Returning to exercise after birth

[2018mum]

Hi,

My baby is a month old today. I wanted to know how soon would you recommend i could return to fitness? I was very active before I had her and i miss my classes so much.

I do go for at least 30 - 40min walk everyday and do some stretches and Kegels a couple of times day. I had a few stitches that’s all. Itching to go back would start off with les mills body balance should that be ok? Obviously I would be mindful of abs tracks.

Not sure how to check for Diastasis recti but sure I can let my instructor know. Just feels forever waiting for my post partum check up. Two weeks counting!

Can’t go swimming due to lightly still bleeding.

I have had back pain one side but that has now subsided. Although my back and pelvic hurt as I haven’t slept on back for months!. I do some yoga pose & stretches every night.

Thank you.

Are you breastfeeding?

Just go for it and take it very easy the first while x

No bottle feeding

Keep being told to wait six weeks just don’t want to do more damage and go back to square one. Not being active as I used to be is killing me.

Six weeks imo is just a broad guide, I wasn't ready at six weeks in the same way you are. Why not try a video at home to start and take it easy, listen to your body and stop if it's not working.

Can you see a physio to check for any muscle separation? I seriously doubt your gym instructor would be qualified to know, or indeed know how to properly tailor exercises for you at the moment. In fact I'd be seriously concerned they could lead you to do more damage than good!!

If you can't see a physio then I'd look up specific post-natal exercises rather than going to non post-natal classes. I go to a physio-lead class specifically for this and learned about the two types of pelvic floor exercises, lots of exercises to gently knit muscles back together and most importantly what NOT to be doing.

Thank you I will have a look into physio or post natal videos.

I waited until I'd stopped bleeding as I found the flow would get heavier if I was overdoing it. I think I waited 6 weeks and then went for a gentle jog. Good luck! After my first all I wanted to do was sit in the sofa and watch box sets (and sleep!), but after my second I couldn't wait to get going again, my body felt so much better once DS was out!!

If you think of your pelvic floor as a hammock - putting it under pressure before it's returned to where it should be is just going to make it stretch further and delay recovery. So I would really go easy on running and jumping around too much.

I would think cycling or a step machine would be OK.

You should check with your instructors whether they're happy for you to return to their classes before you've had your 6 week check.

What is it you miss most, the camaraderie of the class, the mindfulness of body balance type classes or the buzz of getting your heart rate going?

The reason I asked about breastfeeding is that the hormones hang around still making your ligaments stretchy, and I have been advised not to do anything high impact until I have stopped bf. I’m not sure how long they linger post partum when bottle feeding, but best to take the advice of a professional and ease your way in

Great responses. Personally I miss the old me however learning to adapt. I miss exercise in the sense how it de stressed me and I never thought about anything else once I was in my session.

My bleeding is very light now .. yoga isn’t intense I would still take it easy. I haven’t been running just walking. Not keen on running right away until my body and joint s are 100% I don’t wish to go backwards in the healing process.

Did you do yoga during pregnancy? If so you should be okay to do that now, provided you don't over stretch. Your hormones will mean you're still much more flexible than pre-pregnancy and with yoga there's the chance of hyper extending.

Yes I did yoga right up till my baby was born. I did it on a Thursday and I had her on the following Tuesday.

Get a women’s health physio to assess your pelvic floor and check for diastis recti if you possibly can. I started post natal Pilates with qualified physio leading the class at 8 weeks post partum and it saved my back and my mind! It also helped deal with my pelvic organ prolapse (caused by big baby/forceps delivery, not exercise). 14 months on and with intensive physio I’ve now been back to running for about 2 months with no deterioration in symptoms. So be gentle with yourself and accept it might take time to get to where you need to be!

Thank you great feedback I intend to see a physio and not jump ahead of myself just yet :)

I started running again after 7-10 days. Not least because I kept running in pregnancy until 38-39 weeks. Obviously I'm not a cautious person(!). No regrets so far.

@lljkk I feel sick with envy! I love running and spending a whole year without nearly drove me mad! Do keep on top of your kegels, but I’d say when I went out at 12 weeks it was very apparent stuff wasn’t staying put in my pelvis, so if you’re familiar with your body and it feels ok, it probably is.

I’m interested in the breastfeeding thing. I’m still feeding and am now running 3x a week over rough ground and if anything I’ve had fewer joint niggles in my ankles and hips than when I was running pre-baby (possibly because I’ve worked hard on my core as part of improving my prolapse which has benefits for form?) so I’m not sure breastfeeding relaxin automatically equals injury.