When can you exercise after a cesarean section?

Caesarean section is a method performed when pregnant women are unable to deliver vaginally. Recovery time after cesarean section is longer. You may be discharged from hospital 2-4 days after surgery, but it takes a few weeks of rest to fully recover. This article shares tips with you to support getting up and running again sooner.

What factors affect the ability of mothers to recover by cesarean section?

The ability to recover from a cesarean section depends on the location of each mother. Some mothers often experience blood loss, urinary tract infection, intestinal disease or blood clot after surgery. In some cases, pregnant women who give birth also have bladder and uterine infections, so antibiotics must be treated, leading to slow recovery.

Tips for early exercise after cesarean section

After giving birth, you can try walking as this will help speed up the recovery time. You do not have to walk for a certain length of time like 30 minutes or 1 hour but just walk slowly around the hospital bed to the bathroom, up and down the hospital corridor. You can also increase your exercise rate each day and remember to slow down.

Start training again

Overall, you should be completely healthy by 6 weeks after giving birth. However, you may still find it difficult to exercise, flex, lift weights or climb stairs. Don't worry because you don't need to do those exercises until you feel comfortable. Also, watch out for any unusual symptoms such as pain, bleeding or fever as this could be a sign of infection after the cesarean section .

You can start working out the pelvic floor exercises because pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on this area during pregnancy. Each time you lift your baby, you should tighten the pelvic floor and lower abdominal muscles at the same time. This will help protect your back and keep you from incontinence.

Once you are comfortable with the pelvic floor exercises, you can start working on your lower abdomen.

You can try the following simple exercises for 10 reps, starting with 2 times / day and gradually increasing to 3 times / day. If you find it difficult, start with 5 reps and 2 times a day:

Lie on your back with legs pulled;

Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as you exhale;

Lift the belly button up and down at the same time.

Try to breathe evenly while remaining in the squeezing position for 10 seconds.

How to speed up recovery?

You can come up with plans to improve your postoperative resilience so you can get back to your daily activities quickly.

Rest whenever possible, drink plenty of fluids, and carefully support the incision abdomen when you do everyday activities such as waking up, walking, sneezing or coughing. Also, use a soft pillow to support your baby's body when you feed your baby. Also, remember to take the medicine correctly, do not try to lift heavy objects and do not have sex until your doctor's approval.

Some mothers will feel an empty space in the abdominal muscles after giving birth, which is roughly translated as "straight abdominal splitting". The mother of a cesarean section takes 4-8 weeks to fully recover. If you feel uncomfortable about having to lie still, you can consult your doctor about gentle exercises.

You can find out more about the article:

Production after cesarean section. Don't be underestimated!

How long does it take for you to no longer have pain after a caesarean?