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Personal Training & Nutrition |
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HOT TOPIC: Exercise and your baby |  |
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So you have brought home your new bundle of joy and you are both over the moon! Now what? When can you start exercising again? When is it safe for mother and baby to get back into the swing of things? Current studies not only support the safety of exercise during pregnancy, but they also demonstrate that exercise is beneficial to pregnancy delivery, and how resuming exercise as soon as possible can aid in recovery. Having a baby is a very positive life change, but parenting a newborn is still very stressful. In addition to the physical strain of delivering a baby and recovery, most new mothers (and fathers) suffer from sleep deprivation in the first few months. Stress and sleep deprivation can lead to a depressed mood and can negatively impact the bonding process between both parents and your newborn baby. Exercising in the time after your baby is born has proven to produce a more relaxed mother-child relationship, combat depression, and improve the perception of the new relationship. Exercise after pregnancy provides other gains as well. Women who exercise have better bladder control and less urinary incontinence. They are also less likely to retain weight gained during pregnancy. Some women are afraid to participate in physical activity, especially vigorous exercise, because they think it will negatively impact breast milk production and breast-feeding. There is no proof that exercise will adversely affect an infant’s acceptance of breast milk or the new mother’s milk production. As a mother, I personally, breastfed my daughter for 11 months and started exercise 6 weeks after my daughter was born. So mums don’t hide away under baggy clothes. Get out there. Do something for yourself and do some exercise. Not only will you feel good about yourself, your family will thank you for having so much energy for them! |
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