Exercise After Pregnancy

How Soon Should I Start to Exercise After Pregnancy?

This is a very common question I get asked by new mums all the time and there is a very simple answer. That is this - as soon as you possibly can after giving birth.

But let me be clear on this, I am not referring to what most people would class as exercise, such as jogging, exercise classes or going to the gym. These activities would be far too intense and place your body which is already in a delicate state in to a much more unstable condition in which you could potentially cause yourself serious long term injury.

So ideally you do need to take part in some form of post pregnancy exercise, but this should be gentle and structured. It needs to be something that fits in to your new lifestyle and allows you to carry out the many tasks associated with motherhood and caring for a new baby.

With this type of gently progressive exercise after pregnancy you can begin within a couple of days of the birth and with the pelvic floor and tummy tightening exercises these can be started immediately. In fact the sooner you can start exercising, the faster your recovery will be and the quicker you will start to lose weight and return to your pre pregnancy shape.

Post Pregnancy Exercise

Post Pregnancy Exercise

Immediately after having a baby is when most new mums want to take things easy and conserve as much energy as possible. Unfortunately this action goes against what you should actually be doing. Difficult as it most definitely is when considering lack of sleep, recovering from the effects of the birth and a general tiredness and lethargy, the real solution is to become a little more active.

Here are the reasons why: -

• When you move around your heart has to work harder to pump the blood to the working muscles. This extra work also means that the supply of much needed nutrients are circulated quicker, helping to improve the recovery process faster.

• If you go out for a walk, you take yourself and your baby out of the house and in to the fresh air then your lungs and body are being provided with the freshest oxygen which again can be useful in speeding up your recovery.

• When you take part in post pregnancy exercise, the body produces seratonin which is a feel good hormone. Moving around and getting slightly out of breathe actually makes us feel good.

• Your baby will likely sleep much better if she gets plenty of fresh air, or if unsettled the sounds of her crying won't seem too loud outside.

• Because you are starting to move around more, you will be burning off extra calories, which will help with your weight loss after pregnancy, again giving you more energy and helping to improve your own self image.

So whilst doing anything other than caring for your new baby will be a huge challenge at first, if you can start becoming more active the results will far outweigh the effort that it takes. Ultimately everyone will benefit from you being stronger, fitter, healthier and happier.