Doing Pilates after giving birth

Pilates can help you get back into shape after pregnancy. This article explains the benefits that Pilates offers new mothers and gives you some important guidelines about starting exercising after giving birth.

Why new mums need Pilates

As a new mother, you do a lot of the same type of movements, such as bending over, or carrying or nursing your baby.
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New mothers have special needs: 

• Your abdominal muscles are over-stretched during pregnancy and then used rigorously during labour, so you need to build abdominal strength.
• Your lower spine can easily over-arch, causing backache.
• Leaning forward during breastfeeding can tighten your neck and shoulder muscles and cause pain. ​
  

When to start exercising

It's recommended that you wait at least 6 weeks after giving birth before starting exercise. This rest period allows your abdomen to recover from giving birth and gives you time to adjust to your new life with a baby.
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After 6 weeks, you can start doing basic and gentle exercises provided you had a normal, vaginal delivery. If you had a caesarean section, you need to wait 5 to 6 months before starting doing exercise such as Pilates.

Do the 'Rectus Test' before starting Pilates

Towards the end of pregnancy, a woman's rectus abdominus muscle often separates (called 'diastasis recti'). The rectus abdominus muscle has to knit together again before starting Pilates. You need to be careful doing any twisting and turning so you don't damage the healing muscle.
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Before starting Pilates, make sure that you (or your doctor or midwife) perform the 'Rectus Test' to find out whether you have an extreme amount of diastasis.

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The Rectus Test

1. Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Place 2 fingers vertically just below your navel.
3. Press your fingers into your stomach and lift your head and shoulders off the floor.
4. The rectus abdominus muscle runs vertically on either side of your stomach. You'll probably feel the 2 parts of the muscle coming together. However, if the muscles have already rejoined, there'll be no gap.
5. If the gap is more than, or equal to, the width of 2 fingers, then you're not ready to do full-range abdominal exercises like Roll Up and Roll Over.