Post Pregnancy Abs

Hi K.,

What you have is called a rectus diastasis and is very common after pregnancy. The best way to get rid of it is to do lots of crunches, while also making sure to "hold yourself together". You can do this using your hands, or wearing an abdominal binder, or just wrapping a towel tightly around your midsection while you are doing your ab work.

The other BIG thing to do is to AVOID DIAGONAL CRUNCHES or any other exercise that targets the obliques until your separation is back to normal (2-3 finger widths or less). If you work the obliques, you will actually be pulling the two halves of rectus abdominis farther apart, making the problem worse.

Good luck, and have fun with all those crunches!

-E.

Recently on mamasource, I saw a recommendation for a book called "Lose your Mummy Tummy" and I bought it. (eBay) You have to buy a cloth splint which is separate, and I am about to start using it. Seems like a logical way to approach to the specific needs of moms/exercise!

After the birth of my twins, I started having back problems which was not a good thing trying to carry around 2 infant seats and we all know how heavy those are. I was able to have all 4 of my kids natural, so I am not sure if it would be different with C-sect, but I finally went to the doctor for my back and was sent to physical therapy. My back problems ended up being that my abs were too weak to support my back and that was due to those muscles being split. They started me off almost doing a pelvic tilt lying on my back tightening my abs and holding. If you are doing it right, you can feel those muscles going together, and after I did those for a while then they introduced crunches, but you have to start in that tight position. Basically all of the exercises they had me do I had to do them from that position first. So, tighten, crunch, hold, release, tighten, crunch, hold, release. What you could do is ask your doctor for the pamphlet for back exercises, and all the exercises are explained with a picture in there. If I remember correctly, by doing it this way you are training those muscles to go back together. I would love to tell you it worked, but once I stopped having back problems I got lax on doing them, and since then have had another baby, so there went those muscles again. Luckily no back trouble though.

Between my second and third children I took pilates classes, I went once a week and the class was an hour and a half(I did cardio on the other days). My body was almost better than when I was younger!!!! Mind you I weighed more than I did when I was younger but I was a lot tighter.

You may never see your pre pregnancy body, but I am sure with time and exercise you can get yourself to where you are happy again!!!

I deliverd all three of my children via c-section and I have never been told that doing ab workouts would be harmful. My ob is very into fitness and I am sure he would have said something!!!!

Hope this gives you some help. My third is 15 mos and I am still a long way away from my pre pregnancy body!!! All I can do is continue to work out and eat right I know I will get there someday!!!!

A.

Hi K.,
I too have had all my kids (4) via c-section, the youngest is 9 mos. I got the book, "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" from the library and applied her techniques and they do work! I can fit back into my pre-preg size twos, comfortably; I believe her techniques have alot to do with it. Basically, you have to pull your abs in so that your belly button is pulled in as far as it can go, then with quick, small movements, contract and release those muscles, making sure you breathe-count aloud. They should be done sitting with your back against the back of a chair or standing with your back against a wall, to help keep focus on your abs. The author suggests doing like 500 of these a day( I never got that many done, but maybe 100 a day worked fine for me and I didn't use the splint).It also says these can be done while pregnant (I wish I'd have known that)! Get the book, try it (you will see results within the 1st 1-3 wks-seriously), it's cheaper than surgery and you may not even need surgery! Hope this helps

I have the same problem. I had a very flat stomach before my baby was born and afterwards it looks terrible. My doctor told me that my ab muscles split in order to make room for the baby. She told me that only surgery would correct it. She also told me that a lot of stomach exercises like crunches would make them split more and they would look even worse!!

I had the exact same thing w/ my third child.. She was born 10 lb 12 oz.,,and I had that separation while still pg. Mine healed on it's own and my tummy is flat after even the fourth came around.. Just worked on those pilates and that ball. the ball's FUN ... when else can an adult roll around on the floor with a big ball?

I haven't seen my abs since my first child..lol

Do pilates exercises. It will take a while but your belly will get flat and your abs should come back together. I don't see any need for surgery. I had my last child in Jan. 04 and I still haven't been able to lose all the weight or flab on my tummy but it is almost there. It takes time especially after c-sections and also the older you get the harder it is to take off. Just keep working on the tummy crunches and pilates and you should do just fine.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4. My last 2 were c-sections.

Though I'm not completely sure that it ever 'fixes' itself (especially after a Cesarean birth), separated abdominal muscles is pretty common. This is one reason why exercise restrictions are placed on pregnant women. The muscles sometimes have to separate vertically to make room for the growing uterus. In time, if not aggravated by excessive physical activity, in normal cases I believe the muscles return to normal. Crunches are one of the things to avoid doing as it can worsen the issue.

One thing I urge you to keep in mind is that it took you 40 weeks to get the body you have (or had when you had your baby), so it is going to take some time to go back to anything similar to your pre-pregnancy body. A year is a good time span to see how your body is going to end up after recovering from a birth. And, for some, their bodies never return to the way it was before becoming pregnant.

At any rate, keep being physically active (impossible not to with three kids though, huh?) and try avoiding strenuous exercises for your abdomen. Cesarean births take longer to heal from anyway.

God bless,
A.

Hi K.!

With my third baby, my abs did the same thing. The dr. told me it is seperated Rectus Abdominus. Anyways, the dr. told me crunches will actually make it worse. Don't know if that is true or not. I have a friend who is what I call a fitness guru. She recommended doing the following exercise (and mind you she said to start this for the length of one song and gradually try holding this position longer. I never made it to the length of one song. I'm badly out of shape and pregnant again.) So, you go on the floor in a position similar to a push up, but instead of on your hands, you bend your arms and your weight is on your forearms and toes. You keep your body tight and suck in your abs and hold this position for as long as possible. Because I didn't start this until just before I surprisingly got pregnant again, I have no idea how well it works. But, I was told also that surgery is the only way to correct this. The surgery is a nasty one. I know someone who did it, plus Kate from the Jon and Kate plus 8 series on TLC did this. She also had a tummy tuck, but the dr. corrected her seperated abs. Recovery is rough, but makes a huge difference. The other thing is most insurance companies consider it cosmetic and don't cover the costs. Funny thing is, if you don't have abdominal strength, you have back problems. I see it at necessary (in some cases). Anyways, good luck.

I'm sorry VBAC didn't work out for you. Actually, the separation doesn't have much to do with a c-section and is mostly because of pregnancy. I have had 2 natural births and my muscles are separated some (more after the second). I have a strong stomach and did yoga through both pregnancies. It's because the muscles can only stretch so much to accommodate the baby. Make sure that, as you do your crunches, you are holding your stomach in and tight. As long as it's no wider than 3 finger widths, it's fine and it should get better with exercise.
Good Luck! :)