Table of contents:
Exercise is one of the things that is important to do to maintain your health. For pregnant women, exercise can help maintain health during pregnancy, make childbirth easier, and speed up the recovery process after giving birth. Exercise after childbirth can help you to get your body back to the way it was before pregnancy. Not surprisingly, many mothers after giving birth will be more active in exercising.
Yes, it's a healthy way to help you lose weight after pregnancy. However, when is the right time to exercise after giving birth?
When can I start exercising after giving birth?
The exact time when you can start exercising after giving birth actually depends on your condition and abilities. As long as you feel up to it and your doctor allows it, then it doesn't matter if you want to do sports a week after giving birth. We recommend that you consult your doctor before starting exercise after giving birth.
Usually women who give birth normally can recover faster than women who give birth by caesarean section. Thus, women who give birth normally are better able to start exercising a few days after delivery. Meanwhile, women who have a cesarean delivery may take as long as six to eight weeks after giving birth before starting to exercise.
Women who exercise a lot during pregnancy can usually start exercising again as soon as possible after giving birth. Exercise during pregnancy can help smooth the labor process, so that the recovery time after giving birth can also take place faster.
Some of you may need to do exercise after childbirth gradually. Start from walking, then increase the speed and timing, and then try other movements. Usually, this is because you:
- Not exercising regularly before or during pregnancy
- Experiencing complications during labor
- Childbirth by caesarean section or normal delivery in an assisted manner
- Have problems with urine leakage
What sports can be done after giving birth?
You can start exercising gradually, starting from walking. You just need to do this exercise for 20-30 minutes every day. Once you feel quite ready, you can start trying to do sports to train your pelvic floor muscles and abdominal muscles, such as the kegel. Like this how:
- Tighten your pelvic floor and abdominal muscles for 10 seconds without holding your breath
- Then, relax your muscles for another 10 seconds
- Repeat this exercise 10 times every day
Exercising the pelvic floor muscles is very important to reduce the risk of urinary incontinence (urine leakage) after childbirth. During exercise, urine leakage may be very common and this is normal.
After you have successfully performed Kegel movements for a few days and you are sure that your pelvic and abdominal muscles are back tight, you may want to do another exercise. We recommend that you avoid sports movements sit ups , brisk walking, running, cycling, tennis, or other aerobic exercise if your pelvic floor muscles haven't fully recovered after giving birth. Strenuous exercise can strain your pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to leakage of urine.
You also need to avoid swimming until the postpartum bleeding (lochia) has completely stopped for seven days. This is done to prevent infection. If you have a cesarean delivery or have stitches, you may have to wait longer to be allowed to swim by your doctor.
Be careful not to overdo it and to exercise beyond your ability during the first few months after giving birth. If you start getting tired and can't take it anymore, it's best to rest. Your body needs time to fully heal after pregnancy and childbirth. You will also need time to adjust to your new role as mother.
x
