Looking after your core in pregnancy

Somewhere between “exercise is great in pregnancy” and “don’t do sit-ups” lives a lot of confusion about what, exactly, you’re allowed to do with your middle. The truth is friendlier than the folklore: your core wants training during pregnancy — it’s holding up the bump — it just wants a different kind of training than before.

What’s happening in there. Your abdominal wall is designed to make room: the two halves of the “six-pack” muscle (rectus abdominis) gradually separate along the midline as your uterus grows. This separation — diastasis recti — happens to essentially everyone by late pregnancy and is a normal, temporary adaptation, not an injury. The goal of pregnancy core work isn’t to prevent it (you can’t, and don’t need to) but to keep the deep core strong and avoid repeatedly straining the stretching midline — which helps your back now and your recovery later.

The stars of the show are the muscles you can’t see in the mirror: the transverse abdominis (your internal corset — the muscle that gently hugs your waist when you exhale and draw the bump in toward your spine) and the pelvic floor, which works as the core’s foundation. Training that pairs breath with a gentle draw-in and a pelvic floor lift — the backbone of prenatal Pilates — is exactly right, along with all-fours exercises like bird-dogs, side-lying work, gentle bridges, squats, and simply carrying yourself with tall posture through the day.

What to retire for now: crunches, sit-ups, double leg raises and hard front planks — anything that visibly bulges the belly forward or makes a ridge (doming) appear down your midline. Doming during an exercise is your cue that the load beat your deep core that rep — make the move easier (bend the knees, raise the incline, shorten the hold) rather than pushing through. Deep belly-compressing twists come off the menu too, and after about 16 weeks, swap exercises done lying flat on your back for propped, side-lying or upright versions.

Everyday core care counts as much as workouts: roll onto your side and push up with your arm to get out of bed (rather than jack-knifing straight up — the classic midline strain); exhale on the effort when you lift anything, toddlers included; and let go of any lingering habit of sucking your tummy in all day — your core should work when it’s working and rest when it’s not.

A quiet word about strong lifters: if you trained hard pre-pregnancy, most of it can continue with adjustments — reduce the load before your form forces you to, and consider a session with a women’s health physio or a prenatal-experienced trainer to adapt your program properly rather than guessing.

If you notice a wide, soft gap or a persistent ridge down your midline, or your back is complaining despite sensible exercise, a women’s health physiotherapist is the right person to see — during pregnancy, not just after. And remember the endgame: the same deep-core habits you’re building now are the exact rehab you’ll begin again postpartum, so nothing you learn here is wasted. Your six-pack is on parental leave, not gone.