Postpartum exercise is a great way to prioritize your physical and mental health at a time when your own needs can feel secondary. As soon as you feel ready and your healthcare provider gives you the green light, you’re clear to start low-impact activity, such as daily walking and pelvic floor exercises. From there, you can build up to higher-impact workouts, depending on your fitness level. Regular exercise is not only safe, it’s good for you – and it won’t impact your milk supply.
IN THIS ARTICLE
- When can I start working out after giving birth?
- What are the guidelines for postpartum exercise?
- What are some great postpartum workout plans for new moms?
- When is it safe to start a postpartum ab workout?
- Are there any concerns about exercise and breastfeeding?
- What are the signs that I may need to slow down on the postpartum exercise?
When can I start working out after giving birth?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says it’s okay to gradually start exercising as soon as you get the go-ahead from your OB or midwife, and as long as you feel up to it. Your healthcare provider may want you to wait until they see you at your first postpartum checkup to see how you’re doing first.
If you exercised throughout your pregnancy and had a vaginal delivery without complications, you can safely do light exercise – walks around the neighborhood, modified push-ups, and stretching – within days of giving birth as long as you’re not in any pain. If you weren’t active during your pregnancy, or tapered off your fitness routine as the weeks went on, it’s best to check with your OB or midwife before you begin exercising again.
Talk to your healthcare provider first before starting to exercise after a c-section – and expect to wait until you recover from your operation before beginning an exercise program. A c-section incision takes at least several weeks to heal, and it may be some time after that before you really feel like working out. However, walking at an easy pace is encouraged because it promotes healing and helps prevent blood clots and other complications.
Once you’ve received the green light from your provider, you’re not only free to start moving again, but research on postpartum exercise’s many benefits encourages it. You can start with postpartum pelvic floor exercises, which will help you regain bladder control and heal a damaged or weakened pelvic floor. Ab-strengthening exercises are also useful in the immediate postpartum period – strengthening your abdominal wall can lessen any separation of those muscles (known as diastasis recti) during pregnancy.
Regular postpartum aerobic exercise is not only safe, but it will improve your overall health and fitness without negatively impacting your breastmilk production or your baby’s growth. It can also be a boon to your mood and mental health – studies have shown that exercise can help stave off postpartum depression. Just make sure to take it slow at first, be gentle with yourself, and drink plenty of water as you return to your exercise routine or start a new one.
What are the guidelines for postpartum exercise?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that you aim for 20 to 30 minutes of postpartum exercise per day. But you can start small with 10 minutes of a low-impact aerobic activity, such as walking. As you regain strength, you can increase the length or number of your walks and start working in other aerobic activity.
Take it slowly for your first six weeks postpartum, and stay at a workout intensity at which you can maintain a conversation but not belt out a song. Try to build up to walking three to five times a week for 30 minutes at this exertion level.
Some other recommendations for postpartum exercise include:
Work your pelvic floor. As soon as you feel ready, start doing daily postpartum pelvic floor exercises (like Kegels) and other workouts to strengthen your core. These will help build up the muscles near your uterus, bladder, and small intestine so you can regain bladder control – and the freedom to laugh without worrying about postpartum incontinence. If you need extra guidance, ask your provider to refer you to a pelvic floor physical therapist.
Join an exercise class for new moms. Try to find one taught by a postpartum exercise specialist. Many YMCAs, recreation centers, gyms, and yoga studios offer in-person (and sometimes virtual) exercise classes for new moms. Popular online programs, like Peloton and Daily Burn, have dedicated postpartum workouts you can stream from your house. If you can’t find a postpartum-specific class, try one that focuses on low-impact toning and stretching.
Don’t restrict eating. Those first few weeks after having a baby aren’t for focusing on postpartum weight loss – they’re for bonding with your baby and adjusting to your exciting (and yes, overwhelming!) new role as a parent. Starting a diet too soon after giving birth can not only hamper your mood and energy level, but also diminish your milk supply if you’re breastfeeding.
Give yourself time and grace. Exercise is good for you, but listen to your body and don’t overdo it for the first few months after giving birth. Your body just produced a tiny new human, and it needs time to heal – and sleep. There’s no rush or suggested timeline for returning to your pre-baby fitness level.
What are some great postpartum workout plans for new moms?
Dive in with basic workouts that strengthen your abdominal muscles, pelvic muscles, and upper body. Kegels are the easiest place to start, and will improve circulation to your pelvic floor and prevent incontinence. To start, lie on your back with your knees bent and tighten the muscles of your vagina. Begin by getting a feel for contracting your pelvic floor muscles – the muscles you squeeze to stop the flow of urine. Focus on isolating those muscles and avoid squeezing your thighs or buttocks as you contract.
Once you have a feel for pelvic floor muscle contractions, start with two types of exercises: The first is a short contract and relax motion, called “quick flicks” – build up to 10-20 repetitions of those. The second is a slow, increasingly strong contraction that you hold and relax for several seconds – think of your pelvic floor muscles contracting the same way an elevator slowly goes up and down. Over time, work up to three to four sets of Kegels for up to three times a day.
Add push-ups to work your arms, back, and core muscles. Start on all fours and lower yourself down as far as you can, with your back flat and your abs engaged. Repeat this 10 to 12 times, and work up to three sets. These will help you avoid back pain and build strength for baby-wearing and -carrying. If you prefer planks, you can substitute those and try to hold the position for 30 seconds to a minute.
Include two light exercises for strengthening your abs – head and shoulder raises, and the pelvic tilt, or bridge. To do both, start by lying on your back with your knees bent. Head and shoulder raises are essentially slow, controlled crunches; pelvic tilts involve lifting your tailbone and holding for a few seconds before releasing. Repeat both eight to 10 times – these moves will also help lower the risk of back pain.
Find a postpartum yoga class to ease yourself into a low-intensity yoga flow. Not only will a new yoga practice help restore your energy and lower your blood pressure, but research shows yoga decreases postpartum depression and anxiety. Taking a class will also connect you with other new moms – which can be a lifeline during the often-isolating newborn period. If you can’t make it to a class, try streaming a postpartum yoga workout at home.
Once you feel ready, you can work up to more low-impact exercises like swimming, biking, and lifting weights. For higher-impact exercise such as running, experts recommend waiting at least 12 weeks after birth. However, if you were an elite or competitive athlete before and during pregnancy, you’ll likely be able to return to high-intensity training more quickly than others; just be sure to drink plenty of water and eat enough calories to support your activity level.
When is it safe to start a postpartum ab workout?
If you’ve had a vaginal delivery, it’s safe to start light abdominal exercises within days of giving birth. (Moms who are recovering from a c-section may need to wait at least a few weeks longer, as you’re recovering from a major abdominal surgery.) Note that “light” is the key word here. Take it easy on your abdominal muscles and don’t do any traditional sit-ups or crunches for the first several months after delivery – these put too much stress on those muscles and aren’t effective for rebuilding abdominal strength.
Instead, ask your healthcare provider (or a fitness instructor with expertise in prenatal or postpartum exercise) to show you gentler exercises for strengthening your abs. A good postpartum ab workout should minimize stress on your lower back and midline (the center of the abdomen running vertically from your sternum to your pelvis).
If you want to tone your post-baby belly, try these easy postpartum exercises. They are safe to do even if your stomach muscles have separated.
Many women develop a gap between their abdominal muscles as their belly expands during pregnancy and labor, a condition called diastasis recti. The gap may or may not fully close after delivery, but in most cases, it doesn’t cause any short- or long-term problems. Even light postpartum abdominal exercises can help decrease the distance of this gap.
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A note about abdominal binders (also known as belly wraps): Some women say that belly wraps helped them get their figures back faster, but fitness experts often warn against them. Binding just reduces the work of your core muscles instead of pushing those muscles to grow stronger.
Are there any concerns about exercise and breastfeeding?
No, there’s no reason to worry that exercise will impact your breastfeeding or milk supply. As long as you drink plenty of water – and maintain a healthy breastfeeding diet that accounts for the extra 450 to 500 daily calories your body needs when nursing – even vigorous exercise won’t significantly affect the supply or composition of your breast milk. That said, you’ll want to avoid exercises that make your breasts sore or tender.
Wear a supportive sports bra while working out, and try to nurse your baby before you exercise so your breasts won’t feel uncomfortably full. If your breasts feel sore during workouts, try wearing two fitness bras for extra support.
What are the signs that I may need to slow down on the postpartum exercise?
Too much physical activity during the first few weeks after delivery can cause any of the signs below. Call your OB or midwife if:
- Your vaginal discharge (lochia) becomes redder and starts to flow more heavily.
- Bleeding restarts after you thought it had stopped.
- You experience any pain during exercise, whether it’s joint, muscle, or birth-related.
Slow down or take a break from working out if:
- You feel exhausted instead of invigorated.
- Your muscles feel sore for an unusually long time after a workout, affecting your ability to support your body as you move. Your muscles may also feel shaky when in use.
- Your morning resting heart rate is elevated by more than 10 beats per minute above your usual heart rate. Consider checking your morning heart rate before getting out of bed each day – it’s a helpful indicator of your general health. When it’s elevated over your normal rate, it’s a sign you’re doing too much and need more rest.
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