A Brand New You: "Mummy Tummy"

After pregnancy and childbirth, many women are left with a separation in their abdominal muscles called a diastasis recti. This is problematic for several reasons:

• It's not sexy. It can leave you with a pot belly that makes you feel like you always look pregnant.
• It can lead to pain. The abdominal separation itself is not painful but the weakness in your core muscles can lead to back pain or a hernia if left untreated.
• Normal abdominal exercises can make it worse. You've got to heal the diastasis before you can do regular crunches or other common core exercises or you may exacerbate the problem.
  

An article called 5 Things to Know About Mummy Tummy gives a great overview and includes a description of some exercises to help reverse the condition.

If you suspect you have diastasis recti, get diagnosed first. (Duh.) I would recommend finding a physical therapist who specializes in women's health to help you heal, but there are also exercise videos and books available if you search around. One book that seems popular is Lose Your Mummy Tummy by Julie Tuppler.

A Brand New You

In our effort to get to know our new post-baby bodies lets look at a few ways we can go about minimizing some of the after effects of pregnancy and delivery...

This installment is simple and you hear it all the time. Just as we must check ourselves for breast cancer (seriously, we're supposed to do that EVERY month!) we must do our kegels. I used to think, "Whatever, I'm not a professional. How strong do my kegels have to be anyway?" Now I think, "I'm so grateful that I can control my bladder all day, every day. How can I keep up this brilliant track record?"

Kegels! Now!