Breathing might seem simple, but how you breathe during and after pregnancy plays a major role in your core and pelvic floor health.

It’s one of the most powerful tools for stabilizing your body, supporting movement, managing pressure, and building deep core strength. But in pregnancy and postpartum, breathing patterns often shift due to changes in posture, abdominal control, and intra-abdominal pressure and those compensations can stick around long after birth.

What is diaphragmatic (360°) breathing

You’ve probably heard of diaphragmatic or “360° breathing” before – it’s the foundation of effective core and pelvic floor work. This type of breathing engages your entire core system: the diaphragm (roof), pelvic floor (floor), transverse abdominals (front and sides), and multifidus (back).

For this system to work well, everything needs to move and coordinate together. Diaphragmatic breathing is gentle, expansive, and responsive, it’s not forceful. And to make it automatic again (especially postpartum), it needs to be trained.

How pregnancy impacts your breathing

As your baby grows, the uterus pushes upward against the diaphragm and outward on your abdominals, expanding the rib cage and limiting the diaphragm’s ability to contract and relax. This can leave your ribs stuck in an inhaled position.

At the same time, postural changes – like an anterior pelvic tilt and a backward-shifted rib cage – limit your upper back’s mobility and shift your center of gravity. This puts extra demand on the thoracic spine and alters how your entire core functions.

When your rib cage can’t move well, neither can your diaphragm. And since the diaphragm and pelvic floor work together to regulate pressure, this lack of mobility can contribute to core and pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis, and breathing inefficiencies.

The muscles that attach to the rib cage – your abdominals, obliques, back, and even shoulder stabilizers- can also become stiff or overworked, adding to this cycle of compensation, tension, and weakness.

What does an optimal breath look like?

• On an inhale, the diaphragm flattens and descends, the lungs fill, the rib cage expands in all directions (front, sides, back), and the pelvic floor gently lengthens downward.
• On an exhale, the lungs empty, the diaphragm rises, the rib cage narrows and drops down, and the pelvic floor lifts with control.

This sounds simple but many women need to retrain this pattern postpartum.

Try this 3-step better breathing approach:

This step-by-step approach will help you:

✔ Reconnect with your breath
✔ Restore rib cage and thoracic mobility
✔ Use breath to support better core control, strength, and pressure management

Step 1: Reclaiming Rib Cage Expansion

If your breathing looks like this:

• Chest rising
• Belly sucking in
• Pressure pushing down

Then the first step is to improve how your rib cage expands.

Why this matters:

Your diaphragm, ribs, and pelvic floor work as a coordinated system. If you can’t expand your ribs properly, your breath becomes shallow, your core stays tense or disengaged, and pressure builds downward – all of which can hinder your postpartum recovery.

Key exercises:

1. Side-lying rib expansion with block

Lie on one side with a yoga block or ball tucked under your ribcage. This gently restricts one side so the opposite ribs expand more fully. Inhale slowly for 5–8 seconds, and exhale through pursed lips.

2. 90/90 Breathing

This position aligns your ribcage over your pelvis and helps you tap into posterior expansion. Option to add a forward reach to lengthen your back and makes space for the breath. Inhale for 5 seconds, pause, and exhale slowly through your mouth.

3. Rockback Breathing

Sit back on your heels with your elbows in front of your knees and upper back rounded. Inhale into your upper back, then exhale with a long “hah” — like deflating a balloon. This encourages expansion and control in the back of your ribcage.

Step 2: Adding Core Connection to the Breath

Once you’ve reestablished rib cage movement, it’s time to integrate gentle core activation. These exercises help reconnect your diaphragm, deep core, and pelvic floor to work together during each breath cycle.

Why this matters:

Just doing “core work” isn’t enough — your core needs to respond to breath, pressure, and movement. Adding elements like hamstrings and adductors can help you better align your pelvis and support this system.

Key exercises:

1. Supine Breathing with Core + Adductor Squeeze

Lying on your back with knees bent, place a ball or yoga block between your knees. Feet on the wall like shown, or on the ground. Inhale to expand your ribs, then exhale and gently engage your deep core and inner thighs. This improves pelvic stability and core coordination.

2. 90/90 Hip Lift

With heels on a wall, lift your hips slightly and tuck your pelvis under gently. Breathe in and exhale with a subtle hamstring engagement. This stacked position helps you feel how breath supports pelvic positioning.

3. Side-lying Breathing + Forward Reach + Adductor Squeeze

This adds a slight forward reach to encourage lateral rib expansion, while the squeeze promotes core and pelvic floor activation. It’s a great way to reinforce alignment and pressure management in a new position.

Step 3: Breath Meets Mobility

Now we bring it all together — using your breath while moving and mobilizing. This part of the series improves how your ribs and spine move, supporting more efficient breathing and better overall function.

Why this matters:

Restricted mobility in the thoracic spine, ribs, and lateral body can lock up your breath. These movement-based drills help release tight tissues, restore mobility, and teach your core and pelvic floor to respond during dynamic tasks.

Key exercises:

1. Banded Cat-Cow

The band gives you tactile feedback to guide your movement. Exhale as you push up into flexion, pausing to feel core and pelvic floor activation. Then inhale into the upper back as you extend, keeping breath slow and intentional.

2. Lateral Line Stretch

This movement opens the side body, helping you lengthen tight lats and obliques. It improves rib cage mobility, releases tension, and enhances full rib expansion — especially into the sides and back.

3. Open Book Stretch

A gentle thoracic rotation drill that restores rotation and mobility through your upper back and ribs. This helps prevent over-reliance on neck and chest muscles for breathing, and allows the diaphragm to function more effectively.

Final Thoughts: Start With Your Breath

Breathing well is foundational. If you can’t breathe fully and intentionally, your core and pelvic floor can’t respond properly and compensations follow. 

This approach is designed to help you rebuild from the inside out whether you’re newly postpartum or further along and still feeling disconnected. And how I help you regain strength and control in the postpartum period throughout my app programs.

You can find these movements (with video demos!) inside the Lift with Emily app, along with full postpartum programs that go beyond the basics and help you rebuild for real life.