you’re massaging above that, in the lower abdomen, to work the internal incision too .

4. After three months postpartum, you can move onto using silicone cups, suction cups or gua Sha. It’s not necessary, your hands are still such great tools for scar massage. Hands is also the most accessible, which means you’ll be the most consistent with hands!

5. Eat enough fibre, stay regular, keep hydrated and use movement to promote good lymph flow in the belly & pelvis.

Massage can be started from 6-8 weeks postpartum or post infection (ensuring your incision is fully sealed & no signs of infection.

Scar massage is really beneficial for getting connective tissue to glide more functionally again. Post-operative scars are often super restricted once the initial healing process is complete, so massage, stretches, optimal breathing and core rehabilitation to support posture are all helpful in allowing a scar to be more mobile.

The better our connective tissue is over & surrounding the incision, the better chance we have at proper muscular function. Which is exactly what we need when trying to regain core strength post pregnancy, birth and major abdominal surgery.

I hope there tips helped 🙏🏻

Everything I did differently in my 3rd pregnancy🤰

📌 Strength trained the entire way through, from the day I peed on that stick right up until my scheduled cesarean.

📌 Took levothyroxine for my Hashimoto’s, prescribed by my endocrinologist or course!

📌 Used anti-nausea medication instead of just sucking it up 🤢

📌 Took Restavit during periods of insomnia (esp 1st and 3rd trimester)

📌 Religiously followed a specific prenatal program (my own 💁🏼‍♀️) I didn’t let my mood dictate whether I would do a class or not. Because trust me, I never felt like doing it, esp in the first trimester.

📌 Did not settle for low ferritin levels ❌ I got an infusion at conception and another infusion right before birth.

📌 Drank Coke Zero. It hit the spot every damn time 🤌🏻

📌 Trained my core the entire way through 👏🏻

📌 Didn’t bother to set up a nursery whatsoever. Haha third baby tings.

Did you do anything differently in your next pregnancies?

Being strong for me AND them has been my favourite training goal to date.

Training at home, building muscle, strength and a body you love, with kids at your feet, is absolutely possible.

I’ve been doing it for 9 years now and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Supersets in the lounge room, a show going in the background, banana breaks, homework questions. Cuddles, snacks and many interruptions.

It’s not perfect, but it’s more than good enough. And I love that they get to see me prioritise myself. I try to demonstrate that my needs matter too, and the more my bucket is full, the better mum I am.