Pregnancy Abdominals

I wrote this about a year ago. Recently, I've had a lot of poeple asking me about abs, so here it is again.

Typically, if you asked any prenatal fitness instructor, they would tell you "No Abs". It's kind of a rule of thumb when it comes to Prenatal Fitness. It was the first thing anyone ever told me when I started studying Prenatal Yoga. No Abs. What is the point of doing crunches anyhow? The last thing a pregnant woman has on her mind is a six-pack. ha ha The reason why you don't do crucnches in a Prenatal class is that by working your six pack muscles (rectus abdominus), you will end up with diastasis. Diastasis is when the rectus muscles on either side of the linea alba (the seam down the center of your belly) spread wide apart. When you have diastasis, typically your low back begins to ache deeply because of the lack of support on the front side of the body. So, by working your rectus muscles or your obliques, you are actually helping to spread the muscles away from the linea alba. This is NO good.

During your labor, you will need both the deepest, most quiet concentration and BRUTE STRENGTH. Yoga is perfect to prepare you for those needs. Yeah Prenatal Yoga!!!!Obviously, yoga is going to help with the meditation, breath and focus needed during labor. But what about the brute strength? It takes absolute brute strength to push your baby down the birth canal. In the births I have attended, the moms were in a reclining squat during most of the pushing stage. Between contractions, when she was resting, her legs were put into the stir-ups. During the contractions, the nurses and those attending the birth (dads and me), pushed mom's legs out of the stir-ups and toward her armpits as mom pushed her legs in the opposite direction. Mom's arms were pulling back (Anjani was pulling some handle bars on the side of the bed, Rebecca was pulling the nurse's arms as if she were water skiing). Then they were instructed to tuck their chin, making a C shape with their spine, and then PUSH PUSH PUSH. This can go on for 30 minutes or 2 hours.

So after this most recent birth, I started questioning this whole no abs rule. If I put myself into that C shape and push push push, I immediately activate my abs. My abs are the brute strength.This is when I came upon the books of Julie Tupler, RN. Maternal Fitness: Preparing for a Healthy Pregnancy, an Easier Labor, and a Quick Recovery by Julie Tupler and Andrea Thompson and Lose Your Mummy Tummy by Julie Tupler and Jodie Gould. Tupler is a fitness instructor and a nurse. In her books she talks all about the Transverse Abdominus. This is another abdominal muscle, separate from the rectus abdominals and the obliques. This is the one muscle that is safe (and incredibly beneficial) to exercise during and after your pregnancy.You know those belts that delivery guys and moving people wear to support their low backs. Well, imagine that belt inside your body, made of muscle tissue and you have the transverse abdominus muscle. This muscle will keep your back strong. And this muscle will help you push your baby out.

In order to exercise this muscle, do lots of pelvic tilts. Rounding your pelvis into a cat tilt (or retroversion) exercises that transverse abdominus. By pulling your navel deep into your body towards your spine, you are working the transverse. In order to practice using your transverse muscle for labor, you can practice when you are taking a bowel movement. First, inhale deeply and relax your belly, then draw the navel towards the spine and as you exhale, gently breathe downwards. You can also try pushing towards your rectum as you hold the breath. Most OBs are going to want you to hold your breath as you push during the pushing stage, but that is your choice.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, just like when we do our pelvic floor exercises, it is super important to focus on relaxing the muscle on the inhales. So big belly breath before and after you work your transverse.