What Does It Take to Strengthen The Postpartum Body?

Let me answer the question that this title asks directly: it first takes compassion.

Thinking back to my healing experience after my second birth, I now understand the amount of compassion one needs to not only look at their postpartum bodies with appreciation, but to be curious about what this new body needs. Not on an aesthetic level, because all too quickly new parents fall into the trap of, “I need a tummy tuck.” I’m talking about what our bodies need to move, to function…to thrive!

A while back, I wrote an article about my personal experience with postpartum back pain. You can read more about that experience here. My journey to healing started with compassion and led to an official diagnosis of diastatsis recti, a very sore psoas muscle and weak core muscles which was responsible for all of my lower back pain.

Diastasis recti is the technical name for abdominal separation. The abdomen naturally separates during pregnancy to make room for your growing baby. This internal abdominal pressure can cause the linea alba (which is in between your abs) to stretch out, creating a gap between your abdominal muscles.

I wanted to delve into this issue even deeper during a recent conversation with a mother who has also been there herself and is on a mission to helps those who may find themselves on a similar journey. Dominique Quarles is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Postpartum/Prenatal Fitness Coach, Certified Pain Free Performance Specialist, and Certified Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist. An athlete all throughout her teen years and college life, Dominique first experienced a change in her body after the birth of her first child. But after her 2nd and challenges with "mommy belly"—also known as diastasis recti— and pelvic prolapse, she decided to take charge of her healing. This discovery was the start of helping over 400+ women return to a pain-free post-baby life with overall increased function.

I invited Dominique onto the Well Worth Watering podcast for Episode 30: Strong Like a Mother. You can listen to the episode here. Dominique helps new mothers achieve pain free living and regain control of their bodies with Alphababe Fitness, which specializes in strength and pain free fitness, pelvic rehabilitation, core muscle strengthening, and prenatal fitness/birth preparation via breathwork coaching. For more information, visit alphababe-fitness.com and be sure to follow Dominique for great tips and exercises on Instagram @alphababefitness.