If you’ve just had a baby, or even if it’s been many years, you may notice that things in your core/pelvic floor aren’t quite what they used to be. You may look to postpartum ab exercises to “fix” things. However, here are 5 things my doctor didn’t tell me about “getting my abs back” that I wish I had known.
I’ve shared a bit in the past about the births of both of my kids—born at home with midwives. I’d say my birth experiences have been empowering, confidence building, intimate, and life-changing without fear, stress, or anxiety. I’m so thankful for that.
However, life with a new baby is such a curve ball. There’s so much to figure out all at once–breastfeeding, sleep schedules, etc. Who has time to figure out what the heck is going on in their own body?
I think there is a really big gap between the information out there for postpartum moms and their bodies and moms actually getting ahold of that information and knowing what to do/how to help themselves. The OB gives you a good check over at 6 weeks, declares you “all clear,” and you’re good to go, right? Wrong. Your body went through quite a bit of changes over the last nine months. It doesn’t all go away the second the baby is born. Kind of crazy, seeing as we’ve only been having babies since the beginning of time! Why does no one seem to know how to get everything back to normal?
Here’s what I wish more mamas knew to get back to feeling like themselves again.
1. Your whole insides got moved around while you are pregnant.
Seriously. All your internal organs got pushed around and moved out of the way to make way for baby. It’s amazing! Sometimes I see moms who are really unhappy with how their stomach looks months after their baby is born (like the dreaded “when are you due” question months later). I just want to tell them, “That’s not fat! Those are your organs sticking out!” (Okay, kind of not really because you do have your abdominal muscles in front of those organs, but they are, likely, not quite back where they go, and are, therefore, pushing those muscles too far forward.)
2. You cannot just do a bunch of ab exercises to “get your abs back” after baby.
Maybe, just maybe the world is slowly figuring out how terrible crunches are for many reasons, but I see lots of women trying to do all sorts of planks or other favorite/prized ab exercises trying to “get their abs back” after baby. That can actually make the problem worse! You’ve got to focus on exercises that draw the pelvic floor up and the abdominals in while you work. (Lots of core exercises do the opposite.) Additionally, you absolutely need to strengthen your posterior chain (low back, glutes, hamstrings), so that the entire pelvic floor lifts up. (Think of your pelvic floor like a hammock. You pull up one side with your abdominals and the other side with your posterior chain.)
3. Pelvic floor symptoms like urinary incontinence, painful sex, and back pain are common. They are NOT NORMAL.
SO many women think they just have to live with these symptoms! Not true! These are indicators that your pelvic floor is not (yet) fully functional. They’re ways your body is telling you to pause what you’re doing and make some adjustments and changes. Listen to these symptoms. Don’t be embarrassed! Use them to tell you how you’re doing and what sort of engagement needs to be happening.
4. Just because you don’t have a diastasis recti does NOT mean that you don’t need to reengage your core and pelvic floor postpartum.
I really believed this one! 6 months after I had my first baby, I went to play in a soccer game, and I peed my pants big time. Like, zero control. What?! I had been working out for months postpartum by this point. My abs were the best I’d ever had in my life. I thought I was fine and totally good to go. However, it was quite a lot of sprinting and agility exercises (unlike the exercise I generally do), and it challenged me in new ways, and I clearly wasn’t ready for it! I had no idea!
5. There is a really good, affordable, and easy at-home solution for you!
This is why I love MuTu System so much! I didn’t try it for probably about a year after my first baby, but I started it about two weeks postpartum with baby number two. It was a simple, affordable solution to strengthening my pelvic floor and core. It’s the kind of thing that feels like you’re not doing anything, and then the next day you are wondering why you feel sore! Plus, it only takes about 12 minutes per day which is great because we still actually have to be moms!
I am SO glad I took the time to work on strengthening my pelvic floor and core postpartum. My body feels like me again, and it works the way I want it to.
Not sure if MuTu is right for you? Try it out for free.
Have you tried MuTu System? I’d love to hear your success story!
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