To want to run 3 weeks post c-section?

[Justwanttorun]

DS was born 3 weeks ago by emergency cesarean for failure to progress (rather than any serious emergency). I have had no complications since and recovery has actually been very easy. I get some mild tingling/stinging in my scar from time to time but that’s all.

I’ve been walking several miles, off road so on relatively technical terrain, most days since about 10 days postpartum. I did 5 miles with the pushchair on my own on Wednesday. I exercised regularly right up until the end of my pregnancy and had done a long gym session the day my waters broke so I still feel like I have a reasonable level of fitness.

DH is doing parkrun tomorrow and suggested I might like to walk the course with DS. WIBU to walk the first couple of loops of the course with DS in the pushchair, then let DH take him once he’s finished and gently jog the last loop - about 1.5km? Obviously it would be VERY gentle and slow and I would walk if it hurt at all.

What is my GP actually going to tell me at 6 weeks about my recovery and my readiness to exercise that I done already know/feel now? Has anyone else resumed activity a bit earlier?

I was told that it takes the body up to two years to fully recover from an cs as there is so much to heal.

I started moving at 6 hours after my cs (when i was medically allowed) as i wanted to see my lo who was in neonatal and i hadnt seen him since his birth (good incentive to move!!)
And i was out walking 9 days after my cs (6 of those i was in hosp) i am not fit and i am over weight but i swear it did me the world of good just walking (very slowly and short distances at first).

My step mother was astounded shes a midwife and said that she has seen plenty of ladies who had vaginal births who didnt leave the house for weeks let alone Cs ones!

So i get were you are coming from and i know its frustrating but you really must wait to see your gp before driving (its not the driving itself but any emergency stops), and any other strenuous excercise its not worth the set back or damage it can do.

Please look after yourself!

@justwanttorun
I am a LOT older than you (my younger baby just left for University)
I am still paying for a stupid run I did when I was 19 - joints / muscles once damaged are never the same again ....

Enjoy the walk
but look after yourself to be there to run with your baby once he's 18

You have at least 3 layers of stitches after MAJOR abdominal surgery OP, plus they tear your abdominal muscles to gain entry by pulling them apart. Exercise with gentle walking by all means, but I wouldn't recommend running just yet. HCP here btw.

I burst a stitch around 3 weeks post c-section - I was overdoing things because I felt I was more recovered than I actually was. So I’d take it easy for a few more weeks.

And- post partum all your ligaments etc at all stretched so you really shouldn’t jump straight back into things.

Anyway, enjoy your baby and lots of lovely walks, and being out and about. I was the same as you- desperate to be outside! Hated being cooped indoors just me and the baby’

I did too much too soon following my emcs and my wound popped open on one side and didn't close until I was 4 months postpartum, I wouldn't recommend it.

I didn't run for 3 months! Even then it felt 'weird' for about another four weeks. I can't see it doing you any good, honestly, just wait. They say at least 8 weeks I believe (could be more) but I'd have died if I tried to run at 3 weeks pp!

Thank you @glintandglide. We were both fine once dd was born, although my first question when I come rind from the anaesthetic was whether the baby was alive. I had to have a minor op a few days later. It took me months to recover from that CS. No lasting damage though. DD had a scalpel cut on her back which has left a very, very faint scar, which you can only see if you know where to look. She is nearly 7, and fit, strong and healthy in every way.

I was desperate to get back to running too. I was so pleased when my consultant signed me off to run at 7 weeks (but said strictly no abdo exercises until at least 12 weeks). I went for my first run and oh my fucking hell it was awful. I could feel my internal organs jiggling about. Everything was still a bit baggy. 😱 I didn't try again for months. It really freaked me out. So I would advise you to wait a while.

The thing about the 6 week check is that it’s a “minimum” recovery time check, not a “maximum”. At my 6 we’re check after my second dc, I was advised not to start any exercise or go back to work yet. It was just as well, since I couldn’t stand up straight. It’s why maternity pay is most generous for the first 6 weeks, and why the law stops women with factory jobs from going back fir 6 weeks. 6 weeks is the min reasonable recovery time from childbirth by zany method. It’s also an opportunity for a HCP to recommend further rest.

I played hockey 7 weeks post “easy” vaginal birth, 2nd degree tear that healed well. Was fit, strong and in my 20’s.
Still pissed myself every time i sprinted...
Thank god for black hockey skorts!
Brought me down to earth a bit and realised i needed time for everything to heal a wee bit more x

I ran at 12 weeks. I’ve got 2 sorts of prolapse, quite badly, and it’s taken a year of pelvic floor physio plus stupidly expensive support shorts plus a rubber pessary to jam my floppy vaginal walls back inside my vulva to be able to do 3x20 minute runs a week. I was a fell runner doing half marathons before and it’s fucking annoying and will be with me the rest of my life.

Take it easy and satisfy your need to push yourself by really getting on with Kegels and pelvic floor/ab safe Pilates.

I waited until approx 5 weeks, and did a C25k equivalent to ensure I didn’t over do it.
I think my first jog was 20 mins long but only about 7 mins of that was 'running'

The longer the recovery the more bullet proof it is - good advice I’ve had and think is worth heeding.

Did you have maternity running tights? I wore mine post natally until they had holes in and I found they really helped stop that jiggly organ feeling

I know it feels like forever but it isn’t, I promise. You’ve the rest of your life.

I'm not sure if anyone else has already said this but it's actually really bad for you. It can permanently damage your pelvic floor - no matter what kind of birth you had. Your muscles have not healed yet and you could cause serious irreparable damage. That means pissing yourself. A lot.

Please, on behalf of your pelvic floor, don't do this too soon. Pelvic organ prolapse is no joke, neither is damage to your joints whilst relaxin levels subside. Keep up with the walking for sure.

I say this as a mad woman who ran at 42 weeks pregnant and then ran 10 days postnatally after a vaginal birth. Madness I tell you. I would slap myself if I could go back in time.

The bleeding after birth is not just like a period, there is a huge wound on the inside, where the placenta was.

It would be a huge mistake to go against medical advice at this time.

I was v fit before pregnancy and continued going to gym until 35 weeks when I hurt my foot (not at the gym!) I ran a hilly 10k race when I was 5 weeks pregnant

I had forceps not a c section but after the birth I was told by my GP not to run for 3-6 months due to pressure on my pelvic floor. Even at 4-5 months it felt like my insides were going to fall out if I attempted to run. Due to relaxin in my i also had stabbing ankle pain up until recently

It frustrating as I wanted to run but I did Pilates and non impact exercise insted.

DD is now 9 month old and I have just done my first Crossfit session and everything felt good. So touch wood I’m good to run as well.

Do lots and lots of pelvic floor exercises before you even consider running

OP what they all said!

I ran til week 27 of my twin pregnancy. After that I did non impact stuff like xtrainer. I did 90 mins the morning I was induced and did 30 flights of stairs after they put thr pessary in. So I am into my fitness.

But you can seriously give yourself a prolapse!

I am seeing a women's health physio and she also reckons no running for a year. And a few months after stopping bf. It is not no exercise, it is no high impact. I am 7 mos postpartum and go to the gym 3-4 x week. I do basic pilates to rebuild my core and xtrainer, stepper etc.

I plan to bf the DTs till a year and expect to try running again when they are maybe 14-15 mos.

I am treating this time as a new fitness challenge to get my core and PF as strong as poss in the next few months. Can you take a similar view?

You may feel fine, as I did, but your internal organs are all shifting back and trying to heal. You can get adhesions forming between organs which can affect health and risks of another section in the future. My friend's bladder had formed an adhesion to her womb and was told not to have any more children after her second. Why risk it? You sound a bit addicted to exercise. Just enjoy your baby for now x

Pregnancy drained my fitness, plus a long labour with EMCS and complications so I took my return to fitness gently with walking and a postnatal DVD. At 10 weeks I felt ready for a buggy fitness class. I felt slightly "fragile" for about 3-4 months. It was 5 months before I felt ready for a mainstream class. Aside from major surgery, pregnancy and birth are massive physical changes that need time to recover from in their own right.

It actually took longer after my VBAC. A 3rd degree tear was a bad combination with SPD which continued to inhibit my mobility for 3 months (I was less mobile in the first month, and couldn't drive for a month due to the pain of sitting and strong laxitives ). At 5 months I finally stopped limping and at 6 months took up C25k. My pelvic floor isn't perfect but several years on can stand running at a steady pace (but not a sprint finish and not a trampoline). It has gradually improved after time. I BFed for 2 years and it was still improving after I stopped. Joints can be less stable and it is possible to over-stretch muscles when beyond your usual range.

Don't run yet. Get out, walk, enjoy the outdoors, but it simply isn't worth risking your long term recovery for the sake of several weeks. Give it about 12 weeks, try from the start of C25k where the amount of impact is low and build up gently with plenty of rest days.

Thread where some women report running again 2-4 weeks after their C-sections. Your risk to take, OP.

I was running 7-10 days after vaginal births (no regrets so far).

I'd agree that it's too early, but just for the record, the abdominal muscles aren't cut during a c section, just pulled to the side.

I'm going to get flamed for this, but it's actually the cutting through, and thenstritching back together of layers of fat that tends to cause longer recovery time.

On the whole, the less fat you have, the shorter recovery time yiu will have, with the least risk of infection (as less of an overhang in which to trap bacteria)

Loads of sensible responses with regards to running. Please do not consider driving until after 6 weeks, medical advice is that your core is not sufficiently healed internally until then to safely perform an emergency stop. This is even the advice with keyhole surgery so a definite no post section.

Trout you hadn’t had abdominal surgery!!!!

Is it me have I missed her or has the OP legged it? (sorry)