Thanks for dropping by and reading this post. As you may or may not know, I’ve just had a bouncing baby girl! While we were in the hospital, we picked up a leaflet by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’s Health (ACPWH). It had some rather interesting information on exercise after childbirth.

The abdominal hollowing exercise or ‘core exercise’ as it’s sometimes known targets the transverse abdominus muscle. The transverse abdominus is a muscle found deep in the abdomen that holds in the abdominal contents and supports your core. You should start doing this exercise in the most comfortable position for you. Try lying on your back or side with your knees bent or sitting with your back well supported.

Place one or both of your hands on your abdomen below the level of your belly button. Breathe in through your nose, and as you breathe out, draw in your lower abdomen gently away from your hands towards your back and then relax. You should be able to breathe and talk at the same time and your lower back should stay still. Do the exercise three times if you can.

Once you have mastered this exercise you should be able to practise it by standing up. To progress this further, repeat as above but keep your muscles drawn in for three seconds. You may feel the muscles working under your hand and you gradually be able to hold them for longer. Do this three times a day or as often as you can.

After you’ve read this page, you may want to read our articles on Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises and Essential Exercises After Childbirth.

Thanks for reading,

Sorry I haven’t blogged for a while but I’ve been away having a baby! Well, my wife actually had the baby but I was there holding her hand. I’m now the proud Daddy of little baby Emma! I’m so happy right now and being a parent of both Adam and Emma is one of the most magical things I’ve ever been blessed with.

While I was in the hospital, I picked up a leaflet by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women’s Health (ACPWH). It had some rather interesting information on exercise after childbirth.

The following information applies to all new mothers no matter how you gave birth. They includes safe and practical advice to aid your recovery. After you’ve given birth, the natural thing to do is to give your baby lots of attention. This is great but it’s also important to take a little time for yourself. You can’t expect to return to full pre-pregnancy fitness immediately but there are things you can do now to help get yourself back into shape. Regaining your fitness, will give you more energy and possibly avoid problems later.

Posture

Regaining good posture after you have had a baby is important, this will help the way you look and feel. Standing, sitting, lying or being active with good posture may help to avoid future aches and pains.

Before reading on, I suggest you have a quick look at my article on Pelvic Floor Muscles Exercises. Also read my article on The Abdominal Hollowing Exercise before performing any of the exercises below.

Exercising your abdominal muscles

The abdominal muscles form a natural corset supporting your back and internal organs. During your pregnancy, these have been stretched and become weakened. Exercises will help you regain your body shape and prevent or relieve back pain. The deeper abdominal muscles may work at the same time as the pelvic floor muscles.

You should start all exercises by lying with your head on a pillow, knees bent and feet shoulder width apart and arms by your side. My wife (Mutha Fitness) will now take you through 4 simple exercises, which are also useful in helping to relieve wind and nausea following a caesarean delivery.

1. Pelvic Tilt
2. Knee Bends
3. Knee Rolling
4. Head Lift

All the best,