Post-natal exercise: before and after 6 weeks

After the joy of meeting your baby and getting to know each other in the early weeks of new parenthood, many mums' thoughts turn to how to get back into shape.

• The first few weeks
• After 6 weeks
• Five months and beyond
• Keep it real

The first thing to ask yourself is what type of exercise your body is ready for. For around the first five months after delivery, the effects of relaxin (the hormone responsible for slackening your joints and ligaments in pregnancy) continue to a degree. So even though relaxin is no longer being produced, you're still at risk of damaging your joints or ligaments if you overstretch, twist or bend awkwardly. That's why it's important to focus on exercises specifically designed for the postnatal period.

For the first few weeks after the birth - and certainly until you've had your postnatal physical check-up at about six weeks - you'll need to concentrate on gentle exercise that will encourage your uterus to shrink back to size and your abdominal muscles, which separated in pregnancy, to knit back together. If you've had a Caesarean section don't attempt any form of formal exercise at all until after your postnatal check-up.

Pelvic floor exercises are particularly important as this is the area of your body that's taken the greatest strain during pregnancy and labour. "It's important to work those pelvic floor muscles so try to do it every time you feed or change your baby," suggests TV fitness expert Nicki Waterman.

Try these exercises at home:

Pelvic floor toning

• Sit, stand or lie with your knees slightly apart and breathe steadily
• Slowly tighten and pull up the muscles around your vagina and back passage as tightly as possible. Hold for five seconds then relax
• Repeat five times
• Repeat the whole process, doing each pull-up and release quickly, again five times
• Do these as often as you are able each day, building up to 10 counts, 10 times in a row as often as possible - aim to do them a minimum of four times a week

Pelvic tilt

• Lie flat on your back and find your neutral spinal position (usually slightly curved) with your knees slightly bent and hip distance apart
• Tilt your pelvis into the floor and then release again
• Repeat eight times at first, building up as you become stronger

Abdominal muscles exercise

• Lie in the same position as for the pelvic tilt above
• Take a deep breath in and on the out-breath draw in the tummy button towards your spine, keeping the back still
• Hold for a couple of seconds then release with the in-breath
• Repeat eight times, then try to hold contractions for longer while continuing to breathe. Repeat in sets of four.

Once you've had your six-week check and got the go-ahead to step up your exercise, you can increase the number of repetitions of the above exercises and the frequency with which you do them. If you want to build you stamina, try to get out for some brisk walking with the buggy or see if you can fit in a swim once or twice a week.

If you were exercising throughout pregnancy and were fit beforehand, you might want to start some gentle jogging or take up a low-impact aerobics class to get you back into more vigorous exercise. You could even incorporate a short workout into a fresh-air trip for your baby if you have 'jogging' three-wheeled buggy. However, you shouldn't attempt anything high impact (in other words, involving having both feet off the floor at once) for the first five months after the birth.

"The only thing you need to remember if combining breastfeeding and exercise is to wear a supportive bra and feed your baby before exercising. Don't forget a good pair of trainers too," says postnatal exercise teacher Anette Holtmeyer.

By now you might feel ready to tackle a medium- or high-impact aerobics class, but you should be led by your own body when deciding what level to attempt, and let your instructor know that you have just had a baby. There are classes for new mothers, too, that are designed to incorporate your baby, so find out about these at your local leisure centre and through other mothers too.

If you previously played any sport, start it up again gradually and see how well you get on. It's fine now to get back on a horse; play squash; take an energetic dance or gym class and start weight training again. Swimming is great exercise and good and gentle for those mums who aren't confident about taking up a more strenuous sport.

If at any point you feel pain or unusual discomfort during exercise, get yourself checked out at the doctor's before continuing.

What's most important is that you learn to come to terms with the fact that your body has, in some ways, changed irrevocably - but that's not necessarily a bad thing! Learn to love your new womanly shape, complete with the battlescars of pregnancy if you have any. Your body is a map of your life to date, and don't forget that one of the greatest events is also one of the most recent. Read more on making peace with your post-baby body.

Where to next?

• Read how the stars shape up after pregnancy
• Talk to others about your post-baby get fit plans on our New Parents discussion forum
• Check our postnatal health guide for more advice
• New baby, no sex? Here's how to keep the passion alive

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