How to Ease Back into Exercise After Delivery
- Posted on: Dec 15 2017
The miracle of life is quite a miracle, especially from the mother’s point of view. Not only do you get to witness you body changing and growing in ways you didn’t think were possible, but you get to delivery a baby and bring new life into this world. Whether you had a vaginal delivery or a c-section, we encourage all of our patients to take around six weeks on average off of exercise to help the body fully heal. After the six weeks though, you can start to slowly ease back into things.
Watch for Bleeding
One of the biggest things we want vaginal delivery patients to look for is bleeding after exercising. If you are starting to bleed again or if the bleeding gets heavier, try letting your body heal for another week or so— this is your body’s way of telling you that it’s not quite ready.
Go Small
“Go big or go home,” or in this case, “go small or go to bed.” We encourage all of our patients to slowly get back into working out. Remember that your body hasn’t worked out in over six weeks and that it will take time for you to get back into pre-pregnancy shape. Try easing into working out by doing things like going for a small walk, lifting light weights, or even go swimming if you are approved to get into the water.
Remember that It Takes Time
It can be frustrating to lose the baby weight. Now that the baby is gone, your weight should be too, right? Remember that it takes the average woman around nine months to lose all of the baby weight. After all, it took you nine months to make a baby; it’s going to take you a similar amount of time to lose all of the weight. If you can, try to enjoy this time with your newborn and focus on them rather than your weight loss— this will make it easier.
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your body, but after it has experienced trauma like childbirth, it needs time to heal. Remember to watch for bleeding, ease into your workouts, and remember that it takes time to lose the weight.
Schedule your next appointment with our Camelback Women’s Health staff today!
Posted in: Obstetrics