{"id":1311,"date":"2026-02-17T09:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/?p=1311"},"modified":"2026-03-11T10:09:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:09:54","slug":"lesser-supports-postpartum-women-returning-to-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/lesser-supports-postpartum-women-returning-to-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesser supports postpartum women returning to exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watch the CBC News video here<\/a><\/p>\n

This post was originally published here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Iris Lesser was surprised to find a dearth of resources and information about postpartum physical activity when her first child was born. Nine years later, Iris, an associate professor of kinesiology at UFV, is meeting that need with inclusive, accessible exercise content for every mother who needs it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even as an experienced athlete with a PhD in exercise physiology, Iris was confused about best practices\u00a0after giving birth.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely shocked at how little support there was for moms.\u00a0Luckily<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0had a lot of knowledge, but even that knowledge wasn\u2019t\u00a0really enough\u00a0for me to understand. I asked myself questions such\u00a0as,\u00a0can I be running? Should I not\u00a0be running? Do I need to do rehabilitation?\u00a0How\u00a0do I deal with the fact that\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not sleeping at all, but I need to move my body for my mental health? What can that look like?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the help of UFV\u00a0kinesiology students,\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0been running studies, workshops,\u00a0and\u00a0movement interventions, and creating reference materials to answer these questions for others. When creating images and video references, it was important to her that they reflect\u00a0real postpartum\u00a0bodies and actual home environments. The feedback she collected from participants was clear:\u00a0no to\u00a0glamorous gym outfits, six-pack\u00a0abs, perfect\u00a0hairdos\u00a0and pristine backgrounds.\u00a0Yes\u00a0to mess!\u00a0Yes\u00a0to bare faces, visible scars and stretched skin;\u00a0yes\u00a0to toys and laundry on the ground.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThe whole point was to show what it looks like to be active with a baby,\u201d Iris says. \u201cWe tried to capture as much of that as we could. One of our beautiful models showed her stomach and what her overhang looked like after a C-section, and really showed the joy behind having had a baby, and having a body that was able to do that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Iris\u2019s\u00a0research showed that comparison to perfect online images could really damage the self-efficacy, self-compassion and confidence of\u00a0postpartum\u00a0mothers just returning to exercise\u00a0(on top of other barriers\u00a0such as\u00a0the unequal distribution of domestic\u00a0labour, less free time,\u00a0and\u00a0high levels\u00a0of burnout).\u00a0And they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0need those extra obstacles:\u00a0at the exact time when people are most exhausted and vulnerable, physical activity is especially crucial to preventing mental health challenges.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the hardest times to figure out how to navigate moving your body. Rates of postpartum depression are very high, and they are continuing to go up,\u201d Iris says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know from systematic reviews that physical activity is\u00a0actually more\u00a0effective than medication in supporting postpartum depression.\u00a0The goal is not to achieve weight loss or imagery change, but to find some time to focus on yourself, to have the energy to engage with your\u00a0baby.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Iris collaborated with UFV\u2019s Community Health\u00a0and Social Innovation Hub (CHASI)\u00a0to\u00a0create\u00a0realistic, relatable\u00a0images and videos\u00a0with\u00a0volunteers\u00a0from the local community as models\u00a0to\u00a0demonstrate\u00a0exercises that fit the needs of\u00a0those\u00a0who\u2019ve\u00a0given birth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeff Mijo-Burch, CHASI\u2019s communications and design specialist, loved being a part of the project, taking many of the photos and videos himself.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>CHASI\u2019s knowledge mobilization team\u2019s focus is always on ensuring that research reaches the people it matters to most, in ways that resonate with them. The postpartum period is a time when families are digesting a lot of information and may be overwhelmed and pulled in a million directions, so we\u2019ve worked to mobilize the research in ways that meet them where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though postpartum is a fleeting period of life, Iris believes it\u2019s a pivotal moment for understanding yourself, your body, and how to prioritize your wellness \u2014 and those lessons have far-reaching impact for years to come.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a tipping point in\u00a0women\u2019s\u00a0health,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0explains.\u00a0\u201cSo,\u00a0the more you can support at that point in time,\u00a0the\u00a0more of an\u00a0influence you can have all the way downstream,\u00a0in terms of what\u00a0it\u00a0means\u00a0to be a mom and to still take care\u00a0of your health.\u00a0Part of equity in\u00a0healthcare is having an opportunity for everyone to be able to move their bodies.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watch the CBC News video here This post was originally published here. Dr. Iris Lesser was surprised to find a dearth of resources and information about postpartum physical activity when her first child was born. Nine years later, Iris, an associate professor of kinesiology at UFV, is meeting that need with inclusive, accessible exercise content … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":1313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[77,6,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-kinesiology","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1342,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311\/revisions\/1342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}