Knowledge is power, but knowledge is also scary sometimes. I definitely don’t regret knowing that I have diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) this time around (may have had it after my first child and just didn’t know it). Knowing has absolutely made me very conscious of my body mechanics and doing the right movements in the right way. But it also is a little paralyzing in the sense that you can overthink every movement you do and question when it is the right time to start doing movements that would normally not be done early on with DRA.
Building back up your core postpartum is so crucial. Whether you had a vaginal delivery or a c-section, your core muscles have been stretched and worked through pregnancy alone. But having a strong engaged core is key to back stability as well as pelvic floor engagement and appropriately controlling abdominal pressure. For anyone, going straight to situps and crunches should not be your goal, but especially if you have DRA.
For many of us, crunches, situps, and planks are what we know when it comes to abdominal exercises. But there is a wide world of choices we can and should progress through before getting to that point. The first step is focusing on deep belly breathing in order to engage with your core and connect neurologically. From there, you start isometrically engage your deep core. This can be done lying down with both legs flat or when knee bent. You then want to engage your pelvic floor and deeply contract your abs without baring down on your pelvic floor.
Once you can safely do these types of exercises, you can move on to slightly more dynamic, difficult exercises. One good option is standing marches holding weight overhead. You can also start doing bird dogs, side planks and elevated mountain climbers.
Next, very cautiously progress to movements such as planks, toes to bar, and hollow holds for kipping movements. Especially on these, check to make sure that you are not coning or putting excess pressure on your pelvic floor by losing control of your abdominal pressure. If you are, drop back down and focus on less complex and isolated abdominal exercises.
At this point, you are probably finally nearing the point of situps, crunches, etc. I am 5 months postpartum this weekend and just now tried situps to see where I was at. I did them very slowly and cautiously as I was so nervous. They ended up going well, but I definitely do not feel ready to do them at high volume or in a WOD yet. I probably will not be at that point till about 7 months post partum would be my guess. That being said, taking the time over the last 5 months to be very slow, deliberate and focused on progressing my core exercises, I now can confidently say I feel like I have a stronger core foundation then I possibly ever have.