Your Core During Pregnancy

I’m excited to announce that I’ve added a PREGNANCY section to The Core Recovery Method® Online Program! To celebrate this new addition, we’re going to do a mini series all about your core during pregnancy.

Knowing what is happening anatomically and biomechanically in your core during pregnancy is a critical part of preventing common pregnancy-related issues like back pain, hip pain, pelvic pain, tailbone pain, incontinence, sciatica, prolapse, constipation, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins. Using this knowledge to guide your exercise choices can also improve delivery and postpartum rehab.

In this 4-part series, we’ll start with facts and tips regarding your core during pregnancy. Next, I’ll explain the benefits of core training during pregnancy. Then, we’ll discuss strengthening your pelvic floor during pregnancy. Finally, I’ll show you exactly how to train your core during pregnancy.

Today, in part one, we’re starting with some facts and tips about your core during pregnancy. This foundational knowledge will help you understand what happens to your core during pregnancy and how that impacts your core function. Knowing how your core changes, and why its more vulnerable during pregnancy will help you make the best choices for activities and exercises that will safely and effectively train your core in preparation for labor and post-partum recovery.

What is happening to your core during pregnancy? 

The pressure in your abdomen is continuously increasing over the course of your pregnancy.

This puts you at higher risk for pelvic floor dysfunction. Choosing exercises that reduce the pressure in your abdomen will improve the function of your pelvic floor.

One of the most important functions of your core muscles is to manage the pressure in your abdomen. When there is an increase in pressure in your abdomen, your core muscles should support your organs and spine. During pregnancy, the pressure is constantly increasing over the course of 10 months, and your core never gets a break. Its job only becomes increasingly harder over time. This can stress the core muscles to the point of max fatigue and then they are unable to perform their function of managing intra-abdominal pressure. Then, all the load from all of the inevitable pressure increases you experience throughout your day is taken by your organs and spine, instead of being absorbed by your core muscles. This then leads to lowering of the pelvic organs, especially the uterus, and compression on the pelvic floor muscles. When the pelvic floor muscles are compressed, they get less blood, lymph and nerve flow. This leads to pelvic floor dysfunction, and the many symptoms associated with it. So choosing exercises that relieve your core muscles of this pressure increase and effectively reduce the pressure in the abdomen will improve core strength and function, as well as reduce risk of pelvic floor dysfunction during pregnancy.

Your abdominal muscles will separate to accommodate your growing baby.

This weakens your core. Exercises that focus on strengthening the abdominal fascia can prevent diastasis and speed up postpartum recovery.

Every woman gets a diastasis during pregnancy. The abdominal muscles have to separate in order to accommodate the growing baby. It’s when the abdominal muscles don’t close after delivery that this becomes a problem. The separation of the abdominal muscles weakens them and leads to more stress through the connective tissue between them (where a diastasis occurs). So focusing on exericses that strengthen the fascia of the core, especially the linea alba, will help the abdominal muscles close faster after delivery. Hint: strengthening the core fascia has everything to do with reducing the pressure in the abdomen!

Your ligaments and fascia will progressively soften and stretch to prepare for delivery.

This greatly increases the demand on your core muscles, especially your pelvic floor muscles. Exercises that facilitate reflexive (involuntary) core and pelvic floor muscle activation is the best way to strengthen your core during pregnancy.

The hormone relaxin will increase throughout your pregnancy, and into the post partum period as long as you are breast feeding. One of the effects of relaxin is softening of connective tissue. This is necessary to allow the pelvis to increase in size to carry your baby and also helps the dilation and opening that has to occur for delivery. However, softer fascia and ligaments means your core muscles need to work harder. They need to be able to sustain a prolonged activation without you having to think about it, so that they can continue to support your spine, organs, posture and breathing. Core training during pregnancy therefore must target the involuntary muscle fibers of the core - the ones that need to be ON when your fascia and ligaments are softening. Voluntary core and pelvic floor contractions (like kegels and drawing belly button to spine) will only get you so far because they fail to train the muscles to support the ligaments and fascia. Sustained involuntary core muscle activation is whats necessary to maintain optimal core strength and function throughout pregnancy.

Tips for Core Training during Pregnancy

Avoiding high-impact exercises like running and jumping will greatly reduce your risk of pelvic floor dysfunction, pain, and injury during pregnancy and into the postpartum period.

Your core is in a vulnerable state during pregnancy due to abdominal muscle lengthening, fascial softening and increased intra-abdominal pressure. These conditions are inevitable in pregnancy and require exercise modification to reduce risk of injury. Running and jumping are the two activites that create the greatest increase in intra-abdominal presssure and stress the abdominal and pelvic fascia the most. During pregnancy the abdominal and pelvic fascia is already stressed to its max, because it’s required to continually keep stretching overtime. It never gets a break for 10 months! In addition to continual stretching, the load it must carry also continually increases over time. To add running and jumping into this equation is simply unnecessary and created too much pressure and stress on already overly stressed muscles and fascia. This is especially true when you reach the second trimester. My recomendation is to temporarily avoid running and jumping during pregnancy, focus instead on exercises that unload your pelvic and abdominal myofascia, and do the work to be able to safely return to running and jumping post partum.

Breathwork is a powerful, safe, and effective way to strengthen your core muscles during pregnancy.

Breathing is how we train those involuntary muscle fibers of the core to be able to perform the long sustained activations that are required of them to support our organs, spine and posture. Strengthening the involuntary muscle fibers of the abdominal and pelvic muscles is absolutely critical to maintaining optimal core health and function throughout pregnancy. It’s how we make up for all the ligamentous and fascial softening that occurs during pregnancy and how we relieve the core of all the increased pressure. Breathing is the gateway to our subconscious. It’s the way we access our involuntary nervous system. Breath training has multiple benefits during pregnancy and is something every woman should harness. A deep awareness of and connection to your breath improves pain tolerance during delivery. The ability to control the position and tone of your diaphragm can transfer to a shorter pushing phase during labor.

Lifting and centering your uterus will improve blood flow, lymph flow, and nerve flow to your uterus and baby during pregnancy.

This is done through gentle posture and breathing techniques. Using the body’s fascial planes in a way the creates a symmetrical and gentle upward lift of the uterus is a wonderful way to unload the pelvic floor and improve pelvic circulation. Balancing the ligaments that support the uterus will also improve blood flow to the uterus and improve the strength of her contractions during delivery. Uterine position during pregnancy also impacts pain syndromes, circulation, and swelling. Common pregnancy related conditions like pubic symphysis pain, sciatica, hip pain, varicose veins and hemorrhoids can be hugely improved with exercises that focus on lifting and centering the uterus.

Looking for a simple, safe, and effective exercise protocol for pregnancy?

You can learn more about the core during pregnancy through The Core Recovery Method® online program. The Core Recovery Method® provides a simple way to learn essential core breathing techniques and create a regular practice for yourself in the comfort of your own home. This program will empower you with the knowledge necessary to understand where core dysfunction comes from, how to heal it, and how to prevent it during pregnancy. You will learn therapeutic techniques that optimize core function during pregnancy and prepare your body for delivery. The Core Recovery Method® online program also guides you step by step through the post partum journey, and gives you all the tools necessary to safely and effectively rehab your core after pregnancy.

Learn more about how to train your core during pregnancy with The Core Recovery Method® Online Program, a simple yet comprehensive guide to optimal core health.