Whether you are pregnant with your first or postpartum with your fifth, taking care of your pelvic floor/core muscles is such an important goal! Over the years there have been many new studies done and more insights shown on the importance of a strong pelvic floor and solid core for women during their childbearing years. Taking the time to focus on this part of your body can help to make pregnancy more comfortable, reduce lower back pain, help eliminate the “mummy tummy” that can be so frustrating after growing a baby, prepare your body for future pregnancies, and guard against future challenges such as prolapse & urinary incontinence. When you think about all that your body goes through to grow, nourish, carry and push out a baby, it’s no wonder that these muscles and areas might need some extra focus to help everything function at it’s optimal potential!

It can be confusing to figure out what is right and wrong when it comes to pregnancy and postpartum exercise, and you want to make sure you are helping your body and not causing further trauma or muscle separation. The purpose of this list of resources is to help you get started in finding a program or plan that will work for you and your current situation. I would love to encourage you to try to fit in at least 10 minutes of purposeful exercise in 5 days a week, both during pregnancy and then once you are 8-10 weeks postpartum (you can start slow beginning at 6 weeks, but give your body grace to build up strength!).

And a clarification: these resources are specifically for helping to rebuild core muscle and pelvic floor strength. We’ll focus on other general exercise in another post, but the purpose of this list is to help you wade through some options that specifically focus on rehabilitation of your muscles after pregnancy and birth (or helping to prevent strain to these muscles if you’re currently pregnant!).

If you prefer reading books and having pictures to reference, here are a few helpful titles:

• Postpartum Exercise Essentials is a great guide to have ready and available before you give birth. With suggestions on movement and gentle stretches, it helps you to begin rehabilitation during the first 8 weeks following delivery, building a foundation for the rest of the postpartum season.
• Training for Two by Gina Conley is a handbook for prenatal exercises, with good info on how the body works and how to make adaptations and care for your body while exercising during pregnancy so as not to cause any harm. While this book focuses more on general pregnancy fitness, the last section focuses specifically on how to rest and then gently build up your body during the postpartum period, with great illustrations and photos.
• Mom’s Guide to Diastasis Recti is an easy-to-read short book with photos illustrating about 50 exercises to help rebuild postpartum.
• The Core Program this is an older book (easy to find cheap online!) written and complied specifically for women of any age who need to strengthen their core. Best to wait until after 6-8 weeks postpartum to begin this one!

DVD or online options:

• Spinning Babies Daily Essentials Here’s a blog post with excellent exercise suggestions and other recommendations for maximizing positioning and alignment during pregnancy.
• Trim Healthy Mama Workins  You can find DVD’s on eBay, but this exercise program is now available online with subscription. Good foundational 20 minute exercise sessions with modifications for pregnancy and postpartum with excellent focus on pelvic floor and diastasis health.
• Down There for Women by Katy Bowman  (DVD, can sometimes find used copies for cheap!) Produced specifically  to help women experiencing pelvic floor issues such as prolapse, incontinence, postpartum rehab, etc.
• Stress No More Katy Bowman (Katy Bowman videos online)

Finally, here are some suggestions that come by recommendation from other midwives-but I haven’t personally used or watched these. So I would love to hear about your experience if you if you choose to try one or more of these options!

Body Ready Method (online courses)

Nourish Move Love (online courses)

Diastasis Recti Solution by Katy Bowman (book)

Every Mother (program app)

Do you have any favorite resources that have helped you in this area? If so, please share them here so others can benefit from them!