Expecting Twins, C-Section Question

Hi!

My wife is expecting twins and lifts (yeah, I keep trying to get her to join T-Nation, until then, I have to post this). She has very decent squat (1.5x bw) and deadlift numbers (2xbw). She is taking a break now because the doctors restricted her to 25 lbs. max. They have warned her that she is more likely to need a C-section and she is wondering if anyone here had one and was able to go back to heavy lifting.

One of her fears too is getting an abdominal separation. Her best friend had that and has been having quite a little bit of trouble as a result. Any other advice you wish to pass along would be welcomed.

Thanks for anything you can share!

– jj

Your wife sounds like she’s in great shape! Congratulations on expecting twins.

I wasn’t lifting in the years when I had my kids, but I did have Diastasis Recti after my third baby. You will find other threads in this forum where I’ve talked about my experience.

I’d recommend she start by searching YouTube for Post C Section Abdominal, and Diastasis Recti Abdominal. There are quite a few people talking about rehab after C Section, and how to diagnose and cope with diastasis recti, should that happen.

She may also want to look up Tupler Technique.

Best of Luck and Congratulations!!

Out of curiosity, are the doctors discussing a c-section because of something specific (like the location of the placenta, narrow vaginal canal, etc) or is it simply because she’s having twins? I would really encourage you and her to push for a vaginal birth, if possible. Recovery is quicker, in general, but she also won’t risk improper healing of the uterus, abdominals, and skin. She’ll be released to lift much sooner with a vaginal birth. Good luck and congratulations!!

[quote]Powerpuff wrote:
Your wife sounds like she’s in great shape! Congratulations on expecting twins.

I wasn’t lifting in the years when I had my kids, but I did have Diastasis Recti after my third baby. You will find other threads in this forum where I’ve talked about my experience.

I’d recommend she start by searching YouTube for Post C Section Abdominal, and Diastasis Recti Abdominal. There are quite a few people talking about rehab after C Section, and how to diagnose and cope with diastasis recti, should that happen.

She may also want to look up Tupler Technique.

Best of Luck and Congratulations!! [/quote]

Thanks for the tip and I did manage to find the threads you spoke about. Those are great!! I will certainly sit with her and read through them tonight.

– jj

[quote]Christen12 wrote:
Out of curiosity, are the doctors discussing a c-section because of something specific (like the location of the placenta, narrow vaginal canal, etc) or is it simply because she’s having twins? I would really encourage you and her to push for a vaginal birth, if possible. Recovery is quicker, in general, but she also won’t risk improper healing of the uterus, abdominals, and skin. She’ll be released to lift much sooner with a vaginal birth. Good luck and congratulations!![/quote]

Mostly because she is having twins. So far (just passed 11 weeks and mother and kids are doing great) it seems like everything is going along fine. However, she is a little on the small side and does not have much space between her ribs and pelvis. Her mother looked like she “swallowed a beach ball” by 7 months with both her pregnancies, so we are anticipating something similar. We have only seen a nurse practitioner because our hospital takes for - e - ver to get an appointment, so we hope these are just standard noises.

Thanks!

– jj