Pregnancy is such a beautiful time in a woman’s life both emotionally and physically. The radiant glow that your skin puts off, the perky breasts that look like you’ve paid a fortune for, and the ever-expanding belly that your sweet baby is growing in. It is such a miracle how the female body transforms to grow another human being in such a short period of time.
Of course the joy and beauty of motherhood only gets better after delivery when you’re holding your precious baby in your arms. The glow of the skin is somewhat dulled by fatigue but the smiles continue to light up the face of new mommas. The breasts of course do their alterations to now serve a purpose of nutrition for the little bundles of joy. And that ever-expanding belly is… well, although it’s not still growing… it’s still there for no good reason. So what’s with the baby bump that doesn’t ever seem to go away?
During pregnancy the abdominal muscles become stretched and weakened. As the baby grows and takes up all the room in the abdomen the muscles have no other choice but to separate. The separation then weakens the muscles and interferes with how efficiently they perform, leading to that flabby “pooch” that all women hate. The weakening of abdominal muscles may also lead to low back pain and pelvic pain, incontinence and even constipation.
There are some simple and safe exercises for all you brand new mommas out there that can be started as soon as you have delivered. Below is a page from the Information on Postpartum Health from the Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Download: Postpartum AbRoutine
Download: SOWH Postpartum Handout
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