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Stomach muscles

The stomach muscles and ligaments stretch throughout pregnancy, this is a normal process. It is also normal for stomach muscles to feel weak after having a baby.

Below you can find some information about exercises that you can do to start to strengthen your stomach muscles. It is important to watch out for any doming in the centre of your tummy. If this does happen, try to use your arms to reduce the effort on your stomach muscles whilst they get stronger. i.e. use arms to help when getting in or out of bed, or sitting forwards from the sofa.

If you feel you need further support from the physiotherapy team after looking at this information, contact your GP or midwife and request a referral to physiotherapy.

Video

After birth - your stomach muscles