Postpartum recovery then and now // How to prevent diastis recti during pregnancy

Can we talk about postpartum recovery today? Is it something you’ve thought about?

When I was pregnant with my first baby I remember spending a lot of time worrying about how much weight I would gain and how I would ‘get my body back.‘

At the time I was 26, had battled eating disorders for years and basically only thought of my body in terms of what it looked like. I was so worried about putting on weight and never being the same again.
Ironically, I ended up losing the weight really quicklyafter having my baby because I was basically living on peanut butter sandwiches and not much else. (I.E I wasn’t really coping and didn’t do a very good job of looking after myself). 
I may have ‘got my body back’in terms of appearance but I had no strength or fitness. My back ached because my core was so weak and I unsurprisingly my energy was not great.
At about 17 months postpartum I finally got the wake up call I needed to start looking after myself better, which for me meant getting back into my yoga in a big way, eating better and prioritising sleep.
So by the time I had my 2nd and 3rd baby I was in such a better headspace and approached recovery in a totally different way.

Then
– constantly worried about weight
– wondered why my back ached all the time
– resigned myself to the fact that a weak pelvic floor after a baby is just ‘something I had to live with’.
– jumped straight back into working out without re-building strength first

Now 
– focused on looking after my core and pelvic floor DURING pregnancy
– got back into fitness slowly by building strength in core and pelvic floor
– know that a weak pelvic floor is NOT something I have to put up with
– focus on FEELING good and ‘looking good’is just a happy side-effect

I can’t even tell you how much easier recovery has been with the latter approach.  Worlds apart. 

This is why I’m always hammering on about taking recovery slow and looking after yourself really well during pregnancy.

I’ve created a video for you to help you know how to protect your core during pregnancy.  I go through what to do and not to do to make sure you don’t strain the abdominal muscles too much which can make recovery a whole lot harder.

Diastis Recti or abdominal separation is a completely normal thing to happen during pregnancy. The abdominal muscles need to separate to accomodate your growing baby.

Intense exercise and straining the core muscles can however create more separation and make it harder to bring these muscles back postpartum.

As always, if you have any questions about this or anything else yoga/ pregnancy/ etc. Feel free to ask in the comments.

Want to know how to practice yoga safely throughout all three trimesters? Download my free Pregnancy Yoga Kickstart Guide here.