What are the best exercises to do?

Whether your goal is to get healthy and lose baby weight or to get back to the strenuous workout routine you did before you were pregnant, retraining the core — which includes the pelvic floor — is the first stop.

But core training may not mean what you think it does. Forget crunches and situps. In fact, it's typically best to avoid these type of moves altogether. After nine months of being stretched out, your abdominal muscles need to relearn how to work properly first.

You can start with Kegel exercises — contracting and relaxing the muscles of the pelvic floor as soon as you feel able. Simply squeeze as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine, thinking about drawing your pelvic floor up. Hold this for three to five seconds. Then relax.

Once you have Kegels down, try adding belly breathing. Breathe in deeply, letting your belly expand and your pelvic floor relax. Then exhale, drawing your bellybutton in and your pelvic floor up, doing a Kegel.

These exercises are perfect for the early weeks of postpartum since they can be done anytime, anywhere — even while holding or nursing your baby. And while you may not feel a burn, regaining core function is important groundwork. A strong core can do everything from preventing back pain to helping you run (or sneeze) without leaking.