Do I need to exercise in the first few weeks?

Yes. Although exercise may feel like the last thing you want to do as a new mum, it does have benefits.
Gentle lower belly exercises and pelvic floor exercises are all it takes to help your body recover at this stage.

Exercise can:

• Boost your mood by increasing the levels of feel-good chemicals (endorphins) in your brain.
• Help you to lose any weight you gained during pregnancy, if you eat sensibly.
• Protect you from aches and pains.
• Boost your energy levels.
• Improve your strength and stamina, which will make looking after your newborn easier.

What exercises should I start with?

The most important exercises in the first few days after birth are your pelvic floor exercises. Start doing them as soon as you can.

Strengthening your pelvic floor will help to protect you against having accidental urine leaks. Although sex is probably the last thing on your mind now, doing your pelvic floor exercises helps to tone your vagina. When you’re ready for sex again, you may enjoy it more if you’ve firmed up your pelvic floor.

Try to build your pelvic floor exercises into your daily life, continuing the exercises you did while you were pregnant. It’ll benefit you in the long term, and through any further pregnancies. If you struggled to remember your exercises during pregnancy, try not to worry, as it’s never too late to start.

Pelvic floor exercises will help your perineum and vagina to heal more quickly. That’s because the exercises improve circulation to the area, helping to reduce swelling and bruising. If you have stitches, exercising your pelvic floor won’t put any strain on them.

In the first few days or weeks, it’s normal to feel as if nothing is happening when you do your pelvic floor exercises. Keep going, as the feeling in your pelvic floor will return and it will be working even if you can’t feel it. In the meantime, your perineum or pelvic floor may feel uncomfortable, swollen or very heavy.

As soon as you feel up to it, try to get out and about, ideally walking while pushing your baby in his pram. Start with short walks of about 10 minutes, building to 20 minutes. Take water with you, especially if you’re breastfeeding, so you don’t get thirsty.

I’m exhausted. How can I be sure exercise is helping me?

The key to exercising healthily is to listen to your body. If your lochia becomes redder or heavier, this may be a sign that you are overdoing things, so take it easy.

It’s best to stay away from high-impact exercise, such as high-intensity aerobics or running, for about five months after having your baby. This will give your pelvic floor time to recover from pregnancy and the birth. If you are unsure about what you should be doing, talk to your midwife or health visitor.

You may feel on a high for the first few days. Then you may come down to earth with a crash when the baby blues kick in or you run out of energy. Try to pace yourself with a little exercise followed by a well-earned rest.

Some mums begin to be affected by postnatal depression (PND) in the first six weeks. Taking regular exercise when you’re a new mum can help to fend off the symptoms of PND. One study, for example, showed that joining in with regular exercise sessions helped new mums to feel more positive after their baby’s birth.

Daily exercise could also help to improve the quality of any sleep you manage to get. You’ll really value this while your baby is waking often.

It’s fine to exercise while you are getting breastfeeding going. Exercising won’t affect how much breastmilk your body makes for your baby.

You’ll be adjusting to all sorts of new routines now. It’ll help you to get in the habit if you make gentle exercise one of your routines.

Can I exercise my lower tummy muscles?

Yes. Your lower tummy muscles are the most important ones to exercise after you have had a baby. They work with your pelvic floor muscles to support your back and pelvis and help to tone your belly.

If you gave birth by caesarean section, gentle exercise can help you to heal. You may feel a pulling sensation when you tighten your muscles, but you should not feel any pain. Be guided by how you feel. After surgery, you may become tired easily.

Try this exercise, either lying on your side, if it’s not too uncomfortable, or on your back with your knees bent up:

1. Breathe in and as you breathe out, tighten your pelvic floor muscles. The feeling is one of squeeze and lift. Imagine that you are stopping yourself from passing wind and doing a wee mid-stream at the same time. Once you’ve tightened your pelvic floor, gently pull your belly button in and up. You should feel your lower tummy muscles tighten.

2. Hold this while you count to 10 without holding your breath (this is the hard bit!). Then slowly relax your muscles. Wait at least five seconds and then repeat. Try to avoid moving your back, over-tightening the tummy muscles above your waist, or squeezing your buttocks together.

You’re doing fine if you can only hold a squeeze for a second or two in the early days. Build up over the coming weeks, aiming to hold your tummy muscles in for 10 seconds by the time your baby is about six weeks old.

Once you can do lower tummy exercises lying on your back or side, you can try them sitting on an exercise ball:

1. Sit on an exercise ball with both feet on the floor, preferably on a carpet to ensure the ball does not slide around.

2. Squeeze your pelvic floor and lower tummy muscles and then gently lift one leg off the floor. Remember to breathe! Hold this for up to five seconds, slowly lower your foot and relax your muscles. Repeat between five and 10 times on both legs.

How can I strengthen my pelvis and back?

Pelvic tilts gently move and stretch your back and exercise your tummy muscles. They can also help to ease back pain. You can do pelvic tilts lying down, sitting or while balancing on an exercise ball.

Here’s how to do pelvic tilts while lying down:

1. Lie on the floor or on your bed. Place a pillow under your head. Bend your knees by sliding your feet up towards your bottom.

2. Tighten your pelvic floor and pull in your lower tummy muscles, before squashing the small of your back down into the floor or bed. Hold this for a count to three and then arch your back away from the floor or bed. Repeat this 10 times. Try not to hold your breath!

Here’s how to do pelvic tilts while sitting:

1. Sit on a chair or stool with your feet on the floor.

2. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles and pull in your lower tummy muscles. Slump your back and then arch it so you stick your chest and bottom out. Keep the exercise flowing smoothly so you stretch your back one way and then the other.

Here’s how to do pelvic tilts while using an exercise ball:

1. Sit on an exercise ball with both feet on the floor, preferably on a carpet to ensure the ball does not slide around.

2. Move the ball backwards and forwards with your bottom, allowing your pelvis to move with it. Try to keep your shoulders still. You can also move the ball from side to side to exercise your waist muscles.

How do I strengthen my upper back?

It is easy to spend a lot of time sitting in a slumped position when you’re a new mum, especially if you’re breastfeeding. Try these exercises to stretch and move your upper back and neck.

1. Sit up straight with your arms crossed over your chest. Twist to the left and then to the right. Repeat 10 times each way.

2. Sit and link your hands behind your neck. Twist to the left and then to the right. Repeat 10 times each way.

3. Sit and link both hands together in front of you. Take your arms up in front of you and above your head as far as you can. Hold for two or three seconds and then slowly lower your arms down again.

4. Place one hand either side of a door frame and lean forward to stretch your chest. Exercises that work your pectoral muscles will help to strengthen your back.

This exercise will strengthen your neck:

1. Sit and slowly turn your head to the left and then to the right.

2. Slowly, tilt your head so you move your right ear down to the right shoulder and then your left ear down to your left shoulder.

Are there exercises I shouldn’t do in the first six weeks?

Don’t go swimming until you have had seven days without any bleeding or discharge from your vagina (lochia).

If you have had stitches or a caesarean section, wait until after you have had your postnatal check to do exercises that go beyond gentle tummy-tightening.

DISCLAIMER: The content on this website is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Consult a doctor for medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.