Exercise is important. It’s always important to be fit when you’re in the throes of having a baby, but it’s especially crucial to exercise when you are pregnant so you can protect your health and the health of your baby. If you and your bump exercise you are less likely to gain excess weight, you are more likely to have an easy and fast delivery (though no guarantees) and you can reduce your risk of gestational diabetes. Plus, you’ll have an easier time bouncing back after the baby is born because you’ll already be fit.
Your stomach muscles may separate. As your baby grows so does your womb to make room for the growing fetus. And to make room for your growing womb, your stomach muscles need to stretch as well. In some cases, the two large parallel bands of muscles that meet in the middle of the abdomen don’t just stretch, they completely separate. Ouch. This stretching is totally normal, though it explains why it is so hard to sit up when you are pregnant and why it is so hard for women to regain their abdominal strength after birth.
