Rebuilding Your Pelvic Floor After Birth (and Why It Matters More Than You Think)

 It is one of the least glamorous topics in motherhood and one of the most important. If you leak a little when you laugh, sneeze or run, feel a sense of heaviness, or simply sense your core is not quite yours again, your pelvic floor is asking for attention — and it responds wonderfully to the right care.

Why the pelvic floor deserves the spotlight

Your pelvic floor is a hammock of muscles that supports your bladder, bowel and womb, and it works in quiet partnership with your deep core. Pregnancy and birth — however you delivered — place enormous demand on it. Leaking, heaviness and lingering core weakness are common afterwards, but common does not mean something you simply have to live with.

More than just kegels

Squeezing away at pelvic-floor lifts has its place, but true recovery is bigger than that. It is about learning to both contract and fully relax these muscles, coordinating them with your breath, and integrating them into how you move, lift and train. A pelvic floor that only knows how to clench is not a strong one.

When to seek specialist help

If leaking, heaviness or pain persist, a women's health physiotherapist is invaluable, and I regularly work alongside their recommendations. Together, physio expertise and specialist strength training give you the most complete recovery.

Feel strong and confident again

With consistent, intelligent training, most women regain control, confidence and the freedom to run, jump and lift without a second thought. That freedom is worth reclaiming.

Postnatal training in Battersea, Chelsea and Clapham

I help mums across Battersea, Chelsea and Clapham rebuild their pelvic floor and core through private sessions at home, outdoors or online — discreet, expert and entirely tailored to you.

See how postnatal recovery training works → 

How to Heal Diastasis Recti: A New Mum's Guide to Closing the Gap

If your belly still looks a little pregnant months after birth, or you notice a soft ridge running down your middle when you sit up, you are not alone — and you are almost certainly not doing anything wrong. What you may be experiencing is diastasis recti, and the good news is that it responds beautifully to the right, patient work.

What diastasis recti actually is

During pregnancy, the two bands of your abdominal muscles separate along the midline to make room for your growing baby — a normal, clever adaptation. For many women the gap narrows on its own; for others it lingers, leaving the core feeling weak, the lower back achy, and the tummy stubbornly domed. This is diastasis recti, often nicknamed the tummy gap or mummy tummy.

How to check for it at home

Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat. Place your fingers just above your belly button and gently lift your head and shoulders. If you feel a gap of two fingers or more, or a soft doming pushing up through your fingers, that is a sign of separation. It is a useful indicator — though a proper assessment with a specialist gives you far more to work with.

The do's and don'ts of healing

Avoid the instinct to blast your abs. Traditional sit-ups, crunches and planks too soon can widen the gap and deepen the doming. Instead, healing begins from the inside out: reconnecting your breath, your deep core and your pelvic floor, then layering on gentle, progressive strength that teaches your midline to knit back together and hold under load.

Progress that lasts

With consistent, well-designed training, most women see real improvement — a flatter, stronger, more functional middle, less back pain and a core they can trust again. It rarely happens overnight, but it does happen, and it is worth every session.

Specialist core recovery in Clapham, Battersea and Chelsea

I assess each client's diastasis recti in person and build a safe, progressive programme around it, working with mums across Clapham, Battersea and Chelsea at home or online. If you are unsure where to start, this is exactly what a specialist is for.

4 Moves Every New Mum Should Master Before Jumping Back Into Fitness

When it comes to the incredible things our bodies can do, giving birth takes it to a whole new level. It's a monumental feat! But here's the thing, even though pregnancy and labor can have a big impact on your body, most of the talk about post-baby fitness is all about getting back to your pre-pregnancy self, rather than appreciating and celebrating the amazing new you.

Doctors often give the green light to resume activity after six weeks, but they don't usually provide clear recommendations on what kind of activity to choose. Personally, I believe that focusing on a fitness routine geared towards strengthening the pelvic floor is a hidden gem when it comes to getting back into your pre-pregnancy workouts while also respecting your postpartum body.

As a pre and postnatal corrective exercise specialist its important women concentrate on strengthening their cores after pregnancy to avoid issues like leaky bladder, chronic lower back pain, and pelvic floor dysfunction.

These issues can stem from a lack of pelvic floor activation. The good news is your pelvic floor can be strengthened and these issues can go away. If you’re a new mum you can start strengthening yours online or in person in South West London with one of our pre and post natal specialist personal trainers. The baby friendly sessions will help you get back in touch with your core and learn how to stabilize your new body to prevent injury.

First and foremost, our primary aim is to help you learn proper breathing techniques and activate the inner core unit, which includes the diaphragm, transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, and multifidus muscles. This, in my opinion, is the absolute crucial exercise that every postpartum woman should focus on mastering before jumping back into her pre-pregnancy workouts.

Try this core and pelvic floor centric workout before exerting any kind of force such as lifting weights and continue to incorporate it into your practice once you return to your fitness routine. You want to try and incorporate these four exercises as often as possible throughout your day.

1. Diaphragm breathing

Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe. Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out against your hand. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible. Tighten your stomach muscles, so that your stomach moves back in, as you exhale through pursed lips. The hand on your upper chest must remain as still as possible.

2. TVA engagement (AKA: pump)

Imagine your transverse abdominus (TVA) as a deep corset-like muscle that starts in the middle of your back, wraps around your side body and under the six pack muscles. On your diaphragm-breath exhale, focus on wrapping the TVA around your side body and hugging your entire core in toward your midline. Every inhale should release the TVA and muscles of the core, while every exhale fully activates, wraps, or pumps the muscles closer to your body.

3. Pelvic floor activation (AKA: Kegel)

The pelvic floor is a complex grid of muscles that runs front to back and side to side. To activate it, imagine the pubic bone, tailbone, and both sit bones all drawing closer together and up through the centre of the body. It’s important to activate the entire pelvic floor (front to back and side to side) and not just one section. And to allow the muscles to fully release and relax on your inhale—this release is just as important as the activation.

4. Pump-and-kegel combo

Once you can perform the above three steps separately, practice integrating all of them together continuously. On your inhale, breath into the diaphragm, relax the TVA, and release the pelvic floor. On your exhale, the TVA wraps around to hug your abdominal wall closer to your midline and the pelvic floor lifts and performs a kegel.

For more help with post natal fitness click here.