Abdominal Exercises After a C-Section

For nine months, the skin and muscles of your abdomen have stretched to accommodate your baby. Now you've had your C-section, your baby is here, you have received the OK from your physician and you are ready to reclaim your figure. What is the best and safest way to go about getting your pre-pregnancy belly back?

Before You Begin

• Because your abdominal muscles stretched so much during pregnancy, a separation known as diastasis recti might have occurred. If you can see a bulging line down the center of your stomach when you lie down and tense your abdominal muscles, you have this condition. Don't be alarmed; diastasis recti is very common. However, this gap can take four to six weeks to heal. To avoid injuring your abdominal muscles, it is important to wait for the healing to finish.

Getting Started

• Once your diastasis recti has healed, begin with some gentle, simple abdominal exercises.

  Lie on your back with legs bent. Slowly exhale and draw your abdominal muscles in. Keep your back flat and imagine that you are pulling your abs down to touch your spine. Then slowly relax and release your abdominals as you inhale a long slow breath.

  As you work your abdomen, do not forget to strengthen your back as well. A strong core is essential for all physical activity and will help to prevent injury.

  To tone up your back muscles, do some extended toe touches. From a standing position, raise your arms over your head and breathe in deeply. Slowly exhale and simultaneously bend forward, reaching down to touch your toes.

Strengthen and Tone

• As you get stronger, you can add more toning techniques. Two toning and strengthening exercises are the pelvic tilt and crunches as described here:

  Pelvic tilt--Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Lift your pelvis off the ground and pull in your lower abdominal muscles. Again, imagine you are pulling your abs down to touch your spine. As your abs engage, hold this position for a count of 10.

  Crunches--Lying on the ground with your feet on the floor, cross your arms and rest your hands on your shoulders. Lift your head and torso off the ground, keeping your shoulders and neck relaxed. Slowly raise yourself to a 45-degree angle as you exhale. You will feel your abs engage. Then, as you inhale, slowly lower yourself down.

  Side crunches--Lying on the ground with your feet on the floor, cross your arms and rest your hands on your shoulder. Lift your head and torso off the ground, keeping your shoulders and neck relaxed. Slowly raise yourself to a 45-degree angle as you exhale, and twist to the side so that your shoulder is in position to touch the opposite knee. Exhale and slowly twist back to the middle as you lower your torso. Repeat on the other side.