3 Essential Tips for Safe Exercise After C Section

Immediately following a Cesarean section you will be in a large amount of pain and discomfort and any movement at all will seem like a huge challenge.

At this stage however, getting out of bed and moving around is absolutely critical to your recovery. Exercise after c section forms part of the whole rehabilitation process because it helps to increase blood flow to the wound supplying oxygenated blood and essential cells for repair.

In order to safely become more active follow these 3 essential tips: - 

#1  Exercising your lower legs whilst in bed after the operation will help prevent the build up of potentially life threatening embolisms. This doesn’t have to be too challenging and can be something as simple as rotating or flexing the ankles. You will need to wait until after the anaesthetic has worn off and you have the feeling back in the legs, before you start these.

#2  Get out of bed at the earliest opportunity as long as you have full control of your legs. Take your time at first, it gets easier every time you do it. Initially start by taking small steps around your hospital room, if necessary support your wound with a pillow or very soft blanket.

As the days go by, gradually increase the distance you walk, but always try to stand tall with your shoulders back and tummy muscles pulled in tightly, avoiding walking with a ‘caesarean’stoop. For the first couple of weeks, try to limit walking up stairs to just once or twice a day. 

#3  As soon as you feel able to you should start strengthening the stomach muscles.  This can be done using pelvic tilting movements which require no flexion at the spine. These exercises can be performed sitting, standing or lying down and are essential for realigning the muscles without causing doming or pain in the lower back. 

For a complete stomach strengthening programme suitable for all new mothers click here. ‘The Baby belly Fat Loss Plan’ also includes a full post pregnancy diet including menus, shopping lists and recipes. 

As with any activity following a major operation, exercise after c section should be taken very slowly, working within your own comfort zone. Avoid being sedentary at all costs as this will simply prolong the healing process and could cause potentially serious blood clotting.