MM Body changes
Anya Hayes
Exercises that may help
Ball: pelvic circles ‘You may assume,’ says Anya, ‘that you can immediately deflate your ‘birth ball’ after you’ve given birth. But I’d say now is when it comes into its own as a tool for your recovery. It’s a wonderful aid for soothing a cranky baby, and it naturally encourages you to lift into a stronger position as it’s very hard to slump on the ball. This exercise you can do while holding your newborn, or with your arms lengthened down either side of the ball. It increases flexibility in your spine and hips, while activating and balancing your pelvic floor.'
• Sit up tall on your ball
• Initiating the movement from your sit bones, draw circles in one direction. Then change direction.
• For variation you can draw figures of eight, which may require slightly more core control.
Watchpoints • Stay tall and balanced on your sit bones throughout.
• Keep your pelvis and shoulders balanced
The good news though is that, even if you are affected by diastasis recti, the problem tends to resolve itself in the six to eight weeks after you give birth
> ‘Around 30 per cent of women experience this abdominal separation in
the second trimester, with a further 66 per cent separating in the third trimester. Some research says that 100 per cent of women have some level of diastasis of the rectus abdominis by the third trimester. However, a 2014 study in the journal Physiotherapy suggested that exercise during pregnancy can reduce the extent of diastasis recti by 35 per cent – this might be because exercise helps to maintain tone, strength and control of the abdominal muscles, which reduces the stress placed on the linea alba. ‘Diastasis has an effect on the strength
and action of your oblique (waist) muscles, and may have an impact on the ability of your abdominals to control the pelvis and spine – this in turn could possibly be a cause of back and pelvic pain, if the integrity of your core support isn’t given
6 Modernmum
some scaffolding with strength and conditioning exercises (such as Pilates). ‘The first sign of a diastasis occurring,’
Anya continues, ‘is that you might notice when you get out of bed, or even get up from sitting, that there's a strange doming in your stomach, a bit like an alien pushing out, or a Toblerone triangle. Although totally normal, it can be quite weird and alarming the first time you see it. As a rule of thumb, once you’ve seen it, you don’t want to see it happening through exercise. Stop what you’re doing if you see that doming – and this applies particularly after you’ve had your baby. We don’t want to be in a position where you’re putting your muscles under pressure and encouraging this doming to happen. If you see it when you lift yourself out of bed, try rolling over onto your side and pushing yourself up with your hands, rather than using your abdominals.’
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