How to properly rehabilitate your core after pregnancy (Hint: lay off the crunches)
It’s no secret that carrying and birthing a baby does a number on your body, especially your mid-section (core). While it may be tempting to stick with or jump back too quickly into your prepregnancy core training routine (or worse…start a new, ambitious one), the best (and safest) way to rehabilitate your core post-pregnancy is to take it slowly, and to work from the inside out. This means focusing on reconnecting and re-training the deepest stabilizing muscles of the trunk that support the spine and pelvis, specifically the pelvic floor and the lower (transverse) abdominals. Once those muscles are reawakened, it is safe to move on to your traditional abdominal “crunch” exercises (lifting the head neck and shoulders off the mat) and/or twisting the torso. More on that later.
It’s kind of an embarrassing topic (but you need to get over it)
It’s beyond important that all new moms and moms-to-be understand the pelvic floor function and what happens to it during pregnancy. So read on.
The muscles of the pelvic floor connect the tailbone and the pubic bone from front-to-back of pelvis, and the “sit bones” to each other from side-to-side, forming a hammock-like structure at the base of the pelvic bowl. This hammock provides support to the bladder, uterus, and bowels against gravity. I think we can all agree that’s pretty important.
During pregnancy, the ligaments of your pelvis soften to prepare the body for delivery (through the release of the pregnancy-induced hormone relaxin), which places excessive downward pressure against the pelvic floor. Result: a weak and over-stretched pelvic floor. Why you care: a weak pelvic floor leads to distended belly (“mummy tummy”), lower back pain, incontinence (leaky gas or urine), or (in severe cases) prolapse, which is a slipping forward or down of a bodily organ such as the uterus or bladder. No bueno.
A strong pelvic floor, on the other hand, has many benefits including stronger muscles to push your baby out, greater pleasure in sexual intercourse and better circulation which helps in recovering from childbirth.
Bottom line: the pelvic floor is the foundation of our core and should not be overlooked, especially in the pre and post-natal periods.
Do your Kegels (you knew it was coming)
Kegels are the best way to train your pelvic floor muscles. You can do Kegels discreetly just about any time. Try to integrate them into daily tasks like brushing teeth, waiting for the train, washing dishes, etc.
The most tangible analogy for most people is to imagine you are constricting urine. Those are your pelvic floor muscles working. More specifically, that movement is a contraction of the pelvic floor. It is also very important to focus on releasing these muscles. Just like with any muscle group, we want strong but also flexible pelvic floor muscles. This is particularly true in childbirth, since it is the pelvic floor that has to stretch and open so that your baby can exit.
Aim to do 3 sets of Kegels, 5 times per week, during and after pregnancy. One set equals 10 “quick flicks” (contract/release), followed by one 3-10 second hold, ending with a release lasting 3-10 seconds. Aim for longer holds and release periods with practice, working your way up to 10 seconds over time.
Kegels can be done standing, lying on your side or on your back. Breathe naturally and continuously. Kegels are beneficial and safe during pre and post-natal training, provided there is that balance between contract and release. The last point worth making is that the pelvic floor muscles are very small relative to surrounding muscles, so they are hard to access without also tapping into the big muscles such as the glutes and inner thighs. It will take you a few days of practicing to learn to inhibit these stronger muscle groups.
This point is so important we need to reiterate it
Why work the deep core muscles (which include the pelvic floor and the lower/transverse abdominals) instead of doing crunches? The crunch or “curl” (or spinal flexion in anatomical terms), should be avoid during 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy and during the early post-natal period. The crunch motion works the superficial rectus abdominal muscles, and can cause or worsen an abdominal separation (diastasis) if the deeper muscles of the core aren’t properly engaged. Read more about diastasis by clicking here.
Check your NYC Superwoman cape at the door
Bottom line? Core training during this time of your life, should be taken down a few notches. Just for a few weeks. (It’ll be OK, we promise. You just created a person, and you’re still a rock star.) Give it at least 5 post-natal sessions of core training focused solely on stability exercises, and then you can get back to that Pilates criss-cross.
Kristine Storie is the owner of Xtend Barre, a boutique fitness studio specializing in group barre and Pilates classes in Brooklyn Heights. After a 15 year career in Finance, she opened up Xtend Barre in her hometown of Brooklyn 2 years ago. Kristine has been teaching Pilates since 2009 and she and her staff love to work with pre and post-natal clients throughout and after pregnancy. We have the amazing Pilates instructor Carrie Campbell of Positively Pilates to thank for teaching us how to work safely and effectively with this population.