Over the course of 9 months, while a woman is carrying a baby, the outline of her abdomen undergoes significant changes. With the birth of a child, it is very difficult to return to your former shape. Especially if the matter was complicated by surgery.
The diet does not work because a nursing mother should not have food restrictions for the sake of the baby. Whereas sport is the very tool that will help get your figure in order after a caesarean section. However, you need to be extremely careful and careful with it so as not to harm the sutures and internal organs that were affected during surgery.
Abs after caesarean section
It is strictly prohibited to pump up your abs after a cesarean section in the first couple of months. Otherwise, you risk causing separation of the muscles after surgery, which are located not only on the abdomen, but also on the uterus itself. Therefore, you need to be careful about almost any training and listen to your body when playing sports. If the exercise causes the slightest discomfort, immediately abandon it. When you can pump up your abs after a caesarean section, only a doctor can tell you for sure, based on tests and examination.
While you are prescribed bed rest, you can little by little try to tone your body. Repeating the movements will help consolidate the result. Here are some exercises after a cesarean section:
- Along with the bodyflex breathing technique and Kegel exercises, begin to slowly raise your head a couple of centimeters above the bed.
- Next, we’ll use our legs – stretch and rotate your feet in a circular motion. When you feel that your body has become a little stronger, start bending your knees, and later try to pull them towards your chest.
- Return to the starting position lying down. Try to lift the body itself, while keeping a pillow on your stomach so that there is less stress on the seam.
Once you are allowed to get out of bed, the intensity of your exercise can be gradually increased. A set of light exercises for weight loss can include:
- small press;
- pumping of oblique muscles;
- exercise “birch tree”;
- easy curl format.
What happens during the operation?
During a caesarean section, the fetus is removed by making an incision in the abdominal wall and uterus. Rehabilitation of the uterus takes about 8 weeks. There are complications that slow down this process: trauma, swelling, hemorrhages in the suture area, etc. The incision is made in the lower segment of the uterus, which consists of muscle tissue and almost does not include blood vessels. The use of synthetic absorbable threads allows the edges of the wound to remain on the uterus for a long time. This way the healing process takes place most optimally and a scar is formed on the uterus. This is important for subsequent births.
After cesarean section, broad-spectrum antibiotics are used to avoid the development of any infectious diseases. This reduces immunity and suppresses beneficial intestinal microflora.
There are two types of seams:
- Horizontal/cosmetic. Accurate, performed during a pre-planned cesarean section. Recovery takes 2-2.5 months. With light loads, you can get into shape in 4-5 months.
- Vertical. Performed in an emergency situation, not thought out in advance. The result is severely damaged muscles. To achieve a flat stomach you will have to put in a lot of effort. Sometimes you have to use a laser to polish the scar. Physical exercise is allowed one year after surgery.
Physical activity after caesarean section
Taking into account your physical fitness before and during pregnancy, exercise after a caesarean section is recommended to be done very carefully, gradually increasing the frequency of exercise. Minimize stress on your upper body. Remember, if you are a nursing mother, the amount of active physical activity will negatively affect the quality of breast milk, making it sour. If you do not plan to breastfeed your baby, then it is advisable to wait until the menstrual cycle returns before exercising.
Contraindications
Above, I already clarified when you can start playing sports, and under what symptoms physical exercise should be stopped.
Among the main contraindications are also:
- endometritis;
- seam divergence or poor fusion;
- uterine pathologies;
- any complications after surgery.
Important! Physical activity should never cause discomfort or pain.
Pilates after caesarean section
The main principle of Pilates, like yoga, is proper breathing. Starting with basic breathing exercises can significantly strengthen your abdominal muscles. At first, try to hold the seam with your hand as you inhale and exhale. The “plank” exercise, gradually increasing the endurance up to a minute, will help to work all the muscles of the body at once, gently helping to get rid of excess fat. Doctors recommend Pilates after cesarean section for 3-4 months.
Allowed sports
When the stitch heals, which may take 8-9 weeks, you can do water aerobics and visit the pool. Sports in water perfectly relaxes the muscles of the whole body, strengthens them, eliminates excess weight and normalizes the nervous system.
Pilates is considered no less effective. This type of fitness brings the whole body back to normal, but you shouldn’t start your first workouts earlier than after 5 months, otherwise you can harm your health.
Walking is also considered very effective , especially in warm weather and in the fresh air. The body is thus actively saturated with oxygen and the functioning of all organs is normalized, and this is important.
Exercise after caesarean section
Together with the baby, restorative exercises after a caesarean section are allowed after a month and a half. Physical education restores muscle tone and improves well-being. Simply rocking a baby to sleep can be considered a full-fledged exercise, especially if you add walking around the room. Squats should be introduced gradually, focusing on the internal sensations of the body.
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Fitness after cesarean section
Complications after an unconventional type of childbirth include lower back pain. This means that a set of future exercises should be concentrated on strengthening it. Often in gyms they offer to squat with a fitball, and sometimes they allow the presence of the baby so that you can work together with him. Fitness after a cesarean section at 3-4 months is quite acceptable. The most important thing to remember is that you need to start with a warm-up, pre-warming the muscles and keeping the rhythm. You can twist the hoop to shape your waist. Choose a lighter model, without additional hard attachments.
Take regular walks with your baby - it will benefit him and you. They will gradually restore leg endurance, strengthen posture, and stimulate blood circulation. Gradually increase the distance of your walks, take breaks on a bench, take a breath, this will be easy fitness. Later, try to pick up a sports hobby - belly dancing, which is good for women's health.
Where to start training
Training should begin with early activation: you can do breathing exercises in bed, and it is useful to walk around the room. In the future, the motor mode expands by increasing the duration of walking, expanding the woman’s everyday capabilities and starting simple sets of exercises.
1-2 weeks
In the first two weeks you should not do any exercises. You need to go outside with your baby, it is important to start breastfeeding. Feeding promotes weight loss, tones the abdominal muscles, the anterior wall, increases the activity of the uterus and shortens the duration of its contraction. All this contributes to activation in combination with walks.
It is walking that should occupy the bulk of the movements in the early period: you need to walk slowly, starting with short distances and time.
You need to increase your walking time gradually, by 10-15 minutes a day. It is necessary to ensure that during this period the woman does not lift anything heavy or perform any loads that significantly increase breathing and heartbeat.
A month later
After a month, you can include various complexes that are aimed at strengthening muscles and increasing their tone; for this, all exercises must be coordinated with breathing, performed slowly with pauses and repetitions. The entire set of exercises should take 30-35 minutes.
It is necessary to coordinate activities with lactation. It is better to do complexes during breaks after feeding in the afternoon, but no later than 7-8 pm. Walking can be switched to cross-country mode if the mother does not walk with the child. This does not mean climbing mountains or ravines, but walking on uneven surfaces at a moderate pace.
On the left is the belly three weeks later, and on the right two months after cesarean
Swimming pool after cesarean
After 7 weeks you can take a bath, but it’s better to postpone going to the pool after a caesarean section. Considering the aggressive aquatic environment, excessively chlorinated water and the possibility of picking up a fungus, before swimming, it is better to first strengthen your immune system. Wait until the vagina restores its protective microflora. Water aerobics is allowed from 3-4 months. It will relieve stress on your joints while allowing you to train your muscles. Choose gentle swimming styles such as breaststroke or crawl.
Is it possible to do yoga
You are allowed to start practicing classical yoga after 4-6 months from the date of surgery. Sessions begin with breathing exercises. When choosing asanas, you need to adhere to positions that do not create additional stress on the seams.
It is recommended to attend yoga classes in groups with women in the same situation. An instructor will help you recover faster after surgery and ensure safe exercise.
With the right choice of asanas, metabolic processes are normalized. A person becomes cheerful, gets rid of stress and strengthens the nervous system.
Running after cesarean
Starting with race walking and stepping on a stepper at a moderate pace, increasing the amplitude of regular exercise to cycling, you will gradually get closer to running itself. Running after a cesarean section is the fastest way to lose weight if you do this sport regularly. Underwear for exercises must be chosen carefully so as not to injure the mammary glands. Start jogging from 4 months, gradually increase the speed, and introduce regular long-distance running six months after full recovery.
Find out more about how to recover after a caesarean section.
Breathe and move more
Special breathing exercises will help you recover faster. They are done immediately after discharge from the hospital, and even earlier. For example, inhale deeply through your chest 10 times, keeping your stomach still; then, holding the seam with your hands, inhale 10 times with your stomach; Gently tensing and relaxing 10 times, pull the muscles of the perineum and abdomen inward.
When your child begins to walk, take him for walks more often without a stroller in convenient places - in a park, on a closed boulevard, or just in the yard. It’s interesting that kids often start running “unexpectedly” for their parents, and then the extra pounds go away quickly: after all, you have to constantly catch up with the children and be with them, helping them explore the world.
Author: Gataulina Galina
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Pregnancy is a joyful event in the life of any woman. For nine long months, the female body undergoes changes and discomfort. After giving birth, almost all women are disappointed with their appearance: their stomachs sag hopelessly, stretch marks appear, and “pop ears” appear. But don’t despair: with some persistence, you can achieve the figure of your dreams even after giving birth! When can you start exercising after a cesarean section? The answer to this question depends on many factors, and depending on them will be different for each individual woman.
