How to Safely Work Your Core After Pregnancy—Plus Why It's So Important

Pregnancy is not easy on the body generally, but the core is specifically challenged by prenatal changes. After all, there is a lot going on around the core muscles during pregnancy as the abdomen makes room for a growing baby. Something’s got to give in the process, and that something is often the strength of the core. These changes matter, which is why you may be considering trying postpartum core exercises.

Core strength helps stabilize the lower back and improve balance, posture, and flexibility. It also makes everyday tasks easier and lowers the risk of chronic pain and injury.

For these reasons, it’s important to prioritize re-strengthening the core post-pregnancy, but returning to core workouts after having a baby can be daunting. Things do not look or feel as they did before, and the last thing you want to do is injure an already delicate area by making the wrong moves. 

Below, experts unpack everything you need to know in order to safely engage in postpartum core exercises.   

Here’s Why and How Your Core Changes During Pregnancy

Core changes during pregnancy aren’t just aesthetic. According to Dr. Lucky Sekhon, Double Board Certified REI & OBGYN at RMA of New York and founding member of Doctors for Fertility, the core muscles undergo significant physical changes to accommodate the growing fetus. “The abdominal muscles, including the rectus abdominis, may stretch and separate to make room for the expanding uterus,” she says. Additionally, hormonal changes loosen ligaments, which can affect stability in the core area, she says. Some women also develop a core-related condition called diastasis recti during pregnancy.

What Is Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis recti is a condition characterized by separation of the abdominal muscles, specifically the rectus abdominis. “It often develops during pregnancy due to the stretching and thinning of the linea alba, the connective tissue that runs down the midline of the abdomen,” says Dr. Sekhon. “This can result in a visible bulge or indentation in the midsection.” While some cases of diastasis recti may improve on their own after birth, others may persist. “To check for diastasis recti, you can lie on your back with knees bent, then lift your head and shoulders off the ground while placing fingers above and below the belly button to feel for any separation,” Dr. Sekhon says.

Can You Do Core Exercises During Pregnancy?

Conventional wisdom holds that it’s safe to continue any workout you were doing prior to pregnancy while pregnant, with appropriate modifications. This includes core work, which Dr. Sekhon says you can and should do (after checking in with your doctor). “Regular core exercise during pregnancy may help maintain strength and stability in the abdominal muscles, potentially aiding in postpartum recovery,” she says. 

Core exercises are just going to look a bit different than they did in your pre-pregnancy workouts. “Primarily, the core should be exercised through deep breathwork—360 breathing,” says Robin Arzón, Peloton Head Instructor and VP of Fitness Programming. (More on that in a bit.) And while you can still do normal ab exercises in the first trimester in most cases—it’s best to check with your doctor for specific recommendations—by the second and third trimesters, or whenever you have a visible belly, Robin says you’ll generally want to avoid crunching. 

You can continue planks, if you were doing them pre-pregnancy and have no pregnancy complications, but they’ll need to be modified at some point, she says. Typically, that point is in the second trimester, but exact timing will vary according to the individual. 

Such modifications generally involve elevating your hands to a higher surface for an incline plank, dropping your knees, or engaging the abs while seated on a large medicine ball. “You just want to make sure that you're not coning, doming, or leaking [a.ka. experiencing urinary incontinence] throughout the movement, as that's going to be an indication there's too much intra abdominal pressure,” she says. Coning, or doming, is when the Linea alba pushes out further than the rest of the abdominal wall, resulting in a tent or triangle shape of the abdomen. 

Is It Safe to Do Postpartum Core Exercises After Giving Birth?

The postpartum period is one of the most physically delicate periods of a woman’s life—if not the most—and the thought of doing any kind of ab work in those early days post-birth can be a scary one. And while you shouldn’t fear returning to exercise after baby, it’s also incredibly important not to rush the transition. A safe return to core work is possible, but proper consultation and education is critical. Below, Dr. Sekhon explains how and when it’s safe to re-engage your core in the postpartum period. 

How Soon Can You Do Core Exercises Postpartum?

According to Dr. Sekhon, the timing for resuming core exercises postpartum varies depending on individual factors such as delivery type, recovery, and overall fitness level. “Generally, it's recommended to wait until after the postpartum check-up, which typically occurs around six weeks after vaginal delivery and longer after a cesarean section to account for the time needed for the surgical incision to heal,” she says. “Women with diastasis recti, pelvic floor issues, or other postpartum complications should approach core exercises with caution.“ It is crucial for all postpartum women to check in with a healthcare provider before starting any prenatal exercise regimen, she says. 

Remember how to check for diastasis recti? Lie on your back with knees bent, then lift your head and shoulders off the ground while placing fingers above and below the belly button to feel for any separation. If the condition persists after childbirth, it may require specific exercises tailored to help strengthen and close the gap in the abdominal muscles. “Traditional core exercises like crunches or planks may need to be modified or avoided until the condition improves,” Dr. Sekhon says. Again, she recommends checking in with a health care provider or physical therapist for professional guidance. 

According to Robin, you may also want to see a pelvic floor specialist, no matter what kind of birth you’ve had. “The pelvic floor is part of the core and can be affected post-pregnancy,” she says. 

The Benefits of Strengthening Your Core After Having a Baby

In general, it’s important to resume exercise post-pregnancy when cleared to do so by your doctor. This is due not only to the physical benefits of moving your body but also the mental benefits, which can be hugely important in this emotionally delicate time. “As a new parent, taking time for yourself to remember that you're a whole person is incredibly important, even if it's five or 10 minutes,” says Robin.

It’s specifically “crucial” she says, to train and strengthen your core post-pregnancy because the core stabilizes the entire body. “All functional movements—sitting, standing, squatting, walking, and running—involve core stability,” she says. And yes, that definitely includes lifting and carrying a quickly growing baby (and all the stuff that comes with them!).

The good news is that no matter what shape your core is in post-pregnancy, it can and will bounce back. “Our stabilizer muscles are incredibly resilient,” says Robin.

10 Best Postpartum Core Exercises (And How to Do Them Safely)

One of the best features of postnatal core workouts is that they don’t require equipment, which makes them easier to squeeze in under whatever circumstances you might be able to do so with a new baby forever beckoning. “Postpartum folks should only use bodyweight in their core workouts,” says Robin. “No need to add on weights just yet.” 

Below, she shares 10 of her favorite postpartum core exercises that will help you reclaim core strength after baby. “Whether you’re six weeks or six years postpartum, these are great, diastasis-safe exercises,” she says. 

360 Diaphragmatic Breathing 

Robin always begins her postnatal workouts with 360 diaphragmatic breathing, which is a deep breathing technique where your breath is used to create expansion in your abdomen and rib cage. “This is the same type of deep breathing that would have been recommended throughout pregnancy,” she says. “It is one of the most, if not the most, effective ways to re-strengthen the neural pathways of the core and to close diastasis, and it can be done in the early postpartum period after you’ve been cleared for movement.” 

Heel Slides

Glute Bridge 

Heel Taps

Modified Dead Bug

Leg Extensions 

Leg Circles

Modified Side Plank

Rolling Plank

Postpartum Core Strength Phases: 1-4

If you’d prefer to have professional guidance as you return to and transition through postpartum core exercises, Robin’s new Peloton Postnatal Core Strength Series is phased out to help you safely rebuild core strength after pregnancy. “Each phase is going to build on the one prior,” she says. “The idea is that you repeat a class until you feel ready to take the next one.” Some signs you might be ready are if you’re effectively “bracing”—a.k.a. activating the muscles of the core by contracting the deep abdominal muscles—to provide a solid foundation for movement and protect against injury and aren’t feeling any discomfort, coning, or uterine prolapse. 

As a reminder, Robin says it’s best to check in with your healthcare provider before beginning any of her classes, and notes that you’re always welcome to modify any move. 

Phase One:  The first phase is the gentlest. It begins with 360 breathing. From there, Robin moves through heel slides, articulated bridge, toe taps, leg extension, and modified dead bug. At this level, she notes, core work will not burn as you may be used to it doing, but it is working nonetheless!

Phase Two:  In the second phase, Robin begins to layer in different patterns of movement, but all exercises remain on your back. The workout begins with deep breathing and then moves through single leg stretches, tabletop leg circles, modified dead bug, modified side plank, butterfly exercises with a miniband, wide leg heel taps, and glute bridge.

Phase Three:  By phase three, moves begin to challenge the core more intensely, and some are done off of your back. After deep breathing exercises, Robin moves into bird dog, bear hover, wide leg toe taps, leg scissors, and wide leg circles. 

Phase four:  Phase four, says Robin, serves as a bridge to the rest of Peloton’s regular strength classes and content. As such, it’s the most challenging. It begins with 360 deep breathing and then moves into glute bridge, one-legged glute bridge, alternating crunches, rolling plank, modified plank, and full plank.

Mistakes to Avoid When Doing Postpartum Core Exercises

Proper form and caution is more important than ever when it comes to postpartum core exercises. Here are two mistakes Robin says it’s crucial to avoid making: 

Rushing it: One common mistake Robin says she sees women making is returning to crunching and planking too soon. These core exercises should be gradually worked up to, as demonstrated in Robin’s four-phase Peloton Postnatal Core series.

Not going deep: “You want to make sure that you're really activating and working on the deep core muscles,” she says. “So that’s not the superficial abs, it’s deeper, and that’s what the 360 breathing really gets at.” 

How to Integrate Postpartum Core Exercises Into Your Workout Routine

Robin believes you should be doing postpartum core exercises or deep breathing every single day. “With postpartum core exercises, little by little will amount to a lot,” she says. “Small moments, even just a few minutes a day, are going to go a long way.” 

And if you’re wondering when, exactly, it is safe to resume your pre-pregnancy core workouts, Dr. Sekhon says there is no exact timeline for when someone is no longer considered postpartum as it varies person to person, but that it’s best to ease in that direction over time. “It's essential to listen to your body and gradually reintroduce exercises, taking into account any postpartum considerations or modifications needed.” Robin’s four-phase postnatal core series offers a safe and effective way to do this—by the time you’ve completed phase four comfortably, you should be good to go! 

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.