The First Exercises After Birth
Believe it or not, the best time to begin exercise is immediately after birth. As soon as you remember, begin to think about doing exercises. You have just completed a marathon, and while you do need rest, there are certain exercises that can help you heal.
You might wonder why this is so important. Exercise has numerous benefits to the postpartum mother, including:
Sense of well-being
Weight loss
Reduction in stress
Fewer sleep problems associated with stress
Return to a semblance of normal
Reduction in baby blues and possibly postpartum depression
Fewer feelings of isolation, particularly if doing group exercises
Alert
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you begin breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes of birth when possible. It is thought that this first nursing, prior to your baby's first deep sleep, imprints the correct nursing ability on their minds — not to mention that the first milk, colostrum, contains some wonderful antibodies to help protect your baby from illness and intestinal problems.
Kegels
The pelvic floor exercises that were so important before giving birth are even more important now. Remember, these perineal exercises will help increase the blood flow to that area, which will help speed the healing process and relieve pain.
At first you may have trouble isolating the muscles. This is common and you should not worry. Even if you required no stitches or sutures, the area still has been stretched to allow your baby to be born. If you did require stitches, whether or not an episiotomy was performed, you can still safely do these exercises.
Begin by doing simple flicks. You do not need to hold the counts. Merely tightening and releasing will be helpful to your recovery. You can gradually increase what you do as you feel comfortable. It is generally not recommend that you sit on a doughnut or other inflated cushion. You should continue to sit on hard surfaces. Sit evenly, not leaning to one side or the other. You should also avoid crossing your legs, even at the ankle. This can cause your perineum to heal inappropriately, particularly if you had stitches.
Pain in this area will begin to subside and gradually get better each day. If you had stitches, they generally dissolve and do not require any special care. By the end of six weeks, your bottom should be feeling as good as new. If it isn't, be sure to talk to your doctor or midwife at your six-week checkup.
Abdominal Tightening
Abdominal tightening is a very simple exercise. It offers you the benefit of beginning to heal the abdominal muscles. It also provides you with more awareness of this area. The sooner you begin working on this, the sooner your abdomen heals and returns close to its original state.
Essential
Breathing after a cesarean can be painful. Even a small amount of phlegm can cause you to prefer choking to death rather than breathing. If you had a cesarean, you might even be given a breathing machine that is like a video game. You will have to blow hard enough to make a ball rise to the top of a canister.
Abdominal tightening is done simply by thinking about sucking in your abdomen. Think of pulling your belly button all the way back to your spine. Do this as you inhale. Hold the “stretch” for a few seconds, and then slowly exhale. You can do five to ten repetitions of this exercise whenever you think about it. This encourages stretched muscle fibers to shorten.
Breathing
It sounds simple, right? Breathe … we've been telling you to do that for a long time. This time breathing has a different focus — healing. Each deep breath you take not only helps reinflate your lungs and oxygenate your body, but it enables you to heal and recover by preventing some complications of postpartum.
