Your Tummy Muscles After Birth - What You Need To Know

It might feel like a big question – what on earth has happened to your stomach?

Your body is absolutely amazing during pregnancy. There are so many visible and invisible changes happening as your baby grows. Some are more obvious – the bump is usually pretty apparent – but others you can’t see. Your heart works harder, your blood volume increases and there is a big rearrangement of everything inside your abdomen.

In order to accommodate your growing baby your abdominal muscles need to undergo some pretty significant changes. We need to think a little bit about anatomy. The abdominal muscles run vertically down the front of your stomach; the muscles that give the six pack look. They are separated into the left and right side muscles by the linea alba, tissue running down the centre. During pregnancy this linea alba stretches and thins, pulling apart.

This is normal and necessary as your body grows and changes. This tissue is quite elastic and so can return back once baby is born (the literal ‘snap back’) although of course it isn’t instantaneous and can take weeks or months to settle back. Sometimes that stretch is a bit too much for your body and the elasticity is a bit lost and it doesn’t return back, leaving you with stretched out tissue and muscles that are separated more than they should be.

You might be aware that there is significant separation during the last trimester of your pregnancy, usually noticed by doming of the muscles, or it might be after the birth that you notice some weakness in the muscles as you recover and start to get back to your normal day to day movements and activities. The separation isn’t usually painful, it is more the weakness you notice.

Common signs you might notice;

• A visible bulge above or below your belly button

• Softness or jelly like feeling in the central line of your abdomen

• Coning or doming of the muscles as you lean back in a chair

• Difficulty lifting normal every day objects

• Low back pain

• Poor posture

There are a few things that might increase your risk of diastasis recti, although of course anyone can be affected.

• Pregnancies being close together

• Petite build

• Poor posture

• Poor abdominal muscle tone

• Separation in a previous pregnancy

• Obesity/being overweight

• Twin pregnancy/larger babies

• Genetics

You might now be wondering how you would know if you need to be worried or not. For many women, muscles and tissue recover with time and there is no need to be concerned. For others, where there is a more significant separation, you might need to do some more focused work to help bring back your strength and tone. You can assess the separation easily yourself so you know what you are dealing with.

1. Lie down on your back with your knees bent.

2. With your palm towards your face put your fingers on your tummy close to your belly button and push down.

3. Gently lift your head and shoulders off the floor. Support your head with your other hand if you need to.

4. Feel how many fingers fit into the gap you feel as your muscles engage. If you feel no muscles you might need to push down a little further, sometimes there is a little more padding after birth. The muscles will be there!  

5. Repeat with your fingers in different place from pubic bone to ribs.  

Fitting 2-3 fingers in a gap is normal in the early weeks. If you can easily fit 3 or more fingers you would be advised to speak to a women’s health physio or your GP as you might need more personalised plans to help you recover.

If you want to start doing some simple things at home to help your recovery you can start with very easy breathing exercises. This is not the time for any kind of crunches, even if you can do them!

1. In whatever position feels comfortable, breathe in for a count of 4 pulling your tummy muscles closed and back towards your spine.

2. For a count of 8 hold the muscles there

3. Gently release the muscles

4. Repeat. If you can’t hold for 8, try 6 and build up.

5. Try to do 8, two or three times a day.

If you want to you can also incorporate pelvic floor exercises as well. Try and get used to both movements – tummy muscles and pelvic floor – separately and then try them together.

For your pelvic floor

1. For a count of 4 squeeze and lift from back to front (from trying not to pass wind and forwards to trying not to pee).

2. Hold for the count of 8, build up if you need to

3. Gently release. Make sure you don’t keep holding, the release is important too

This isn’t necessarily about a big visual improvement, the wobbly tummy takes time too and part of that is extra skin and fat. It is more about ensuring the muscles underneath are stronger. This really matters to protect your back and keep you able to do your day to day lifting and bending comfortably.

And however you find yourself feeling after birth, be gentle on yourself. Your body has done an amazing thing in growing and birthing a baby. It took months for your body to change and it might take months for it to return to something like normal. It also might be a little changed forever now. A reminder of how amazing you are!

Beth x