After nine months of pregnancy and the miracle of childbirth, you may find yourself waiting for another miracle:
the return of your pre-pregnancy body.
Your post-pregnancy body not only looks unfamiliar, it also feels unfamiliar. Getting your body back after pregnancy means not just getting a flat belly but also getting back the way you move, the way you cope, the way you find the strength to face the day, and it means inspiring a lifetime love of movement in your little one. After you have a baby, you'll benefit more from exercise than at any other time in your life. But it isn't easy.
Exercise after pregnancy is complicated by sleep deprivation, fatigue, breastfeeding, new responsibilities, and a multitude of other challenges. Finding guidance is also confusing, from the advice of friends who seem to magically return to their pre-pregnancy wardrobe to the exercise "secrets," workout fads, and quick techniques available through books, magazines, and the internet.
The truth is, there is no magic. There are no secrets. Even better, there's scientific research—decades of it—that covers topics critical to recovery from pregnancy and childbirth. There is research to dispel myths about breastfeeding and exercise, research that covers the details of pregnancy's effects on the body, research to detail postpartum biomechanics, research to show the benefits of exercise for mothers and their babies, and research to guide the prevention and treatment of the most common injuries for new moms. The only trouble is, that research is squirreled away in a variety of medical journals, out of sight for the everyday mom.
For the first time, that research is synthesized into a comprehensive guide for new moms. This book, written by Dr. Christine Iverson, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, athlete, and mom of two, lays that information out in an easy-to-follow guide with a step-by-step exercise progression. Christine will be your physical therapist next door, there to help you to fix your own body in a systematic, comprehensive, progressive, and challenging way from the inside out after giving birth.
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Dr. Christine Iverson lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, David (b. 2013) and Jane (b. 2015). A lifelong athlete, she ran NCAA Division I cross country, indoor and outdoor track for the United States Military Academy at West Point, and she continues to compete in road races from 5Ks to marathons. Christine earned her Bachelor of Science from West Point in 2000 and became a Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2006 at Baylor University through the US Army-Baylor University Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy. She became specialty board certified in orthopedics in 2010.
Christine spent six years serving as a physical therapist for some of the most elite athletes in the US Army. She served for two of those years as the physical therapist for infantry soldiers and for three of those years as the physical therapist for Special Forces (Green Beret) soldiers. Christine is no stranger to helping athletes heal themselves from all types of injuries, from the simple ankle sprain to chronic back pain to multi-trauma injuries.
After having her first child in 2013, Christine made it her mission to give new moms everywhere the tools they need to recover after giving birth and reinvent postpartum athleticism from the inside out.
"Pregnancy is an amazing time in a woman's life where her body changes dramatically to allow the baby's development and eventually deliver.
"Unfortunately, there are few providers able to answer even the simplest questions that women have about exercise and getting back in shape after their pregnancy. Much of the currently available guidance is vague, and actual plans that take into account the type of delivery a woman had are almost non-existent.
"This book and program explains how a woman's body changes with pregnancy and how to both maintain fitness during pregnancy and to recover afterward in a comprehensive, but easy-to-follow way. Christine Iverson uses the best evidence available and takes the approach of an orthopedic physical therapist, passionate about helping every woman to achieve optimum health and activity.
"This is a program that fills a huge gap, and more importantly, provides an opportunity for women to take control of their fitness and health during and after pregnancy with clear plans based on years of personal experience and in-depth research.
"Healthy and Quick & Everything Fit is an invaluable resource for every woman after pregnancy who wants to recover and thrive as a mother and an athlete and I have already started recommending it to my patients."
—Shad Deering, MD, author of A Practical Manual to Labor and Delivery for Medical Students and Residents