Pregnancy & Postpartum: What I’d Recommend, Research or Do Differently (From a Physio & New Mum’s Perspective)

By Nicole Symons, Women’s Health Physiotherapist & Mum to One

As a women’s health physio, I’ve spent years guiding women through pregnancy, birth and recovery. But going through it myself? That brought a whole new level of insight—into the physical load, the emotional weight, and the sheer unpredictability of it all.

Now that I’m on the other side of those raw, blurry first weeks, I’ve had some space to reflect on the things that helped, the things I wish I’d known sooner, and the things I’d recommend to any woman stepping into this season of life.

This blog is part personal reflection, part professional insight and a whole lot of love for the wild, incredible transformation that is bringing a little human into the world.

Pregnancy: Preparation, Perspective & Pelvic Floors

1. Do Your Research Early (Like, Really Early)

If you’re in the early stages of pregnancy (or even thinking about trying to conceive), I highly recommend doing a little groundwork around the kind of birth experience you’d like and the care model that will best support you.

Public hospital? Midwifery program? GP shared care? Going private with an OB? Or even home birth? There are lots of options—and some of them book out fast. If you’re considering a private OB or a hospital midwife program, you’ll want to confirm your pregnancy with your GP, request a referral (if needed), and get in early.

If private care is on your radar, double-check your health insurance now. You’ll need pregnancy cover that’s been active for at least 12 months before your due date. And remember—babies have their own timelines.

Also worth considering? Whether your birth preferences align with your provider’s philosophy. Do you want the option of a water birth? Are you hoping to go low-intervention or would you like an elective caesarean? Not all hospitals offer the same birth supports, and each OB is only linked with a few hospitals. Aligning your preferences with your provider early makes for a much smoother journey.

2. Listen to Your Body (and Actually Rest When It Tells You To)

When I found out I was pregnant, I was excited—of course—but I was also quickly hit with the full force of pregnancy symptoms. Nausea. Vomiting. Fatigue. The weird smell sensitivity. Breast changes. All of it. One day you’re over the moon, the next you’re flat on the couch with Vegemite toast and wondering how on earth people do this multiple times.

To be honest even I was blindsided by how physically hard that first stretch was. I pushed through it, kept working, kept trying to function at my usual pace—and in hindsight, I really wish I’d given myself more permission to just stop.

Pregnancy is an incredible physical process, but it’s also a huge mental shift – especially when you’re used to being on the go (typical physio energy). If I could go back and talk to 6week pregnant Nicole, I would tell her to “Rest” and not just sit on the couch while still working rest but, horizontal TV or book in hand couch-style rest.  I would have encouraged her to cancel plans and learn to say no without explanation (this last part I am still working on ha-ha).

What I’d do differently next time? Prep more snack options early (especially for nausea), eat dinner earlier, and let go of the guilt when the couch is calling. If you’re feeling the same, please know that it’s completely okay to slow down. As many of my clients use to remind me if I didn’t do it then I was going to be forced to do it once the baby arrived. I can assure you this is 100% true. I have lost count of the  number of times I have been nap trapped and forced to stop and slow down. I have come to realise that right now my to-do list can’t be a mile long like it used to be and that in this phase of my life the most important thing I can do is enjoy my baby boy and soak in the cuddles and early smiles.

3. Build Strength Before & During Pregnancy

One thing I did do well? Prepping my body physically. I went into pregnancy with a solid strength base—and it paid off. I’ve always kept a regular strength training routine, and during pregnancy, it was my saving grace. I didn’t experience pelvic girdle pain, lower back issues or instability—not because I got lucky, but because my body had the capacity to meet the changing physical load.

We often hear that pain is caused by “relaxin” (the hormone that loosens ligaments), but if that were true, every pregnant woman would experience pain. It’s more about whether your body has the strength to meet the physical demands of pregnancy.

If you’re planning a pregnancy, get strong now. If you’re already pregnant, keep moving—safely. You may need to tweak your routine: swap high-impact exercises for prenatal Pilates, reduce running distances, or simply go for a walk. And some days? You might not exercise at all—and that’s okay too.

I personally found mornings or midday to be my sweet spot. I’ve walked almost every street around the clinic and adjusted my workouts to what felt good. And yes, there were weeks where I didn’t move much at all—and that’s fine. Do what you can, when you can.

4. Get Your Pelvic Floor Assessed—Yes, Even If You’re Feeling Fine

While yes this one’s close to my heart, it’s important that we continue to spread the message. The best time to see a pelvic health physio? Before you’re pregnant or during your second trimester.

Why?

Before pregnancy: Get your pelvic floor checked if you’re experiencing any bladder or bowel symptoms (urgency, incontinence, constipation, or incomplete emptying), pelvic pain, or pain with intercourse. It gives us a clear baseline and helps us understand how your pelvic floor is functioning before it’s impacted by the weight of your growing baby and pregnancy hormones. It also allows more time to implement treatment prior to the load of pregnancy and impact of delivery.

During pregnancy: The second trimester is ideal, before baby moves deeper into the pelvis. It helps us track changes, support your pelvic health, and prepare for birth. If you’re planning a vaginal delivery, we can assess your ability to relax and push effectively—two things that are just as important as strength. And if you’re having a caesarean? Pelvic floor function still matters—for recovery, continence, and future-proofing your body.

5. Attend a Birth Class (And Take Your Partner)

Hospital classes, midwifery programs, hypnobirthing, calm birthing—you name it. I highly recommend them, not just for you, but for your support person too. Despite working in women’s health and knowing a lot about birth, my husband and I still found a birth class incredibly valuable.

We opted for a holistic program that covered physiological birth, caesarean birth, support strategies, pain relief options, informed consent and postpartum planning. Even as a physio who talks birth for a living, the class helped me think through my own birth preferences, rather than unbiasedly just presenting the facts. It sparked so many helpful conversations—about what kind of birth we hoped for, how I wanted to manage pain, and how he could support me through contractions and beyond.

We created a birth preferences sheet together following the course. It covered everything from ideal lighting and music at home, to which pain relief options I wanted offered (and when). It gave my husband a clear roadmap for how to support me and made us both feel prepared and empowered. While not everyone will want to write out a step-by-step process, ensuring you and your birth partner are on the same page prior to delivery in essential. As I can promise you will not be in the head space to voice your preferences during delivery.

Postnatal: Recovery, Rest & Real Talk

1. Rest is Not Optional—It’s Essential

Birth is huge. And your recovery deserves just as much attention.

Whether you gave birth vaginally or via c-section, rest is your secret weapon for recovery. In those early weeks, the most healing thing I did was rest—true, horizontal rest. Not folding laundry. Not pacing with the pram. But lying down and letting my body heal.

At Uplift, we tell our clients: aim for two hours of horizontal rest a day, in addition to sleep. That might mean watching Netflix with your feet up, snuggling with your baby on the couch, or lying in bed while your partner takes over. (I have never been so grateful for 20plus seasons of Greys Anatomy ha-ha.)

It’s not easy, I know. But here’s how you can set yourself up:

• Stock the freezer with meals in the final weeks of pregnancy
• Say yes when people offer help—ask for food, cleaning, or babysitting your older kids
• Educate your partner: What do they need to know to optimise your recovery? Is it allowing horizontal rest time, asking visitors to keep the visits short, filling up your drink bottle or prepping snacks/meals?
• Speak up when you need help—if your pelvic floor feels heavy, it’s time to lie down. Ask your partner to help settle the baby after a feed so you can rest.

2. Communication is Everything

Postpartum hormones are no joke. You’ll cry over nothing. You’ll feel everything. And sometimes, you’ll wonder if you’re doing any of it right.

In those early weeks, everything changes—your body, your baby, your relationship. The best thing my husband and I did was commit to open, honest communication. No guessing, no bottling it up.

Need to tag out for a nap? Say it. Need someone to refill your water or hold the baby while you shower? Ask. It’s not selfish—it’s survival.

I’ll be honest, I found this hard. Especially when your postpartum hormones are telling you that you must step up to the new mother home plate. Your brain is being flooded with hormones that keep telling you that “You should be able to do it all” or that “You’re a bad mother if you want to shower in peace for 5 minutes”. These thoughts often made it hard for me to reach out for help, I felt like a failure for needing a tap out and then even more of a failure when I would snap at my husband at 2am in the morning because I was exhausted and had not held up our agreement of asking for help. Has it gotten easier, absolutely. Do I still sometimes struggle to as for help when I need it, absolutely. But I am getting better, absolutely.

3. Breastfeeding is Hard (Like, Really Hard)

Despite what the Instagram posts suggest, breastfeeding is a skill—and not always an easy one. It was hands down the hardest part of my postpartum experience.

Picture this: It’s 3am, baby’s screaming, your nipples are throbbing, and the latch isn’t working. You’re exhausted, emotional, and wondering if it’s always going to feel this hard.

If you are planning on exclusively breastfeeding, here’s what helped me:

• Educate yourself during pregnancy—how to breastfeed, express, manage engorgement. I loved the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) website (www.breastfeeding.asn.au).
• Talk to other mums—sometimes you just need a friend who gets it
• Have support ready—look up lactation consultants or clinics in your third trimester. Be prepared to reach out, I promise you will be grateful for having done the research early.
• Call the ABA Helpline—a calm, reassuring voice at 2am can be magic. Even if they are just a reassuring voice that you are doing everything right and that learning a new skill just takes some time and practice.
• Buy a tub of formula—even if you plan to exclusively breastfeed. I did, and it saved my sanity when my milk came in late, and baby is screaming even after demolishing the small amount of extra milk I had managed to store in the fridge.

I promise, you are not failing if you find it hard. You are learning, your baby is learning, and it will get better (some way or another).

4. Get Off Instagram (Seriously, Take a Break)

Instagram can be a wonderful tool for connection and education—but in those early postpartum weeks, it can also wreak havoc on your mental health.

Even as a women’s health physio—who only followed credentialed experts like paediatricians, lactation consultants and sleep specialists—I found the volume of information overwhelming. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on what I should and shouldn’t be doing. And even when the content was evidence-based, I had to stop and ask: how are they interpreting this study? And more importantly—is this even relevant to me or my baby?

Take baby sleep, for example. The “average” sleep needs of a 6-week-old can range anywhere from 14 to 17 hours in 24 hours—and yet, when your baby doesn’t fit neatly into that window, it’s easy to spiral into worry. Is something wrong? Am I doing it right? Are they overtired? Undertired?

The truth is averages don’t capture individual variation—and every baby is different.

So, if you notice that Instagram is fuelling anxious or negative thoughts, give yourself permission to step away. Unfollow. Mute. Delete the app if you need to. The newborn days are fleeting, and they’re not meant to be spent second-guessing yourself in comparison to curated squares.

Put the phone down. Tune into your baby. Trust your instincts.

Final Thoughts

Pregnancy and postpartum are life changing experiences—physically, mentally, emotionally. Be kind to yourself. Tune into your body. Lean on your village. And know that whatever your journey looks like, you’re doing an incredible job.

From one new mum to another—you’ve got this. 💚

If you’d like to to see one of our our expertly trained Physiotherapists to support you through your prenatal or postnatal journey, you can make an appointment HERE, or call the clinic.