Most women are obsessed with losing the tummy fat or getting abs after child birth but there’s one area of your body to focus on that’s more important than just weight-loss.
Before I share with you what this area is, let me tell you about my own childbirth experience:
I was planning to have a natural childbirth but was also prepared for a c-section depending on what happens in the birthing room.
With this in mind, I was doing a lot of pre-natal Pilates and working on strengthening my pelvic floor (the muscles that help you hold your pee) in preparation for a natural childbirth.
So the day arrives and I was fortunate enough to give birth naturally to my gorgeous baby.
But what came afterwards was so unexpected and embarrassing…
…as I was on an IV drip, my body was filled to the brimmed with water, so after giving birth, I needed to go to the bathroom and oh my goodness, I couldn’t hold my pee.
I barely made it to the toilet in time.
I was like what the f***?
Then I found I couldn’t go to the bathroom and I spent three days being constipated.
My pelvic floor was completely and utterly shredded to pieces (no pun intended).
I couldn’t feel anything and kept having a feeling like I had to run to the bathroom all the time.
I hated that feeling.
Even though I knew this was something that could happen, I was still unprepared for the extent of that muscle loss and feeling of loss of control.
Lets say I had frequent changes of underpants!
So, if you haven’t guess already, the area of focus for new mothers should be your pelvic floor muscles (rather than weight-loss) – especially after vaginal or natural childbirth.
After giving birth, I spent the next three months slowly rebuilding my pelvic floor muscles because the muscles down there are also connected with your abs , it helped me regain my flat stomach that I used to have.
Abs are like an internal corset and for me , you have the lower abs (below your belly button, mid abs and upper abs) and if your abs are stronger, it holds your body like an internal corset.
If you have stronger abs, it will hold your body better and help reduce back pain (think of your torso as a building: each side must support the building and if the weight is centered on one side, that side bears a lot of the tension and pressure).
Most people just focused on training the mid abs and upper abs but forget the lower abs.
So, why is it important for you to regain strength in your pelvic floor?
- So you don’t piss your pants – sorry but there is no other way to say it. If you can hold your bladder better, then you are less likely to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom which in turns affect your sleep. Interrupted sleep can also cause weight gain.
- Better sex life – strengthening your pelvic floor means you will be able to regain tone in the vaginal passages and this helps improve your sex life.
- Tone up your abs – For me, this helped me with my lower abs and strengthened this area so visually, you will look like you have a flatter stomach.
- Save money – I know most people don’t like the A word- Aging! But everyone will get older but we don’t have to act like it. As we get older, muscles will lose muscle-strength, atrophy and this leads back to the incontinence issue. I don’t want to be wetting my pants when I am retired!
- Avoid surgery – Conventional medicine treats this as a medical issue. Its not, it’s a weakened state of your muscles and with the right tools and exercises, you can help regain strength, tone and control. I am not sure if you have heard of this but the conventional way of treating this is to have a mesh surgery inserted to hold and control your bladder. My advice, if your doctor suggests this, run and run really fast. This type of surgery has caused untold grief and suffering to thousands of women and the first thing is, it’s not that easily reversible.
- Stress – I go to my Chinese doctor and the waiting room is also the consulting room. And I get to hear woman after woman tell him, I keep waking up at night to go to the bathroom and I cant hold my pee. And how its causing them stress and affecting them in areas of work and how its affect their relationship with their family. They are stressed and lashing out.
So its not just vanity just wanting to train your lower abs and pelvic floor, it does have a strong impact on your quality life.
Everyone has the same set of abs but not everyone knows how to train them for maximum benefit.
For me, strength is more important than the visual aspect (although I can’t complain when I can wear my favourite dress and feel good) and knowing how to train them means I am able to enjoy my life without worrying about wetting my pants all the time.