It’s not “back to normal” – it’s forward, safely
There’s a moment I see again and again with mums – they finally get a sliver of headspace, a little more sleep, a tiny window where they think, “Okay… I’m ready to move my body again.” And almost immediately, the doubts arrive with it.
What’s safe? Where do I even start? What if I make things worse? Why does my body feel unfamiliar? And is the six-week check-up some magical green light that means I can just GO? It can feel like a guessing game and the more you Google, the more confused you become.
This is exactly why I built MumSafe™- because mums deserve better than guesswork – and trainers should all be doing better than trying to “wing it” with the most important population they’ll ever work with.
Returning to exercise after having a baby isn’t about bouncing back or shrinking yourself to your pre-baby….anyting! It’s also not about pushing through and hoping your body keeps up. It’s about rebuilding from the inside out with the right support, the right progressions and the right people around you.
Because motherhood changes everything, not just your schedule and your energy, but your body, confidence, nervous system and often your relationship with movement itself (and potentially your partner too!). And the biggest problem I see isn’t that mums don’t want to exercise – it’s that they don’t know who to trust.
A lot of mums are caught between two extremes.
On one side: fear. They’ve heard scary things about prolapse, abdominal separation, pelvic floor issues, “don’t lift,” “don’t run,” “don’t do core,” “just be careful,” and they feel frozen. Movement becomes something they associate with risk rather than strength.
On the other side: pressure. The subtle (and not-so-subtle) messaging that they should be “getting their body back,” training hard and returning to their old routine as quickly as possible – even if their body is clearly asking for a different approach.
And sitting right in the middle is where most mums actually are: they want to feel strong, they want to feel like themselves and they want to do it safely – but they’re not being met with a clear pathway.
It’s also worth mentioning that this isn’t just a “mum problem.” – it’s a systems and fitness industry problem. Many facilities still tick a “pregnancy safe” box or advertise services with a creche with no real standards behind them. Many programs are marketed to “mums” without understanding that all mums are postnatal – whether their baby is six weeks old or six years old and that these women need specialised support. And too many passionate trainers want to help, but they haven’t been given (or looked for) the education, mentoring or referral pathways to do it confidently and to the highest standard.
Returning to Exercise Do’s & Don’ts
Do
- Start where you are (not where you were).
- Choose exercise that leaves you feeling better afterwards – not exhausted or broken
- Build consistency first, then build intensity.
- Lay great foundations for your body – start with your pelvic floor & inner core, then move into basic movement patterns (think squat, lunge, push, pull) with some twists, turns and carries – intensity comes later.
- Find an educated exercise professional who understands pre and postnatal considerations.
- Book an appointment with a pelvic health physio so you know where your body is at from the inside out
Don’t
- Treat the six-week check as a green light to do whatever you want!
- Push through any symptoms – heaviness, dragging, pain or leaking and hope it goes away.
- Copy-paste your old training plan and expect it to fit this body.
- Assume every “mum class” is built with proper standards and that the trainers are automatically educated – ask for their qualifications
- Go it alone if you feel uncertain – you deserve the right guidance.
What a safer return actually looks like
The best return-to-exercise plans are progressive and intentional AND they are run by pre and postnatally qualified trainers and instructors.
They start with understanding where she’s at – not just “how long it’s been,” but what her pregnancy, birth, recovery and current symptoms look like. She should be guided through a full pre-screening that asks specific questions about her whole experience.
They prioritise confidence, quality movement and connection to her pelvic floor and core as a start point, they consider her capacity before adding intensity. And they progress based on her real life, not an ideal training week that only exists on paper.
It’s for these reasons MumSafe Trainers meet extra requirements to be listed – it’s about building trust and standards. We want allied health and medical professionals to feel confident referring to the fitness industry and we want mums to feel safe walking into a session knowing the person in front of them understands the nuance of pre and postnatal exercise. That includes proper education, industry registration, correct insurance and a two-way partnership with a pelvic health physio – because referral pathways matter and WE as trainers cannot see or feel her pelvic floor!
When there’s a team around a mum – exercise professional, pelvic health physio and a clear plan – everything changes – mums stop second-guessing themselves, they stop pushing through symptoms because they think they have to and they stop dropping off after a short time because they were thrown into something their body wasn’t ready for. We want her to be exercising for her whole life and we must set her up for that.
When we don’t get this right mums stop exercising for a few reasons; because they’re exhausted…. and exercise becomes the first thing to go when everyone else’s needs are being met first, because getting out of the house feels like a logistical mountain. Because they feel embarrassed about symptoms they’ve been told are “normal,” like leaking, heaviness, pain or a core that feels disconnected.
Tips to get started (without overthinking it)
Start with one question: What would help me feel better this week? Not what would burn the most calories. Not what would “fix” my body the fastest. What would genuinely make you feel more capable, more connected and more like yourself?
For some mums, that’s walking with a pram and doing gentle strength work twice a week. For others, it’s getting back into the gym with a coach who understands how to rebuild load and impact slowly. For many, it’s learning how to breathe, re-connect with their pelvic floor and Transversus Abdominis and move in a way that supports them and feels good.
Consistency beats intensity every time. The goal early on is not to smash yourself – it’s to build a base. Think “small and repeatable.” Ten minutes you can do three times a week is more powerful than a 60-minute session that wipes you out and doesn’t happen again for a month.
Remember – whatever you do it doesn’t need to be perfect but you should be supported by those upholding standards and have created a pathway for you that makes sense for you and helps you to understand your body at every step of the journey.
Too many women are left wondering and at MumSafe we believe that every woman should feel empowered in her body and no woman should ever be left saying ‘Why did no-body tell me’.
BY: Jen Dugard, founder of MumSafe™ and creator of the Safe Return to Exercise™
