Having a baby is one of the most beautiful experiences globally, but it does leave mothers overweight. Getting back into exercise after having a baby is essential if you’re going to lose that pregnancy fat. Mothers have to build their strength and ensure that they exercise their core safely.
What are the Benefits of Exercising After Pregnancy
The most apparent benefit of exercising is that it helps with weight loss. It also improves your cardiovascular fitness, helps strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles, and boosts energy levels. In addition, staying active helps to reduce stress, help enhance the quality of sleep and reduce the risks of postpartum depression.
When Should You Start Exercising?
Old guidelines suggested that mothers should wait six weeks before working out. Since then, guidance has changed. For example, the world-renowned Mayo Clinic says that if you had an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivered vaginally, you should be able to start exercising just days after you have given birth or whenever you feel ready. However, if you had a C-section, a complicated delivery, or extensive vaginal repair, you should first speak to your health care provider before starting an exercise program.
Does Exercise Affect Breastfeeding
If you have moderate exercise, that should not affect how much breast milk you produce or the quality of that breast milk. However, breastfeeding mothers need to remain hydrated, so keep a water bottle with them as they exercise and get lots of fluids.
Evidence suggests that high-intensity exercise can lead to lactic acid accumulation in breast milk, making it too sour for the baby. However, this is rare.
If you need to have high-intensity exercise in the first few months when breastfeeding, you may want to breastfeed your baby or pump before starting the workout. Or, you could work out first, take a shower, then express some breast milk, wait an hour or so, and then breastfeed your baby.
What Kind of Exercise Should You Do?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommends taking three to 10-minute walks, which you could do with your Veer Stroller Wagon; pelvic floor exercises, and back and abdominal exercises as you build up the strength to do moderate aerobic exercises.
You should reframe what exercising means at the start of your exercise journey. For instance, rather than getting straight to squats, you should start by sitting up and down as you build up the strength to do squats. Then, you could pull resistance bands in varying directions. If this goes well, and the tears and incisions you experienced are healing, you can then start to do more strenuous exercises. You have to pace yourself so you allow your body to heal.
Many postpartum mothers start with abdominal exercises. The important thing is to start with activities that are not too strenuous and help heal. There are postpartum exercise classes that you can join, and there are pelvis therapists who will help you with this.
