During pregnancy and childbirth, the female body goes through a lot of changes!
The pregnancy hormones can make the bones, muscles, and ligaments very weak. During the pregnancy stage, the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis or the 6-pack) separates to either side and the core strength goes for a toss! Back pain or even sciatica (pain radiating from the lower back to the leg) is common during and even after the pregnancy, as the pelvic bones expand with the expanding uterus and sometimes impinges on the sciatic nerve on the lower spine. Some may have leaky bladder because of the very weak pelvic floor muscles. Piles are also common after pregnancy due to the pressure-induced on the pelvic floor muscles during childbirth.
Exercise is a great way to regain strength post-pregnancy. However, one needs to be cautious about the type of exercises and how soon are you doing them! How soon a person can start exercise after pregnancy depends on the health and fitness levels of the mother before and after the pregnancy and also depends on complications, if any, during the pregnancy – normal delivery or C-Section etc
It is best not to do any sort of exercise and take complete rest for the first 2 months in case of a C-Section delivery. From the 3rd month onwards, one can include pelvic floor exercises, that will help in strengthening the pelvic floor muscles (. These are trampoline type muscles at the lower abdomen that supports urinary bladder, uterus, and bowels and we use them to control/stop urine or stool. Avoid doing crunches or sit-ups for the first 3 months. Avoid swimming too, for the first 2-3 months especially until the bleeding is completely stopped and you are not at the risk of any infection from the water.
One of the light exercises that you can do is abdominal tuck – lie down on the back and tuck in the lower abdomen, closer to the spine and hold the tuck for around 10 seconds while breathing normally.