Running after c-section

[Swiftie90]

Just curious to know when you restarted running if you had a c-section? Before pregnancy I ran about 30 - 40 miles per week and have done for 10 years, covering up to marathon distance. I stopped in pregnancy for a number of reasons (bleeding, low lying placenta, very bad PGP).

When do you think would be safe to restart? I’m planning on going with a couch to 5k and rebuilding from there. I’ve had my 6 week check but the doctor was vague and just suggested walking which I’m already doing a lot of.

If you've had issues with PGP, then I'd leave it a little while longer, especially if breastfeeding as the hormones can make your joints / ligaments a bit loose.
Perhaps at around 12 weeks PP you could start really slowly with a couch 2 5K type programme to reintroduce it very slowly giving you a good chance to listen to your body in case of any issues?

If you have the possibility I would go and see a women’s health’s physio and get assessed first. I felt great after 6 weeks and thought I could start running but when I got checked she saw I had a low grade prolapse ( the bladder was lower down than it should) . If I’d started to run I could’ve made it worse. I did lots of kegels and core type exercises then I saw her again at 10 weeks and I was fine to start running.

I had a PGP pregnancy and 3rd degree tear which was more painful to recover from than my previous EMCS. My fitness was trashed so I worked up to walking briskly without pain (that took 3m and an osteopath) then took up C25k when DS was about 6m as I was fed up of puffing around and needed something flexible to fit around feeds.

A year after starting C25k I did my first HM.

I had a c section in May this year and started running after 6 weeks. Was absolutely fine. First few runs were slow and I left a couple of days to recover between runs but by 8 weeks I'm running 5ks 4 or 5 times a week and feel like I did before pregnancy pretty much. I do core work outs most days too. I ran until 8 months pregnant which helped with fitness I think. If you feel like it go for it though. I had so many people make me feel guilty for staying fit during and after pregnancy and it is horrible. Sometimes you just need someone to say its okay to go for it.

I'd highly recommend you see a women's health physio for a "Mummy MOT" if it's in your budget - worth it to prevent problems down the line. This is also a really useful guide: www.ruh.nhs.uk/patients/patient_information/PHY047_Return_to_running.pdf