If your core feels weak, disconnected, or unfamiliar after pregnancy, you’re not alone. Whether you gave birth a few weeks ago or a few years ago, it’s common for your midsection to feel different postpartum — from lingering abdominal separation to a belly that still looks pregnant.
The instinct to jump into sit-ups or planks to “get your abs back” is understandable. But that approach often works against the very recovery you’re aiming for, especially in the early postpartum period.
You can absolutely rebuild a strong, functional core postpartum — potentially even stronger than before pregnancy. It simply requires a more strategic approach that supports healing from the inside out.
That’s exactly what this article walks you through.
Read on to learn:
- What happens to your core during pregnancy (and why postpartum recovery requires a specific approach)
- Three steps to rebuild core strength from the inside out:
- Step 1: Get in neutral alignment
- Step 2: Master 360° Breathing (the #1 most effective core exercise)
- Step 3: Restore pelvic floor strength with PFAs
Quick Answer: Postpartum core recovery starts from the inside out. Before jumping into traditional ab exercises, focus on three foundations: restoring neutral alignment to reduce unnecessary stress on your healing linea alba, mastering 360° Breathing to activate your deep core muscles, and performing Pelvic Floor Activations (PFAs) to rebuild strength in the floor of your core. Working through these steps in order creates the internal conditions your body needs to heal and grow stronger — potentially even stronger than before pregnancy.
What Happens to Your Core During Pregnancy
Let’s begin by looking at the stresses placed on your abdominal muscles during pregnancy. All your abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis, internal and external obliques, rectus abdominis) connect at the midline of your body. They are connected by a tissue called the linea alba. As your belly grows during pregnancy, the linea alba tissue stretches to allow adequate space for your baby to grow, as you can see in the image on the right below.
As the linea alba stretches and thins, it becomes weaker. This causes the left and right sides of the rectus abdominis (“6-pack”) muscle to drift farther apart. This widening between the two sides of the abdominal wall is known as diastasis recti (DR). Diastasis refers to separation. Recti refers to the rectus abdominis muscle.
Some degree of DR is a normal and necessary part of pregnancy to allow adequate space for your baby to grow. In other words, your body was designed to do this.
This also means that virtually every person has some degree of DR in the immediate aftermath of childbirth. While some people may have a DR that heals within weeks, it is quite common to have persistent DR beyond one year postpartum. So, know that you are not alone, or somehow a failure, if you do have DR months or years past delivery.
The good news is that the linea alba tissue is like skin or bone. It can heal itself with the right conditions in place. This is exactly what the three steps below are designed to do.
Three Foundations to Rebuild Your Core Postpartum
Master the three critical foundational steps below to create the conditions that allow your linea alba tissue to heal and to help you strengthen your core from the inside out. Work through these steps in numerical order.
Step 1: Get Your Body in Neutral Alignment
In order to allow the linea alba to heal itself, we must minimize unnecessary stress on it. This happens when your body is in neutral alignment, as shown in the photo below. Neutral alignment describes a state in which the skeleton is vertically stacked. This means that you could draw a straight vertical line from your ear-shoulder-hip-knee-ankle (dotted yellow line) and that your rib cage is stacked parallel on top of your pelvis (two parallel yellow lines).
Take some time to find this position in your own body and notice how it feels. Practice neutral alignment whenever you can throughout your day (standing in line, walking, etc.).
When moving about your day, try to practice keeping a straight line between your ear-shoulder-hip, especially when sitting and bending over. See examples below:
Of course, it is unrealistic to think that you can (or should) be in neutral alignment all the time. The body needs variety (and early parenthood often requires it!). The goal is to maintain this alignment as much as possible, especially while your core heals.
Step 2: Master 360° Breathing: The #1 Most Effective Core Exercise
With the pressure off your linea alba tissue, the next step is to strengthen your deep core muscles from the inside out. Begin by mastering 360° Breathing. It’s a way of breathing that activates your deepest core muscles to create a solid foundation of core strength. In addition, 360° Breathing activates your body’s parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system), which leads to a cascade of benefits throughout your body — including increased immunity, improved digestion, reduced stress, and overall better health (hence the reason we refer to it as the #1 most effective core exercise). Watch the video below to first learn how to perform 360° Breathing, then learn how to incorporate it into your movements. The goal is to make this your natural breathing style. When you can do that, it’s like doing 20,000 reps per day of the best core work there is.
Step 3: Restore Pelvic Floor Strength with PFAs
It goes without saying that pregnancy and birth (both vaginal and Cesarean) place a tremendous amount of stress on the pelvic floor muscles. Therefore, it’s important to do targeted pelvic floor work to restore strength to the “floor of your core.” We accomplish this by performing exercises we call Pelvic Floor Activations (PFAs). Watch the video below, which takes you through a 4-step process to first find your pelvic floor muscles (HINT: your “pee-stopping” muscles are only the front), then learn how to perform the two PFA variations: PFAs-Slow and PFAs-Fast.
Try to practice these techniques whenever you can throughout your day (while waiting in line or in your car, watching TV, taking a shower, lying in bed, or while your little one is doing their “tummy time”).
Once you master the exercises seated, you can practice them in different positions, like lying on your back and (most challenging) on all fours.
You could even combine the exercises into a routine if you’d like. For example, a simple routine could look something like:
- 360° Breathing: 6 – 8 reps
- PFAs-Slow: 6 – 8 reps
- PFAs-Fast: 8 – 10 reps
- REPEAT
The Bottom Line: Slow IS Fast
Postpartum core recovery is not about rushing to “bounce back.” Understand that the more time you give your body to heal, the better it will be able to handle the increasingly challenging tasks you will ask of it. With consistency, patience, and the right foundation, your core can become strong and resilient again over time—perhaps even stronger than it was pre-pregnancy. Start small, focus on quality movement, and remember that slow IS fast when it comes to postpartum recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions About Postpartum Core Recovery
How long does postpartum core recovery take? Recovery timelines vary widely from person to person. Factors such as age, genetics, birth experience, the degree of diastasis recti, overall fitness level, and consistency with core recovery work all play a role. Some people notice meaningful improvement within weeks; others, particularly those with significant DR, may need several months to a year or more. The most important thing is to build the right foundation first.
When can I start postpartum core recovery? The three foundational steps in this article — neutral alignment, 360° Breathing, and PFAs — can be started right away, even in the first days after birth. These techniques are designed to work with your body’s natural healing process rather than against it. As you progress and feel ready for more challenging core work, it’s a good idea to get clearance from your healthcare provider at your postpartum checkup.
What is diastasis recti, and does everyone have it postpartum? Diastasis recti (DR) is a widening between the two sides of the rectus abdominis (“6-pack”) muscle. It’s the body’s natural way of creating space for a growing baby during pregnancy. As the belly grows, it increases the pressure on the linea alba connective tissue, causing it to thin and weaken. When this happens, the left and right sides of the rectus muscle move farther apart. Therefore, some degree of DR is a normal and necessary part of pregnancy. That said, there are certainly things you can do to minimize the severity of DR during pregnancy and set yourself up for a faster recovery. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that virtually everyone has some degree of DR immediately after birth, which will heal a bit on its own in the weeks that follow. Therefore, we recommend waiting at least 6 weeks after birth to check yourself for diastasis recti. This will give you a better sense of your true starting point.
Are sit-ups and planks safe for postpartum core recovery? Traditional exercises like sit-ups and crunches create significant intra-abdominal pressure and place direct stress on the linea alba before it has had a chance to heal, which can slow recovery. While you will eventually be able to resume these exercises (and more), they are not where postpartum core work should begin. Starting with the foundational steps outlined here first creates a much stronger base for progressing to more challenging movements.
What is 360° Breathing and why does it matter for core recovery? 360° Breathing is a breathing technique that activates the deep core muscles — including the diaphragm, transverse abdominis, and pelvic floor — to build foundational core strength from the inside out. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which improves your overall health.
Are Kegels good for postpartum pelvic floor recovery? Working the pelvic floor muscles is absolutely important, and Kegels (when performed properly) are a great way to do so. The issue lies in how Kegels are typically described: “squeeze the muscles used to stop the flow of urine.” There are two problems with that instruction. First, as discussed in the step 3 video above, those “pee-stopping” muscles are only the front of the pelvic floor. A complete activation requires all four attachment points. Second, the traditional description focuses entirely on squeezing, while the lengthening portion of the movement — fully releasing the muscles — is equally important, and arguably more so postpartum. Working the pelvic floor through a full range of motion is what builds functional strength. That’s exactly what Pelvic Floor Activations (PFAs) are designed to do.