Active for Life offer fun and practical ways to get moving with a newborn, at home and outdoors, including video clips for outdoor exercise routines using a stroller during walks, noting the importance of being monitored by a health-care provider while restarting an exercise regimen after giving birth.

At home:

There are plenty of ways to be active without leaving the house, and baby can be included in the experience. For example, the article suggests:

• While your baby is awake, lay out a yoga mat with your little one beside you on their own blanket or mat. You don’t have to do anything major here. Just stretch your body. Move around in a way that feels good. As your baby gets older and moves around more, make eye contact and mimic their movements. Try yoga poses such as Happy Baby or Child’s Pose, these help babies to move.

Outdoors:

The article recommends walking, either with baby in a sling or a stroller, as a wonderful way to realign your hips and joints after pregnancy.

• Walk alone, with your partner or friend, or find a stroller walking group through websites like Meetup.

• If you are concerned you won’t follow through, consider telling a friend or family member your intention as a way to keep motivated.

The article notes the importance of respecting your body. “…have the patience to know that you’re setting a foundation for a lifetime of being an active family with every small choice to move. With or without your baby, it all adds up. And when in doubt, simply put your baby in a sling and dance together.”

A Parents magazine article online at https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/postpartum/postpartum-exercise/ provides a number of sensible tips for re-starting regular exercise after giving birth:

1.    Start postpartum workouts slowly: The article stresses the importance of following your healthcare provider’s advice carefully, especially if you have had a challenging delivery or a caesarean section, which have special considerations. After giving birth, it is important to make a gradual start to re-introduce exercise, for example, “take a 5-minute walk and then come home and see how you feel. If nothing bleeds, pulls or aches, take a 6-minute walk tomorrow and a 7-minute walk the next day. During these first few forays out into the world, don’t carry your baby in a frontpack or push him in a stroller because the strain may be too much. After you’ve walked comfortably and safely for a week or two, build up from there, adding some gentle upper-body stretching or a postpartum exercise class.”

2.    Wait for the bleeding to stop: Once you do embark on some heavier activities, pay attention to signs from your body, especially if bleeding that had slowed down starts to get heavier again, a sign that the body needs more time to heal.

3.    Take it easy if breastfeeding: Forget about weight loss until a couple of weeks postpartum when your milk supply is firmly established. Weight will start to come off gradually as you become more active. “If you’re nursing, your body needs 500 calories a day more than it needed before you conceived, so eat enough and eat healthfully.”

4.    Evaluate your pelvic floor: “Also, if the pelvic floor is weak, putting intra-abdominal pressure (like crunches, pilates, or general ab work) can put too much pressure on the pelvic floor and inhibit healing or even lead to a chance of organ prolapse. One of the first forms of postpartum exercise you can start to incorporate daily can be a kegel routine, re-strengthening or even re-familiarizing yourself with your pelvic floor muscles.”

5.    Repair diastasis: If your care provider has identified that you have experienced diastasis (a separation of the abdominal “six-pack” muscles) you may need work with a physical therapist, if it is severe, to draw the muscles back together. The article suggests, “when easing back to an abdominal postpartum workout, be mindful not to overdo it”.

6.    Mind your wobbly joints: The article notes that “Relaxin, the hormone responsible for softening the ligaments and joints during pregnancy and childbirth, can stay in the body for up to six months postpartum”, and advises to choose a postpartum workout that is not too jerky in movement, to be kind to potentially unstable joints and a loose pelvis.

7.    Try all sorts of postpartum exercise: Walking is a good, gentle cardiovascular exercise and a great way to begin to rebuild strength. The article also recommends swimming, which is gentle on the joints and pelvic floor and is great for strengthening the core and back muscles.

8.    Stay hydrated: The article stresses the importance of remembering to hydrate well, especially if breastfeeding. “If you are out for a stroll with your baby, put your water bottle in the cup holder as a reminder to drink often.”

9.    Rest up: “Even though many new moms hear the old saying, sleep when your baby sleeps, very few (I believe) adhere to these wise words. So, including a few moments to simply relax post-workout can really help replenish you. If you are feeling rested and restored, you will have so much more to offer to those who need you.”