New Mother Care: Tips on Getting Back into Shape

Squeezing one more activity into your already busy day may not seem appealing, but the rewards are great. You’ll have greater strength, fitness and energy to handle the new demands you face.

Before You Begin
Plan to start slowly and add activities gradually. You need time to recuperate from the stress of giving birth and to adjust to the routine of newborn care.

Starting slowly also helps prevent injury. During pregnancy, stomach muscles stretch or separate to accommodate a growing baby. Stomach muscle weakness can last for at least eight weeks after you give birth. Since these muscles maintain posture, you may get a backache if you exercise too much too soon.

Check with your doctor or midwife before starting any exercise. This is especially true if you had a difficult or cesarean delivery.

An Early Start
Within an hour after a vaginal birth, you can do pelvic floor, or Kegel, exercises and pelvic tilts while lying on your back. These exercises involve contracting your pelvic floor muscles as though you were stopping the flow of urine. Kegels reduce swelling and promote healing. Pelvic tilts help restore stretched stomach muscles. You may have learned these exercises in childbirth class.

Once you’re at home, try to do these exercises standing up as you change your baby’s diaper. You can find other simple stretches and exercises in books and videotapes geared for new mothers.

You can add more exercise two to four weeks after a vaginal birth, or four to six weeks after a cesarean. Start by taking a brisk stroll with your baby in tow. Later, sign up for a mother-baby exercise class or swim at a community center that offers infant care. At home, you can exercise while your baby rests nearby. Increase time and effort gradually. Stop if you feel pain or fatigue, and check with your doctor or midwife before returning to exercise you did before you were pregnant.

Exercise and Nursing
You can get the rewards of exercise while giving your baby all the benefits of breastfeeding. A recent study reported that nursing mothers who exercised vigorously five times a week produced just as much high-quality breast milk as did inactive mothers.

Babies sometimes reject breast milk soon after a mother exercises because postexercise milk contains more lactic acid. So try breastfeeding before you exercise, or waiting two hours after exercising to nurse.

Exercising with an Older Baby
After your baby’s first birthday, put a safety helmet on your child, and strap her/him into a bike trailer or jogging cart. Your baby will love the ride while you get a good workout.