Fitness for Postnatal Women
During the postnatal period, a woman's body works hard to return to its condition prior to pregnancy. This process can take nearly as long as the pregnancy itself, so be patient. Muscle and skin that stretched to allow for your baby's growth take time to regain their original tone and can make fitting into your old wardrobe challenging. Although this can be emotionally discouraging, it is normal.
The following are prenatal and postnatal fitness guidelines:
Frequency: Exercise 3–5 times per week.
Intensity: Exercise at a level that feels somewhat hard to hard.
Time: Those just starting an exercise program should do an aerobic activity for only 5–10 minutes at a time. Those who were fit prior to pregnancy can exercise for 20–45 minutes.
Get Your Doctor's Approval
As in the prenatal stage, a woman in the postnatal period should get approval from her doctor or health care provider before engaging in exercise. If approval is given, follow postnatal fitness guidelines until the postnatal period is over (after six to 12 months).
The new mother's postnatal condition affects the start of exercise as well as the type. In addition to postnatal physiological adjustments, one of the biggest fitness challenges to a new mother consists in finding available free time to workout. With a little planning, however, a new mother can carve out a piece of her busy day for exercise that enhances her physical and emotional health.
Finding Time to Exercise
New parents can designate certain times of the day (or evening) when each of them takes care of the baby exclusively. This arrangement allows each spouse to have some personal time for exercise.
A rotational schedule in which extended family members or friends take care of your baby enables you as a new mother to have time to exercise. Schedule this time as you would a class or an appointment. Designating a start and a finish exercise time will help you to recruit caretakers and communicates your respect for their time.
Exercise for new mothers is at least as important as going out for the evening. Make an appointment with yourself and arrange a babysitter at regular times. Unless you are training for a marathon, as little as an hour of exercise time can make a huge difference in your fitness level.
Baby-Friendly Equipment
Today's baby-friendly equipment makes it possible for baby to safely go along on Mom and Dad's walks, jogs, runs, and bike rides. The baby jogger-runner is more stable and durable than a conventional stroller. For bicycling, there are numerous options for baby and child apparatus, such as screened-in trailers, child seats, and mounted tandem attachments. For safety's sake, be sure that both you and your child wear helmets.
