Resuming exercise has many benefits. And yet our society sends us mixed signals about what we should do and how we should act as new mothers. You might feel torn between resting and recuperating with baby and hurrying up and getting back to your “old self.” Don't let these societal mixed messages push you.

It is important that you begin to pace yourself. Work on your fitness level and body awareness at your own speed. There are many factors that will go into your readiness to exercise.

The standard answer often quoted in many pregnancy books is six weeks. This rarely takes into account how you gave birth or other factors. It is important that the answer you are given be appropriate for your body, whether that be more or less time.

How you gave birth will have a significant impact on when you can resume exercising regularly. While there are always simple toning exercises that can be done, many women want to know when they can get back to their normal routines. Part of the answer will depend on if you had a normal vaginal birth, and instrumental delivery (forceps or vacuum), or whether you had a surgical birth (cesarean section).

Vaginal Birth

If you had a spontaneous vaginal birth, with or without any stitches, chances are you will be able to know when your body is ready to exercise again. For many women, this will be in fewer than the standard six weeks. There are a couple of things you will need to look for and do prior to beginning, even if you feel ready.

The first is to see how your bleeding is doing. Typically after any birth you will bleed, called lochia, for up to eight weeks after the birth. This bleeding comes from your placental site and is a measure of how healed the uterus is at any given point. This bleeding will change in color and quantity as you get further away from the birth. If your bleeding has stopped, you may be ready to exercise.

Your symptoms that appeared after the birth like sweating and shaking need to have stopped. You need to feel well nourished and well hydrated before beginning any exercise program. These can be one of the most important signs.

If you feel that all of this is in order, call your practitioner. Even if you have an appointment at the six-week postpartum mark, feel free to call earlier. Explain to the doctor or midwife that you feel your body has healed well. Tell them the status of your bleeding and your general feeling. Talk to them about starting slowly and ask what signs or symptoms you should look for, so that you would know when to cease your new routine.

Instrumental Delivery

If you had an instrumental delivery, with forceps or a vacuum, you may have more healing time required. These instruments can damage internal tissues and may have required you to need more stitches than an episiotomy or tear may have required. If you meet the criteria listed, feel free to talk to your doctor or midwife. She may ask you to have your perineal area examined prior to resuming exercise. With her blessing, you may resume exercising.

Cesarean Birth

A surgical or cesarean birth is a birth, but you must also remember that it is major abdominal surgery. This surgery does cut into the abdominal muscles. This alone will increase your healing time.

You will still bleed, just as you would with a vaginal birth. This is because the bleeding does not come from the incision but rather the placental site healing. Do not be frightened about vaginal bleeding. This does frighten some women, who assume it is from the actual vaginal birth.

Your iron stores and energy in general are likely to be low after surgery. A proper diet and good nutritional intake are key to healing. You may be prescribed a certain diet or vitamins to help speed this area of healing. Eating dark leafy greens, red meats, and proteins can help you fight off low iron or anemia. This can also help you feel like you have more strength.

Your practitioner will be able to help you determine when you should exercise. Since you have had surgery, this may be later than other women you know who did not. Or you may simply have to go more slowly, which is never a bad idea anyway.

Fitness Level

If you were someone who was extremely fit prior to getting pregnant and you maintained a great level of fitness prior to birth, you may be ready to exercise before your other postpartum counterparts. This is also true if you had a cesarean section. A body that was well nourished and fit will recover faster, even from major surgery.

Life Factors

When it comes down to it, one of the most important factors in your readiness to begin a new fitness program after you give birth is your life. Aside from the physical factors of recovery, which will come without much help from you, you need to work on finding the time in your new schedule for exercise.

Remember, consistency is the key to good exercise. It is almost more harmful not to exercise regularly than to exercise sporadically. So you will want to be truly ready before taking the plunge.

Perhaps you are going back to work just as you are physically ready to exercise. You need to get this one more hurdle done before you leap into a fitness routine. Perhaps your older children are out on break as soon as your bleeding stops. You might need a bit more time, or until they head off to school again.

No matter what the timing, it is important that you take into consideration all of these factors. There is not one right answer. Once you have the physical go-ahead from your practitioners, the rest will fall into place. It cannot be rushed and does have a mind of its own. Just be sure to stay on top of it and not let it slip away without much thought.