5 Best and Must do Exercises for New Moms

Pregnancy and motherhood give life a new beginning. Not only it is the new journey of the baby but also of the mother. The needs and attention are more towards the baby than the mother. But will it be possible to raise a healthy and happy baby if the mother is not in her best health physically and mentally? No. Mother should give priority to the baby of course but not ignore her own health. Let us see some must-do exercises for new moms to get back to the healing journey. Firstly, I am no expert so please consider talking to a specialist before following anything.

When can I start exercising postpartum

The basics that we all are aware of is we should only start after a minimum of 6 weeks postpartum or as advised by your doctor. The new mother’s schedule is very hectic since there are multiple feeding sessions and multiple sleep cycles. It is always advised to sleep when the baby sleeps rather than hitting the ground for exercising. Because your body totally would not take it nicely.

Weight loss exercises for new moms

Don’t hurry up with losing the weight that you gained during this period. Only concentrate on healthy eating since you would be breastfeeding also. The baby is dependent on Breastmilk for all the nutrient requirements. So eating a nutritious and wholesome diet would benefit the baby as well as the mother. What to eat postpartum?

Back strengthening Exercises for new moms

Postpartum back muscles are very weak hence we should concentrate on strengthening the back muscles. I was not even able to do leg raises on the bed. Little pressure would do harm more than help. So if you are having pain while doing any of the exercises stop it immediately. Give it a break. Start with slow walking and then increase the pace to brisk walking.

Some exercises can be started if there is no pain

If you are not experiencing any pain while walking or doing leg raises you may start with more exercises. But if you feel any pain stop it immediately.

Leg raises and hip raises:

Start by lying on the bed -slowly raise your right leg- move it down slowly- raise your left leg- move it down slowly.

If there is no pain start slow cycling(lying down) for not more than 10 rounds.

You can start with pelvic raises also known as Setubandhasana. This asana strengthens the core muscles and pelvic muscles. There will be a considerable difference in the strength of your pelvic floor if you consistently do this asana.

Kegel Exercises should be as important as walking during this period to strengthen the bladder muscles. How to do this? Pretend to hold your pee by tightening the pelvic muscles. Release. Repeat this min 10 times.

Stretching exercises for new mom

Due to lack of mobility and long sitting hours for feeding back muscles and leg muscles kind of become sore. So steal some time in between two feeding sessions for strengthening exercises.

Walking is not only good cardio but it also strengthens the leg and back muscles.

Move your shoulders back and forth also moving them around and curling them. This improves the blood circulation to the stiff shoulder muscles. Move your neck clockwise and anticlockwise.

Exercises for new moms with a baby

There are some exercises that can be done with the baby’s weight (of course post consulting with your doctor):

Squats: Hold the baby in your hands and squat. You may want to do this as much or as little as possible for you.

Leg raises: Lying on the bed you can hold your baby below your knees and raise your legs and rest. Repeat again as much or as little as possible.

In a standing position, hold your baby in your hands and move the baby over your head up and down.

These few exercises will not only help the mommy-baby bonding but will help moms to be physically active in between the feeding sessions.

Apart from these physical activities some meditation techniques or Pranayam’s are a must for a new mother.

Each of these exercises can be done for 5 minutes except the last one.

Deep Breathing

Sit in a comfortable position preferably on the floor with a mat on it. Start with deep breathing. Concentrate on your breathing. Take deep inhalations and exhalations. Fill the tummy while inhaling and relax while exhaling.

Kapalbhati- Forced exhalations

Take a deep breath and force exhalations in repetition. Inhalations happen automatically between two exhalations. Imagine that you are exhaling the impurities from your body. This is a very powerful exercise and has immense health benefits.

Anulom Vilom-Single nostril breathing

Hold your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale deeply from your left nostril. Hold your breath. Now close your left nostril with the right-hand ring finger and exhale from the right nostril.

Inhale again from the same (right) nostril, hold and exhale from the left nostril. Do not forget to inhale from the same nostril you exhaled from.

Om Chanting

Chant Om while deep breathing. Om chanting is the most important meditative asana not only for new moms but also for others. By doing this for a minimum of 20 mins people have claimed to gain numerous benefits. So why not just give it a try?

There are some guided meditation books that can help.

Bottom Line

Though you will feel that these are too basic exercises, a new mom should do the basics and gradually work her way to more. Exercise routine pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy determines how fast you recover postpartum. So make sure to incorporate small exercise routines now to gain large benefits later. Do not forget that every woman’s recovery is different. Determining factors like what kind of delivery she had and how complicated or uncomplicated it was should be considered before starting to exercise.

Hope this article helped.

Please like and share if you did.

Love

Poornima