Post / Prenatal Exercise
Many women continue to have distended abdominal muscles years after having children but this is not a necessary phenomenon. Keep in mind that cesarean sections can also cause a lot of problems for women and have become much more common in recent years due to limited time and worsening doctor to patient ratio. When the doctor cuts through the abdominal wall, the muscles are wounded which then leads to scarring and dysfunction in the abdominal wall.
Damage can also occur to the pelvic floor due to expanding womb or from an episiotomy. When the muscles of the pelvic floor are damaged in this way the result may be an inability to properly use the abdominal wall muscles which will lead to other dysfunctions including muscular imbalances in the gluteal muscles and low back/core. Keeping the core strong, eating good high quality foods, doing the right exercises, stretches and breathing techniques will all help in aiding to not only keep your body strong at the start of your pregnancy but will get your abdominal wall functioning again after giving birth to your new baby.