Marine mothers are now exempt from fitness tests, weight standards for 1 year after giving birth February 8 Marines and their spouses attend the quarterly Headquarters and Support Battalion baby shower on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 21, 2018. (Lance Cpl. Megan Roses/Marine Corps) The Marine Corps will extend the postpartum moratorium on physical fitness from nine months to 12 months, according to an administrative message released from the Marine Corps on Monday. Historically Marines have been given nine months from the time they gave birth to get within Marine Corps standards and start passing the physical fitness test and combat fitness test.