Pelvic Floor & Climbing: An Interview With UMI Health Experts

Hi, it's Maddy from Lattice here.... I've uploaded an audio copy of a recent interview I did with UMI health - apologies in advance for the slightly rough sound quality, everyone was struggling with various mic qualities in all parts of the country! 

At Lattice we are passionate about furthering our knowledge when it comes to postpartum return to climbing (if you haven't already check out our postpartum survey which we've featured on our social media!).

 We have seen an increasing number of questions in our community group about pregnancy and return to climbing postpartum. Whilst looking into this area we came across UMI-Health, who are working hard to break down barriers when it comes to pelvic floor health, as well as provide accessible learning resources on the topic. After working my way through their resources I decided I would love to sit down and chat to them in detail about pelvic floor health as it relates to returning to exercise postpartum. Some of the main points we discuss... 

 The pelvic floor. What is it and why is it so important?

- Pregnancy. Why the pelvic floor is effected, how we can strengthen it, whether or not this impacts postpartum recovery.

- Postpartum. How different deliveries might effect initial postpartum recovery, when to start pelvic floor exercises, diastasis recti and some checkboxes to know whether you are on the right track or need to seek professional help.

- Getting back to exercise. Breastfeeding and training, monitoring progress and some extra cues to look out for during postpartum return to exercise, body image and returning to impact (think jumping down off a bouldering wall!)

The Lattice jingle is brought to you by Devin Dabney, music producer of the outdoor industry who also hosts the American Climbing Project.