Pelvic Floor Recovery: Why 'Just Rest' Isn't Enough
Featuring Dr. Lacy Woods
With Lauren Zatezalo, OT student, and Melissa O'Neal, OTR/L
So many women are told to simply rest and heal after birth, but few are actually shown what it takes to truly support and restore their bodies postpartum. In this episode, we dive into pelvic floor health with Dr. Lacy Woods, talking about what your body is really going through after birth and how to support recovery.
About Dr. Lacy Woods
Dr. Lacy Woods is an occupational therapist, educator, and women's health advocate specializing in holistic perinatal and pelvic health. Through her private practice, Maternal Milestones, she supports women throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond the postpartum period. Her work and research are grounded in clinical expertise, strong community connections, and a deep commitment to ensuring women feel seen and empowered. Dr. Woods is also a wife and mom of two boys, ages 5 and 2. For her doctoral capstone project she created a model to integrate OT into midwifery care, which eventually led to her starting Maternal Milestones in 2024.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
- What the pelvic floor actually is: a group of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that supports your internal organs, assists with bladder and bowel function, supports posture, and plays a critical role during pregnancy and delivery.
- Why pregnancy and birth put significant pressure on pelvic floor muscles, leading to postural changes, imbalances, and trauma that require intentional recovery.
- The most common pelvic floor dysfunctions postpartum: urinary incontinence, pelvic heaviness or pressure, pelvic pain, and postural imbalances from pregnancy.
- How to find and work with a pelvic floor therapist, including how to self advocate with your PCP for a referral to the provider you choose.
- What you can do right now if you do not have access to a pelvic floor therapist: reconnect with your body, notice posture and tension, stack your ribs over your pelvis, and practice deep belly breathing to relax the pelvic floor.
Show Notes and Resources
Dr. Lacy Woods, Maternal Milestones (maternalmilestones.com). Pelvic Health Network (pelvichealthnetwork.org). Cleveland Clinic: Pelvic Floor Muscles (my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22729-pelvic-floor-muscles). Physio-pedia: Pelvic Floor Anatomy (physio-pedia.com/Pelvic_Floor_Anatomy).
From This Episode
You do not need to endure pain or incontinence and accept that it is just what happens after birth. You deserve more than a 6 week check up telling you that you can exercise and have sex again. You deserve all the support and rehab services of any other medical event or trauma.
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