When And How To Resume Workout After Delivery

Working out after delivery or childbirth becomes important to lose the excess weight gained during pregnancy, tone the muscles, and get back in shape along with a healthy diet. But what’s more important is to do it the right way and at the right time.

By this I mean, that recovery after childbirth should be complete before starting any kind of workout. The body has gone through major changes during the course of pregnancy as well as during childbirth. Recovering physically and mentally is important before stepping into your workout routines.

In case of normal/vaginal delivery

Once you start feeling better after delivery and have got a routine check-up done 2-3 weeks post-delivery, you can gradually start with your exercises.

To start with, try going for a walk daily or 3-4 times a week for about 15 mins and gradually increase the time and pace of walking. Pelvic floor exercises are also a good option to start with, as it helps tone your muscles, reduce backache, and reduce the overall muscle tension in the body.  

Avoid going to the gym, swimming, heavy weight lifting, or high-intensity workouts in the first 6 weeks. Once your 6th-week postnatal check-up is complete, you can start with your gym workouts gradually.

In case of C-section / cesarean delivery:

Recovery and healing of stitches are very important. In most cases, it takes around 6-8 weeks for the stitches to heal from the outside.

Pelvic floor exercises, walking, and mild yoga can be practiced once your stitches heal after about 8 weeks. When doing so if you experience any kind of stretching or pain around the wound/ stitch, stop working out immediately.

Avoid stretching exercises, high-intensity workouts, gym exercises, swimming, or heavy weight lifting till the time your stitches heal completely from the outside as well as the inside to prevent internal bleeding, discomfort, or any kind of injury.  This process of healing from the outside, as well as the inside, takes about 4 months.

Besides these different do and don’ts to start your workout as per your delivery there’s one exercise that you can start right from the first day after delivery i.e simple breathing exercise (pranayama).
And most importantly do not opt for crash diets or get influenced by social media shares that speak about losing weight quickly or toning your body in 10 days and so on. Following such social media-influenced content may lead to internal injuries, nutrient deficiency in mother as well as the baby, and related health issues.