How long after pregnancy can you workout

Exercising in the postpartum period is a way to help you get back into shape and stay healthy for your baby and yourself. Many moms want to know when they can start exercising after giving birth. The general advice from physicians and midwives is to wait six to eight weeks before really getting into a fitness routine.

You may be asked to wait longer or hold back a bit if you have had a cesarean section or a vaginal delivery with complications. Your doctor or midwife can give you specifics on your personal timeline for exercise. In most cases, light and gentle movements are fine and will feel good.

Moms who engage in light exercise after birth tend to heal more quickly and feel better sooner than their less active counterparts.

Gentle movement should begin within hours after you give birth, even if you required surgery. This doesn't mean a jog around the block, but it does mean getting up and moving around your hospital room or in your home. Even after a c-section or after an epidural, you can begin to walk with assistance in just a few hours. Though the first few attempts may be painful, light, gentle movements are beneficial for circulation and healing.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, exercising during the postpartum period may help with recovery by:

• Strengthening abdominal muscles
• Boosting energy
• Improving mood
• Improving sleep
• Relieving stress

Starting with a daily brief walk after the first week or two is perfect. Watch for overdoing it, which is not hard to do early on. A good way to tell if you are doing too much is if your bleeding gets heavier or brighter red within a few hours of moving.

Postpartum bleeding after exercise shouldn't change too much. If it does, you're overdoing it. You should also stop exercising if you feel pain.

If you were exercising prior to pregnancy, you may feel more of a need to get out and get going. On a limited basis, some practitioners will give you the go-ahead. You might be asked to do modified yoga versus aerobics, but stretching and gentle movements are fine. You may benefit from pelvic floor and abdominal strengthening exercises.

Remember that your body is still adjusting to its non-pregnant state. Your center of balance is shifting again, hormones will continue to make your joints a bit softer, and then you have just the feeling of exhaustion that can accompany any birth. This means that even when you have the energy, you may be a bit more prone to injury for a while. Go slowly and be gentle with yourself during this time.

Once you are healed and ready for a regular postpartum workout routine, ease back in slowly as you return to pre-pregnancy exercise. Keep the following rules in mind:

• Wait until you're given the go-ahead.
• Slowly work your way back into a fitness routine.
• Start with short sessions of exercise: 20 to 30 minutes a day, total.
• Stop exercising if you have pain, increased bleeding, or other negative signs.
• Think slow and gentle at first.

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• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Exercise after pregnancy. Updated July 2019.

As soon as you feel up to it, it’s safe to go for walks and do pelvic floor exercises and gentle stretches (NHS Choices, 2016a). Don’t worry if you can’t quite manage those pelvic floors just yet. You’ll know as soon as you’ve healed enough when to give them a go.

Pelvic floor exercises

Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. These muscles come under massive strain during pregnancy and when you give birth.

If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, a bit of wee might sneak out when you cough, sneeze or strain. This is known as stress incontinence, and – you may have discovered during a natter with your mum mates – it’s super common following childbirth (NHS Choices, 2017).

To get your pelvic floor muscles strong again, exercise them lying down, sitting or standing. After a while, you’ll be able to do these exercises anywhere. You’ll soon be doing them on the bus, in a meeting or while waiting in the queue for a coffee (NHS Choices, 2016b).

Here’s how you do them:

• First, squeeze and draw in your back passage as if you are holding in wind. 
• Squeeze as if you’re stopping a wee.
• Now relax. This is a short squeeze. Rest for a second, then repeat until you feel the muscles get tired.   
• After a short rest, squeeze again as above. This time, hold the squeeze for as long as you can, but no longer than 10 seconds, then relax.  
• It's important to keep breathing normally while you do these exercises. Make sure you don't pull in your stomach or squeeze your buttocks.
• Aim to build up to 10 repeats of each exercise, four to six times a day.

(NHS Choices, 2016b)

For more information on how to start practising pelvic floor exercises, click here (Bladder and Bowel Foundation, 2008).  

Abdominal muscle separation

The two abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) that run down the middle of the abdomen often separate during pregnancy (NHS Choices, 2016c). How much they separate varies between women.

These muscles separate because of your growing womb pushing them apart. This makes your abdominal muscles longer and weaker (NHS Choices, 2016c).

Here’s how to check the size of your separation, after you’ve had your baby:

• Lie on your back, bend your knees and have your feet flat on the floor. 
• Lift your shoulders off the floor a bit and look down at your belly.
• Feel with your fingertips between the edges of the muscles, above and below your belly button. Check the number of fingers you can fit between your separated muscles. 
• Check this regularly to see that the gap is decreasing. 
• If you go to a postnatal pilates or yoga class, trained instructors might also be able to help you check your separation.

(NHS Choices, 2016c)

Once your baby is eight weeks old, your muscles will usually have returned to normal. If the gap is still obvious, you could be risking back problems. So speak to your GP and they can refer you to a physiotherapist (NHS Choices, 2016c).

Swimming

Swimming is great exercise. It’s low-impact and good for some chill-out time for you too. You'll need to wait until seven days after your postnatal bleeding (lochia) has stopped to hop (or maybe step tentatively) into the pool.

Six weeks after giving birth

Generally, to get back to proper, high-impact exercise like running or your much-loved zumba class, it’s best to wait until your six-week postnatal check-up (NHS Choices, 2016a).

It will also depend what type of birth you had. For example, if you had a caesarean section, your recovery time might be longer. It might also depend on how much exercise you did before you were pregnant.

Certain types of exercise might be better if you have weak pelvic floor muscles too. If you’ve got any doubts or questions about whether the exercise you’re doing is ok, talk to your midwife, health visitor or GP (NHS Choices, 2016a).

But generally, don’t be too nervous about it – it’s great to get back to exercise after having a baby. There are loads of reasons to exercise, including your mental and physical health. So go for it and have fun.

Buggy fit, postnatal yoga and other postnatal exercise classes

Some postnatal classes let you do the exercise class with your baby at your side, which isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds. Especially with a newborn who’ll often snooze through the whole thing.

Some even include your baby and their pram or buggy as part of the workout. Plus they’re often outdoors in local parks, which is a nice bonus.

If you're going to a class that isn't a special postnatal class, make sure you tell the instructor that you’ve recently had a baby.

Postnatal exercise tips

Your ligaments and joints are much more supple in the months after you give birth, so just be aware of that. It's easier than before pregnancy for new mums to injure themselves by stretching or twisting too much (NHS Choices, 2016a).

You’re more likely to get injured because of a group of hormones called relaxin (The Guild of Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Instructors, 2018). Your body produced relaxin in early pregnancy to make the ligaments in the body more elastic.

The downside of relaxin is that it can cause back problems and injuries. Plus its impact on the joints might linger around for up to five months after you have your baby (The Guild of Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Instructors, 2018).

If you’re in pain or your postnatal bleeding (lochia) gets heavier or changes colour (becomes pink or red) after activity, you might be doing too much (NHS Choices, 2016a; The Guild of Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Instructors, 2018).

Other postnatal exercise

If you’re struggling for time to dedicate to specific postnatal exercise, there’s still a lot you can do. Try the following:

• Have a go at pushing the pram quickly. Try to keep your arms bent and your back straight, ensure the handles are at the right height for you and your elbows are bent at right angles.
• Play some games with your older children that get you running around. 
• Build exercise into your day, for example you could walk instead of taking the car. 
• Bend your knees rather than your back when you pick things up. This'll strengthen your thigh muscles and avoid damaging your back. 

(NHS Choices, 2016a)

This page was last reviewed in April 2018

Further information

NCT's helpline offers practical and emotional support in all areas of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood: 0300 330 0700.

You might find attending one of NCT's Early Days groups helpful as they give you the opportunity to explore different approaches to important parenting issues with a qualified group leader and other new parents in your area.

Make friends with other parents-to-be and new parents in your local area for support and friendship by seeing what NCT activities are happening nearby.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2018). Exercise after pregnancy. Available from: https://www.acog.org/Patients/FAQs/Exercise-After-Pregnancy [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

Bladder and Bowel Foundation (2008). Pelvic Floor Exercises for Women. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/Planners/pregnancycareplanner/Documents/BandBF_pelvic_floor_women.pdf [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

NHS Choices (2016a). Keeping fit and healthy with a baby. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/keeping-fit-and-healthy/ [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

NHS Choices (2016b). Pelvic floor muscle exercises. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/your-body-after-childbirth/ [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

NHS Choices (2016c) Separated stomach muscles. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/your-body-after-childbirth/#separated-stomach-muscles-diastasis-recti [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

NHS Choices (2017). Exercise in pregnancy. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pregnancy-exercise/ [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (2015). Separated stomach muscles. Available from: http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/11749Precti.pdf [Accessed 22nd April 2018].

The Guild of Pregnancy and Postnatal Exercise Instructors (2018). Exercise advice for new mums. Available from: http://postnatalexercise.co.uk/exercise-advice-for-new-mums/ [Accessed 22nd April