@sathyaraj I’ve always been a pretty fit person as well, so I was also really weirded out when my core felt like a completely foreign body part post c section. I’m 9 weeks out and it definitely is way better. Just rest and take it easy. I started doing light core movements around 6 weeks and I’m nowhere near where I want to be but it’s getting there.
C-Section
- Thread starter sathyaraj
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- postpartum recovery
hephzibah1021
New member
@sathyaraj Gentle breathing exercises for initial core engagement. Would also recommended an appointment with a pelvic floor Pt after your six week recovery
@hephzibah1021 Alright
susanedgar37
New member
@sathyaraj 100% rest for 6 weeks. You get one chance to heal, do it to the VERY best of you ability and that means allowing the body to just be. I know it’s so hard.
I’m 6 months PP and starting to feel better and better. This is my 2nd c section. The first was unplanned and it took me about a year to really feel like I was back to myself. This second was planned and it was much easier to get back to a routine.
But seriously, look at a paper plate. That’s how big of a wound you have inside of you just from birth, then add the trauma of major abdominal surgery. If you saw that on the outside of your skin, you would likely go easy. It’s still all there and healing, so be patient.
You’ve got this! It will get easier. First few weeks I just focused on deep belly breathing. Then slow walking. Once I was cleared at 6 weeks I did more hill walks and some Pilates type core work.
I’m 6 months PP and starting to feel better and better. This is my 2nd c section. The first was unplanned and it took me about a year to really feel like I was back to myself. This second was planned and it was much easier to get back to a routine.
But seriously, look at a paper plate. That’s how big of a wound you have inside of you just from birth, then add the trauma of major abdominal surgery. If you saw that on the outside of your skin, you would likely go easy. It’s still all there and healing, so be patient.
You’ve got this! It will get easier. First few weeks I just focused on deep belly breathing. Then slow walking. Once I was cleared at 6 weeks I did more hill walks and some Pilates type core work.
@susanedgar37 It makes sense. Thank you kind stranger 
@sathyaraj I remember feeling so so tight in my whole body, and like my body was wholly unfamiliar to me. It was very distressing because I was super fit up until the day I gave birth and I always felt so in touch with my body. Give it time, it took me like 2-3mos to get used to all the new demands on my body and muscles and accept/work on the tightness. It will get better over time! I’m 5mos pp and still feel a little off and tight but it is waaaay better.
josephbonello
New member
@sathyaraj I was in the same boat and felt very defeated the first 10ish weeks. It’s so hard! Just let your core rest right now and you will thank yourself later. I pushed myself too hard and it took much longer to recover because of it. I tried putting Christmas lights on the Christmas tree (which seems so not strenuous!) but I moved wrong and lost at least a month of recovery.
It’s very hard to just rest but it’s the best thing you can do for the long run.
It’s very hard to just rest but it’s the best thing you can do for the long run.
@sathyaraj You shouldn’t be trying to connect with your core at all. They were cut open and need to heal. I think people downplay the severity of a c section because they want to say it is as natural as a vaginal delivery, and let me say: it is a valid, beautiful, hard way to birth a baby, but for YOU as mama, it is not a natural or easy experience to have an incision across your abdomen, just like a severe tear or other birth related injury is not a normal every day experience! It’s common, but it’s not normal, it’s an injury you must heal from. Just like if you needed any other kind of surgery, you need time to heal before you will be able to work those muscles again. when I was a few months post c section I found some resources on deep breathing exercises you could do in the first 6 weeks postpartum, those might help you feel like you are more actively working on your healing if so much rest makes you antsy! But enjoy your rest and give yourself grace.