This mum suffered a 3cm ab separation and lost 16kg after giving birth

While preparing for her wedding in 2016, this mum weighed 65kg and was the happiest and healthiest she had ever been.

18 months later Rebecca fell pregnant and suffered from severe ab separation and pelvic girdle issues which resulted in her needing a caesarean at 38 weeks.

“The day of my caesarean I weighed 110kg,” Rebecca adds.

Ab seperation and exercise

During Rebecca’s first trimester, she attempted to continue personal training twice a week but had awful morning sickness. The weight then started to stack on, due to the lack of exercise and the need to constantly eat dry toast.

“At the beginning of my second trimester I fell over coming out of the bank.

“The next morning I had a sore groin, I thought I pulled a muscle, so let it go for a few days but the pain didn’t go away. I spoke to my obstetrician who suggested that I go and see a womens health physiotherapist,” Rebecca said.

The physiotherapist told Rebecca that she had a 2.5cm separation in her abs the entire way down and wasn’t allowed to do any exercise apart from pelvic floor exercises.

Rebecca adds, “I couldn’t walk far due to my pelvic girdle issues and couldn’t exercise because of the ab separation during my third trimester. I was put on bed rest at 34 weeks due to a mysterious bout of coughing up blood.”

After many tests and no answers, the problem mysteriously stopped and doctors recommended that at this point a caesarean at 38 weeks would be the best and safest option for Rebecca and her baby.

Postpartum

After the caesarean, the physiotherapist checked her separation and it was now 3cm separated the entire way down.

Rebecca says, “I was determined to be as mobile as possible following my c-section so had purchased SRC recovery shorts and wore them from day 2 after my c-section. They honestly helped me so much both physically and mentally.”

From the day she came home from hospital Rebecca started walking small distances. She also tried to push through light pelvic floor exercises. Six weeks later (following the all clear from her doctor) Rebecca returned to more strenuous exercise. 

Starting back with her PT twice a week, Rebecca began to feel stronger. She was then motivated to try out  kanga training as well as mums and bubs Pilates. She was really keen to find fun and interesting ways to exercise with baby! 

Just before Christmas she weighed 94kg. Even though she had lost weight and was getting back into her fitness rhythm, Rebecca was not totally comfortable with her weight. That’s when she was inspired to join The Healthy Mummy’s 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge. 

She now only has 0.5cm of separation!

Rebecca’s routine now

Rebecca’s daily routine consists of exercising as much possible with her baby as well as squeezing in more intense (and solo) sessions when bub is asleep. 

“At the moment I am doing Pilates on one day, PT on another, walking the next  (with the hope of returning to jogging when my Physio says I can) all while incorporating the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge workout videos into my day.”

Rebecca goes further to add, “I wake up, make breakfast, get baby ready, exercise, make lunch, do whatever activities I have planned, then prep dinner. Hubby comes home we eat, go for a walk and then bed!” she said.

Rebecca has certainly got her fitness regime down pat!

To support the emotional toll muscle separation can have on a woman, we’ve introduced a muscle separation exercise videos to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge App. So if you are suffering from muscle separation we are here to support you!

Our exercises supporting muscle separation are just ONE of the many exciting PARTS of our app. We also have many muscle separation exercises performed by our Healthy Mummy trainer Wendy, to ensure you are safe post pregnancy.

We also have a post pregnancy DVD.

This DVD contains safe and effective workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home.

The workouts burn approximately 450 – 550 calories per hour and will help tone up the key areas of your body such as your tummy, hips and thighs. Learn more about our DVD here.