Get the Facts When You’re Feeling Lax

A Guide to Strength Training in the Pregnant and Postpartum Period 

Let’s be real, the body changes A LOT during pregnancy and postpartum and one thing that many women struggle with is pain associated with laxity in their ligaments (the connective tissue elements that connect our bones and joints). 

Many of you have probably heard of Relaxin, it’s this helpful little hormone that increases in pregnancy to allow your body to be a little more stretchy to accommodate pregnancy and delivery. Obviously we want our body to stretch when we are birthing another human, but sometimes that stretchiness can cause aches, pains, ab separation, or urinary dysfunction during pregnancy or postpartum. 

So how can we PREPARE for and PREVENT this?

✅ Body awareness

✅ Strength training

✅ Get screened by a pelvic floor physical therapist

FIRST – Connect with your body! 

How we position and hold our bodies is super important in controlling the amount of force and pressure on our joints and ligaments. During pregnancy the posture and pressure in our body changes, so being aware of this and learning how to accommodate for these changes can be key!

Give this exercise a try: 

Step 1: Stand relaxed (how you’d normally stand) and notice where your weight is in your foot

Step 2: See if you can balance your weight equally between the heel, base of the big toe, and base of the pinky toe

Step 3: Now keep that and think of your pelvis as a bowl of water, you want to keep it level so that water doesn’t spill from the front or the back (this may be harder towards the end of pregnancy as the pelvis starts to tilt forward, this is okay – don’t overwork at this, it should feel relaxing)

Step 4: Relax your rib cage down so that it sits over the pelvis → this should help you to relax your neck and shoulders back in their proper position 

Being able to find this posture and easily maintain it can be super helpful throughout pregnancy and postpartum! It will also allow you to better connect with your breath and your pelvic floor (see my blog post titled: “Breathe!”) 

SECOND – Get those muscles working! 

Relaxin surges during the first trimester of pregnancy then remains elevated throughout pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum (sometimes longer if breastfeeding)! Therefore getting our muscles strong to support our joints early can be key to preventing pain! 

Evidence supports the use of resistance training throughout pregnancy and postpartum to help mamas be ready for the challenge of growing and caring for a new baby, but you want to make sure you do so safely so that you don’t increase your risk for injury. 

THIRD – Come see us! 

We are pelvic floor physical therapists who are specialized in the treatment of pregnant and postpartum women.  Regardless if you are just preparing for pregnancy, already pregnant, or have already had your baby we can help! 

We will evaluate you where you are and create a customized strengthening program for each phase of your pregnancy and postpartum journey to equip you for all the bodily changes! 

Written by: Kelsey Karnes PT, DPT

References: 

1. Selman, R., Early, K., Battles, B., Seidenburg, M., Wendel, E., & Westerlund, S. (2022). Maximizing Recovery in the Postpartum Period: A Timeline for Rehabilitation from Pregnancy through Return to Sport. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 17(6), 1170-1183.

2. Matejka, A. (2023). Guidelines for Prenatal and Postpartum Resistance Training. IntechOpen. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.109230