Oh baby, it's time to reconnect with your core!

Let's face it, after you've had children your body just isn't the way it was before. And how could it be? During pregnancy your body has changed, making adjustments all the time for a growing baby.
Under the influence of the pregnancy hormone, relaxin, your abdominal muscles go through a tremendous amount of stretching in all directions. Those muscles can remain stretched and weakened for quite some time after you've had your baby, leaving your spine in a vulnerable position. This is why the exercise routine you may have been doing before having a baby probably won't work for you now.
Life after babies, for most Mums, means a weakened pelvic floor (cue the sneeze 'wee'), and usually a degree of diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles).
If you don't repair and strengthen your pelvic floor and all the mid-section muscles, your core will remain unstable. This will prevent you from getting the body shape you want, and it can trigger other health problems - putting extra strain on your back, hips and knees.
So while your body is 'under reconstruction' you need to steer clear of those traditional hard ab exercises. Yep - I'm talking about planks, sit-ups/crunches. If you do these you can do more harm than good, putting extra pressure on those already weakened muscles.
But the good news is that if you treat your body mindfully and with care, reconnecting with your entire core, then you can start repairing these muscles.
How? Check out this tip sheet to help you find your core again.