Post Baby Body - update

Whilst the media may show us pictures of celebs with bodies that seem to ping back into shape after giving birth, the reality is that returning your body to pre-pregnancy state is a bit of a challenge, although not insurmountable - some manage fine but others will carry the remains of a post pregnancy body many years after the "baby" has left home...

Today we will look at some of the changes that occur when we have a baby and how best to address these after the birth. As a mother of 4 I can also speak from experience here!

The body is designed to have a baby. The female pelvis is a different shape to allow us to hold the weight of the growing baby safely inside the body. Our stomach muscles are shaped and adapted to stretch to accommodate a growing belly and to come back together after having a baby. 

In a previous post I discussed the stomach muscles and we are first going to look at the Rectus Abdominals (see pic) that "splits" to allow the belly to grow. On the picture you will see the "Linea Alba" which splits, the Rectus Abdominis are the muscles either side (the "six pack") – sometimes this does not go back together and women can be left with a gap in the centre of the body which then makes it difficult to get a completely flat stomach. To test if this has happened to you, lie on your back with your knees bent. Place your fingers together, and pointing downwards onto your belly button (imagine you are going push your hand through your body) then slowly lift your head and shoulders off the floor as if you were going to do a sit up.  If there is a gap – you will feel it (!). Notice how big the gap is and how much tension there is around the edge of the muscle that will be pinching your fingers.  If you have a gap it is important that you train your lower abdominals first and avoid doing any sit-ups as this can prolong the return of the stomach muscles coming back together. Please remember that this split in the muscle is normal and it will improve over time. Factors such as genetics, how fit you were in pregnancy, how much weight you put on etc will all have an effect on this.

The other thing that happens during pregnancy is the effect hormonal effect on the ligaments. We are grateful of course for "relaxin" to easy the passage of our baby through the pelvic canal, but unfortunately, the hormone will also loosen other joints and you may experience pain in the lower back, of front of pelvis, spreading feet or even wobbly elbows. It takes about 6 months for the effects of relaxin to wear off, but there can still be an after effect where joints are more lax for a long period of time after having a baby. It is therefore important that we strengthen the muscles around the joint (usually back and pelvis) to stabilise the core and ease discomfort.

Despite the effects of these and other issues, it is possible to get that Jelly Belly back in place – you may not have the washboard stomach of your teenage years, but the gentle rounding is a badge of honour worth having. Here are some exercises you can do after having a baby.

Early Weeks – although you will probably feel way too tired to think of doing any exercise it is well worth working the pelvic floor. The Pelvic Floor muscles work with the deeper abdominals – so when one contracts, so does the other – when we sneeze, cough or laugh and the belly contracts, the pelvic floor also contracts to prevent any leakage – and you will be able to tell the condition of the pelvic muscles if this is not working effectively. Crossing your legs helps...  To work the pelvic floor, you need to lift upwards and inwards – think like sucking on a straw. In fact, sucking your mouth at the same time really helps.  You should be able to hold the contraction for about 5 seconds – anything less than that means you need to repeat these as often as you can. If the pelvic floor muscles are weak, then you will be mentally thinking and wanting to do or hold the contraction but won’t get any sensation or the sensation is difficult to maintain for the whole 5 seconds. You can start these at about day 3 if you have the energy! If you are really finding it difficult to work your floor one easy way is to clench your bum! The pelvic floor muscles run alongside your bum and a bit of a butt clench can help start the process of rebuilding. Please note that a C-Section will be different.

Weeks 6-12 – at this point, we hope that you have had your check up and all the internal organs that were pushed about are now back in their proper place. You can now treat your body as that of a beginner to exercise, although be aware that the ligaments are still in a fairly relaxed state so be sensible.  I would recommend the exercises that I have listed on the back care section – and these are safe enough to do at about 1 month after having a baby, esp. if you had an active pregnancy.  Now we need to concentrate on getting the deeper muscles to function, so in addition to the Back Care Exercises, think about adding in cardio work to get rid of any excess fat stores that happen during pregnancy. Walking is great for this but needs to be at a sufficient pace to get you slightly breathless and a bit hot. Running is an option here if you were a runner beforehand – but good fitting and sturdy trainers are a must, as well as a good bra and a supportive sports top.  Pilates is often suggested to help regain strength and I do think that this is a great option for many – however, be aware that you need your pelvic floor to be working correctly (see above) before you go as trying to hold positions such as the plank is not only difficult (the core does not fire properly) but can make it worse by causing a downward force onto the muscle. If you are patient, one way around this is to modify the plank in the following way. Go onto your elbow and knees – make sure your knees are wider than your hips and toes tucked under. Lift hips off the floor for 6 seconds only and lower gently. Repeat this. This will mean a repeated short held plank rather than a continuous one. The better choice would be the swimming exercise where you hold your abs away from your t-shirt. Details of these are in the Basic Core section

Weeks 12+ - you are now hopefully on the way to full recovery of fitness, or may just be at the starting point.  Keep in mind that the muscle is alive and responsive, so any kind of abdominal contraction and core stability work is good even if you can make it to class. If you do go to a class and there are sit ups included then you will need to do these with one hand on the middle of your belly. Keep a downward pressure from the belly button to the spine and use your hand to keep in place and not to bulge out. Have a look at the Functional Exercise section.

C-Section – a 12-week recovery is recommended to enable the deep muscles to heal properly.  When you go back, start with the beginning of the recommendations as I have suggested above. I had a C-section and you can get your stomach back into shape with some careful but persistent exercising.  I also had a hysterectomy in my fifties and managed to go back to Pilates at 4 weeks post op (with the blessing of my surgeon) as my stomach was in good "condition " and trained beforehand. Basically you need a bit of common sense.

 I do believe that exercise really helps to improve muscular tone and any movement to increase blood flow through the area will help with healing. So totally avoidance and then going into class might not be the best idea. So start with simply trying to hold your belly in (as if doing up tight trousers) or squeeze and lift the pelvic floor. Or going onto hands and knees and lifting your belly up and away from the floor. Or lying on your side and try to hold your belly towards your back. Keep trying. Keep thinking about your muscles working as well to starts to encourage the nerve response to improve. 

I realise that I have only skimmed the surface here, so please feel free to post your questions and good luck with your recovery J x