Your core muscles go through a lot during pregnancy and cesarean birth. Here, a women’s health physical therapist walks you through the best exercises to strengthen your core post c-section.
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Over 30 percent of births are via cesarean section in the United States. After the initial healing period, many moms may want to know how to safely return to exercise and regain their core strength. Your core muscles undergo significant changes during pregnancy, as the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles lengthen to accommodate your growing baby, and following a cesarean birth, which involves making an incision through several layers of skin and fascia in the abdominal wall. Good news, though: The abdominal muscles are not typically “cut” during ac-section and are instead gently separated in the midline to access the uterus. So with a gradual return to exercise and some focused core work, you can absolutely regain core strength and function. Read on for the best core and ab exercises to do after a c-section.
Postpartum Fitness: Abs Exercises For New Moms After C Section
The first step is to allow time for your body to heal. The first few weeks after a cesarean birth should be focused on rest, healing, hydration and feeding and bonding with your new baby.
Within the first day after surgery, pelvic health physical therapists like myself encourage moms to start getting out of bed to walk every day. This helps encourage upright standing and promotes healing and blood flow to your recovering core and pelvic floor. When getting in and out of bed, make sure to roll over onto your side and use your arms to help you push up or lower down, to protect your healing abdominals. You can continue shorts walks daily and gradually increase the length of walks as you feel able, scaling back if pain or bleeding increase.
You may have heard that women are cleared to exercise at their six-week postpartum check up, but this isn’t always the case. If you do receive the “all clear, ” it means that there is no sign of a condition or issue requiring medical intervention by the physician. It does
Pelvic Floor And Core Workouts For After A C Section
Mean that your tissues are done healing or that they are ready for high impact. If you’re experiencing urinary leakage, pain, pelvic pressure or heaviness, or abdominal doming or coning, you should check in with a pelvic floor physical therapist. They can assess your pelvic floor and abdominal wall, help with pain, prolapse or leakage and guide you on an individualized plan for returning to exercise.
After six to eight weeks postpartum, it’s generally safe to return to low-intensity activities like walking and some gentle core and pelvic floor strengthening exercises.
The focus should be on rebuilding your core and pelvic floor muscles during the first 12 weeks after birth before returning to higher impact activity such as running, weightlifting or high-intensity interval training. Higher-intensity activities put a greater demand on the muscles of the pelvic floor and abdomen. These activities are typically not appropriate until at least three months postpartum and in many cases up to six months postpartum.
Your Guide To Exercise After A C Section
The initial and most important piece of exercise after c-section is to start retraining and restrengthening your core. These activities will bring good blood flow to the pelvic region and start working those pelvic floor and abdominal muscles again without adding unwanted strain.
We often think of the “core” as just your abdominal wall, but it’s really a group of muscles that include your abdominal, pelvic floor and low back muscles as well as your respiratory diaphragm to give you core support from all sides. Starting with the following core exercises will help rebuild your foundation and strength after 10 months of pregnancy and childbirth and get you back to feeling strong.
Diaphragmatic breathing is the first exercise to start reconnecting with your core after c-section. What does breathing have to do with your core? Answer: everything! Holding your breath may keep your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles tight and tense and prevent an optimal pelvic floor muscle contraction. Also, diaphragmatic breathing helps expand tight tissues around your c-section scar to minimize scar restriction.
Can You Ever Get Rid Of C Section Pouch?
Although this can be performed in any position, including lying down, sitting (while feeding your baby is a convenient time!) or standing, I encourage moms to start lying down.
The transverse abdominals are the deepest layer of your abdominal wall. A great way to engage these muscles after a cesarean birth is to think about doing a pelvic floor muscle contraction, also known as a Kegel, as these muscles work in synergy with the pelvic floor.
You may think, “I had a c-section, do I really need to do Kegels to strengthen my pelvic floor?” The answer: maybe! Your pelvic floor muscles become lengthened during pregnancy, and many moms may do some pushing during labor if a cesarean isn’t planned.
What Exercise Is Safe To Do After A C Section?
Contracting your inner thigh muscle can help activate your pelvic floor and transverse abdominals. This ball squeeze exercise is a simple and effective way to start activating your core and can be performed lying down on your back or in sitting position with your feet on the floor.
During pregnancy your gluteal muscles can flatten and turn off due to postural changes. Learning to activate these muscles and contract with your deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles helps stabilize your core and start getting your hip and pelvic stability back.
The previous exercises have all been performed lying down, but learning to activate and strengthen your muscles in different positions against gravity is essential. We use our core muscles to get out of a chair, get off the floor and bend over to lift baby. You want to train your core muscles in the positions you will use them throughout the day. This exercise is a progression of the bridge exercise above and a great way to challenge your core against gravity.
Post C Section Fitness (gentle Movement Workout)
Start out by doing one set of 10 repetitions of each exercise each day. Progress to perform two to three sets of 10 repetitions each per day and increase the hold time of each exercise to five seconds. Discontinue if pain or discomfort occur and check in with a pelvic floor physical therapist. You can also add in yoga, upper and lower body strengthening, walking, cycling or the elliptical starting at eight weeks postpartum.
If you notice any of the symptoms below, seek the help of a pelvic floor physical therapist and don’t exercise without the approval of your doctor. Signs of pelvic floor dysfunction include:
Sara Reardon, PT, DPT, WCS, holds a doctorate in physical therapy from Washington University in St. Louis and is a board-certified women’s health physical therapist. She specializes in the treatment of pelvic floor disorders, including pelvic pain, bowel and bladder dysfunction, painful sex and pregnancy and postpartum recovery. Reardon is the owner of NOLA Pelvic Health, a pelvic health physical therapy clinic in New Orleans, and founder of The Vagina Whisperer, an online resource for pelvic health education to support, empower and educate women worldwide. She is also a 2019 TedX Presenter on Rethinking Postpartum Care. Reardon is a mom to two boys, a wife, Saints fan and wanna-be yogi. You can find her on Instagram at @the.vagina.whisperer.
Working Out C Section Moms
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.I wanted to stay fit throughout my pregnancy not only for myself, but because I owed it to my growing baby. So, I worked out for 5 days a week for an hour with 30 minutes of focus being on cardio and the other 30 minutes being on lifting weights. By keeping up this routine, my muscles stayed intact and as soon as I delivered, muscle memory took over and my body remembered exactly how it used to look like. Amazing how our bodies work, right?
Most of you already know that I used my own prenatal workout program to stay fit throughout my pregnancy which you can view here. However, I want to share with you a few important things that helped me along the way to getting my body back.
I have had so many ladies ask me about Diastasis Recti. While I personally did not experience this, I have worked with many clients who have.
How To Reduce Tummy Fat After C Section Delivery?
First of, what is it like to have DA? Think of your ab muscles being held together by a zipper. When you have Diastasis Recti the zipper splits in the middle and the two sides are separated.
Lie on your back and lift the knees over the hips. It’s very important to make sure the knees do not come any close to the chest. Use those hip flexors to stabilize! Place your hands on your tummy or at your sides, wherever it’s comfortable
Drop on foot down to the floor and tap your toes. Immediately lift
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