Core Strength: Essential for Pregnant & Postpartum Moms

Sep 25

If you know me, you've seen my passion for core strength. Let's talk about why it's crucial for all women, particularly if you're pregnant or postpartum, to keep a strong core and pelvic floor!

Physical Support: A strong core provides support for your growing body during pregnancy. It helps alleviate back pain, improve posture, and stabilize the pelvis, which is particularly beneficial as your body changes during pregnancy (belly grows shifting center of gravity with pelvic tilts & hormone changes causing ligaments to relax & posture to shift).
Easier Labor and Delivery: If you are able to start your pregnancy off stronger or gain strength along the way, you have the opportunity to set yourself up for a potentially smoother delivery and easier recovery. Learning how to relax your pelvic floor can help you deliver with little to no tearing (as you want to work with your body to lengthen and relax your pelvic floor and allow baby to move down/out, instead of tightening and adding more resistance for baby coming out).
Postpartum Recovery: For those in the postpartum period, a strong core and pelvic floor are crucial for proper recovery. These muscles support your spine & pelvis, help with continence (peeing & pooping) & aid in proper abdominal pressure to decrease worsening of ab separation (diastases). Without properly healing and strengthening your pelvic floor & core, you run a higher risk of having pelvic floor dysfunctions either now or during/after subsequent pregnancies.
Overall Well-being: Strengthening your core is not about getting that 6-pack or having a toned stomach; it enhances functional movement, making everyday mom tasks easier (lifting growing kids, carrying groceries & laundry, running/playing with kids, etc), AND increasing energy.
Mental Health: Physical activity, including core and pelvic floor workouts, releases endorphins, significantly improving mood, reducing stress, and building confidence— important for both prenatal and postpartum women!

Where to start:

It’s important to start into core & pelvic floor strengthening slowly & mindfully, especially during pregnancy and postpartum. Core exercises are okay to do during pregnancy, but knowing proper core engagement is key to having success and seeing results.

It’s so easy during postpartum to jump back into the workouts and exercises we were doing before and during pregnancy, but what we doing realize is jumping in too quickly can actually lengthen the healing process and cause pelvic dysfunctions to arise/progress over time.