You might be thinking about when your baby belly will go away. Well, there's no right timeframe to regain your pre-pregnancy body, as each woman's pregnancy experience and body is unique. You can go back to your previous self with the right mindset, some hard work, and the right tools.
Today we have an overview of postpartum exercise.
Yes, you can! If you had a healthy pregnancy and normal vaginal delivery go ahead and start some physical activity as soon as you feel ready. Even a few days after giving birth is okay!
Make sure you talk to your healthcare provider if you had a c-section or any complications before exercising again.
TRUE! Exercise not only can help you lose your baby weight and benefit your physical health but also can improve your mental health by helping to prevent postpartum depression.
Here are some more benefits from postpartum exercise:
Strengthen and tone your abdominal and core muscles
Boost your energy level
Promote improvement in sleep
Relieve stress
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology ( ACOG) suggests at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week.
This activity does not have to be intense. Basically, move your muscles so that your heart rate increases and you start sweating. How do you know it’s moderate intensity? Basically, you should be able to talk but not sing during the activity.
Remember you can decide how you want to divide these minutes.
Five 30-minute workouts per week or three 10-minute walks daily. Choose what works best for you!
FALSE! Strength training activities are just as important postpartum especially to regain the strength of your core muscles including your pelvic floor!
You don’t need to start bench pressing or doing deadlifts. Just using your body weight or some light weight is enough. Going too hard early can actually be harmful.
Try activities include yoga, pilates, walking upstairs or hills, squats or push-ups as ways to strengthen your muscles at least 2 days a week.
Your pelvic floor has special exercise called kegels that can help strengthen and tone muscles in that area.
You can start Kegel’s within 24 hours postpartum!
Start small with two or three minutes per day to strengthen your pelvic floor.
Pregnancy is not kind to the pelvic floor muscles. Pregnancy and labor stretch the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, debilitating them. These activities serve to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder, uterus, and rectum, and they are beneficial both before and after birth.
NO! Regular aerobic exercise in postpartum women does not affect milk production, composition, or babies’ growth.
Here are some exercise tips if you are breastfeeding or pumping:
If you are nursing or pumping, consider feeding your baby or expressing milk before exercising to avoid discomfort of engorged breasts.
Hydrate before and during exercise- remember you need more water intake when you are breastfeeding!
Where loose fitting clothing and supportive bras are comfortable.
NO! While planks are usually considered one of the best core exercises, they are not the best option when you are newly postpartum. They demand too much from an already recovering core, so they could induce abdominal muscle separation (diastasis recti ) or make it worse if you already have it.
So which “core” exercising can you do? Keep it easy at the start and begin with:
Pelvic tilts
Abdominal or belly breathing
Kegels
Aim to stay active for 20–30 minutes a day.
Start with simple exercises to strengthen abdominal, pelvic and back muscles (Kegels, pelvic tilts, belly breathing) .
Gradually add moderate-intensity exercise. Even 10 minutes of exercise is good for you!
Work up to vigorous-intensity activity for those who have exercised vigorously before pregnancy or for competitive athletes.
Remember, stop exercising if you feel pain.
So go ahead and start! Many benefits to postpartum exercise for both your physical and mental wellness. Start small. Add in 10 minutes of walking one week and kegels. Next week add in 20 minutes of walking and pelvic tilts with kegels and build up from there!
But always listen to your body! Stop if you feel any distress or pain. If you have any doubts or worries about how your body is adapting to an exercise regimen, talk to your healthcare provider.
As always feel free to reach out to MaternalWell text support for any general questions or consultation with our postpartum physical therapist for any specific questions/ concerns or recommendations.
