Regular exercise during a healthy pregnancy can help you maintain your pre-pregnancy level of fitness, boost your energy levels, fight fatigue, reduce your risk of gestational diabetes and alleviate normal pregnancy-related discomforts, such as lower back pain. Certain types of exercise are unsafe in any trimester, but some types of training — including abdominal training — are recommended during pregnancy as long as you follow specific modifications. Talk with your health-care provider about the best abdominal exercises for your pregnancy.
Benefits of a Strong Core
Your core encompasses your abdominal muscles as well as the muscles of your lower back and pelvic floor. Maintaining a strong core throughout your pregnancy helps you avoid or reduce lower back pain and keep good posture as your belly grows and your alignment shifts. You’ll use your abdominal muscles during childbirth, and while staying strong won’t guarantee an easy birth, you will be more prepared to handle the rigors of labor and delivery. Postpartum recovery is usually faster and less complicated for fit women than for those who didn’t exercise during pregnancy. Trained abdominal muscles return to their pre-pregnancy state more quickly than untrained muscles.
Abdominal Separation
Your outermost abdominal muscle, the rectus abdominis, attaches to the top of your ribs and extends down to your pubic bone. This muscle, which comprises two halves called recti, is situated beneath your skin and fat, and over your expanding uterus. Normally, the two recti are approximately 1/2 inch apart, joined by a band of connective tissue called the linea alba. This tissue softens during pregnancy to accommodate your growing belly, which can sometimes cause the two halves to separate, starting around your navel. Abdominal separation, or diastasis recti, can happen instantaneously, as during a coughing fit, or more gradually, through movement that places pressure on the abdomen.
Contraindicated Movements
The movement involved in a traditional situp or crunch, where you lift your upper body forward with your rectus abdominis muscle, puts pressure on the linea alba and can result in abdominal separation. You can perform crunches and situps in your first trimester, before you begin to show, but avoid both exercises in your second and third trimesters. You should also avoid making that movement during the course of everyday living. To get up from a supine position, roll to your side, placing your top hand on the surface beside you, and support yourself into an upright position with your arms.
Recommended Exercises
Sit on a stability ball with your feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Actively engage your abdominal muscles, drawing your navel toward your spine. On your hands and knees, perform the cat-cow stretch, contracting your abdominal muscles up and in as you round your back. Stand with your shoulders and hips against the wall to perform pelvic tilts, engaging your abs and tilting your pelvic bowl forward and up to press your lower back into the wall. To maximize your abdominal workout, strengthen your pelvic floor at the same time with Kegel exercises, contracting the muscles that you use to stop the flow of urine.
References
- “Healthy Moms Perinatal Fitness Instructor Training Manual”; Sheila Watkins; 2007
- “Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy”; Roger W. Harms, Editor in Chief; 2004
- StorkNet: Abdominal Exercise During Pregnancy
