Had Emergency C-section

Hello,
when you are clear for cardio work outs by the doctor... I found that tae bo cardio work outs work awesome! I did that and got a gazelle glider. The tae bo is what did most of the improving! and since it is cardio you can do it as much as you want unlike weight lifting and things that build you. i had to start it out only doing about half and work up to the whole thing since i hadnt been using the muscles (they are between 30-45 min). my daughter is 6 months and i have been back to normal size for 2 to 3 months. i had gained about 50 pounds! well hope that helps ya!

S., I'm an exercise physiologist specializing in prenatal and postpartum fitness. You should get the OK from your physician at your 6-week appointment before exercising. Other than the incision healing, a C-Section is not all that different from a vaginal birth as far as the damage that has been done to the abdominal region. You would still probably have a "belly" after 5-6 weeks regardless of the C-Section.

I don't usually like to disagree with other advice on this site, but exercise does not decrease milk supply. Dehydration can decrease milk supply, so if you are exercising you'll want to increase your water intake (which you should do if you're breastfeeding and you should do if you're exercising anyway).

A couple of things that you can do immediately to help are posture improving exercises. A lot of the damage that's done to our belly's is actually related to the alignment of the body being compromised during pregnancy and postpartum. The weight of baby and breasts pulls the body forward as does bottle feeding, breast feeding, carrying the baby, pushing strollers, etc.

What I always have my postnatal clients begin with is sitting on a large resistance ball and squeezing their belly-button tight into their lower backs and then releasing. You can do this exercise sitting in a chair or standing, however the ball will keep you from slouching. If you're standing or sitting without the ball, make sure you keep your chin and chest up and sit up straight. Stretching your chest is also important and fine to do now. A great way to stretch the chest is to stand in a doorway with your arms on either side, elbows level with your shoulders and wrists above the elbows. Keeping your chin and chest up and shoulders pressed down, gently walk through the door until you feel the stretch across your shoulders into your chest. Hold for 30 seconds.

You can also go for walks. Make sure you keep your posture straight while you're walking, particularly if you're pushing a stroller. Keep your chin and chest up, your abs sucked in, and your butt tucked underneath you.

Once you get the OK, start slowly, especially when working the abdominals. You can actually do more harm than good if you don't work them properly. Oblique work puts the most stress on the damaged areas, so you want to make sure you build up to those. Pelvic tilts are a good starting point and then add very controlled curls while keeping your chin up and belly button pulling into your back.

Good luck and I hope this helps. There's a lot more information, but this is a good starting point. I actually offer a class that runs for 6-weeks specifically for this topic, so this is really just the tip of the iceberg.

Hi S., I too specialize in pre and postnatal health and fitness and am a Master Trainer with Healthy Moms(R) Fitness (www.healthymomsfitness.com) I had a c-section a year ago and will tell you from both personal experience and professional experience. There are a couple of factors that will determine your readiness. The 6-week mark is not the "magic" number for all. It is typically 8-weeks for a c-section, however, when you stop bleeding, is when you are physically ready. If you begin exercising too hard, and the blood turns to bright red, you will need to stop, rest and wait until it ceases. Another factor is, where you exercising during your pregnancy? It is not advisable to begin if your body is not used to the activity level. Light walking with that baby for no more than 30-min per day is what is recommended. Your postpartum belly may not go back down up to 3m postpartum, depending upon how much weight that was gained. It takes 10 lunar months to gain pregnancy weight.

Your thyroid is out of sync from being pregnant and trying to re-adjust. Add lack of sleep, breastfeeding, etc, it will take some time for your body to get back. It is 60% nutrition, 20% exercise and 20% for a successful weight loss equation. If you are tired from lack of sleep, working out will do your body more harm than good from a physiological standpoint (aka adrenal glands). So focus on rest and good nutrition, when you are ready to exercise, the weight should come right off. If you must exercise, keep your heart rate under 135bpm until you are more well rested.

Feel free to email me if you have any more questions.

Congrats and good luck!

J., W. MPH, ACE-CPT
Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant

Have you had your 6 week postpartum appointment? That will determine if and when you can begin an exercise program.

What does your doctor say? Are you breast-feeding? Until you
talk to your doctor, I would suggest just practicing kugel exercises-tighting your pelvic area muscles first. If you are breadfeeding, strenuous exercise could effect your milk reduction.

S. i had a c-section as well with my daughter. The belly will go away eventually. I had staples in my incision which took alot longer to heal. I wasn't allowed to do anything until after they were removed, but after they were it was hard on my body to try doing even a few simple sit ups because that whole area in my stomach was so sensitive. I would suggest talking to your doctor first, then start out slow with a few sit ups and leg stretches. It takes a while to get back to where you were before baby, but you will get there don't worry. Hope that helps a little.

Hi S.,
If you have a girdle or bodysuit or an ace band wrap that is beige in color wrap your tummy in it as tight as you can bear it. then there is no use for exercise. it takes about a week to notice the difference. You should wear it all day and even sleep in it for the maxium flatness of your tummy. get wrapping :-)

Your Doctor should give you these instructions. If he has told you that you can resume normal and usual activities, that can usually be assumed to be exercise as well.
Right now, you can walk for exercise, unless he said no walking, and of course that will help.
As far as a good core workout that will target all your muscles without stinky situps and crunches, an exercise ball and a workout tape or cd for a workout ball is a great routine that will work on your stomach muscles and your back muscles too. It is also a low stress workout, that doesnt put undue pressure on your joints.
Even ladies with "natural deliveries" have a gut left when they have a baby.
You must consult your doc for any exercise instructions though...even the YMCA wont let you take a class without one.

The c-section was a major surgery, and it took 9 months to put on the weight. Be patient and wait for your next appointment with your OB/GYN before starting any strenuous exercise programs. While I am a big believer that pregnancy is a natural process and not a bodily illness, you still need to remember that your body has been under stress for a period of time. Wait until you are recovered and get the green light from your doctor. Then you are good to go and rock it out, and become a good exercising role model for your child!

your supposed to wait till after 6 weeks to do light excersize no heavy lifting. also if you are breastfeeding this is a natural way to shrink your uterus back to it's normal size. it may take up to 2 years to completely get rid of all the baby fat, but mine was gone after about 3 years with no real excersize, but just eating right. good luck

Hi S.,
c-sections are no fun, no matter what other people say. Once you get over the surgery recovery, though, you won't be too much worse off than someone who has had a vaginal delivery, because you're just recovering from the pregnancy itself. At 6 weeks you shouldn't have any trouble starting a gradual fitness routine, though. Start with some pelvic tilts on your back where you concentrate on pulling your belly button towards your spine. You can also do these on an exercise ball. Once you feel good doing these I personally like Pilates to get your mid-section back in shape. The Windsor Pilates series has a great 20-minute basic workout and the instructor specifically has one model who does modified versions of the exercises, which aren't quite as hard-core as the "real" versions. I started doing the modified versions around 4-5 weeks postpartum after my recent VBAC and after a couple weeks was able to do the regular versions.

I hear the book "Lose your mommy tummy" (can't remember the author) is also good.

Don't worry about the belly. Your body, with or without a c-section, will take time to bounce back. I had an emergency c-section, and at 6 weeks my OB encouraged me to walk and swim. Ask your OB what he/she recommends. I don't know what your level of fitness was before your baby was born, so I can only speak for myself. I set a goal to walk at least an hour each day with my daughter. After about 4 or 5 months, I was back to my prepregnancy weight. Now after 1 1/2 years, with our daily walks, I am actually 10 lbs. lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. Also, if you are breastfeeding, you should not cut back on calories. You are already burning about 500 extra calories each day while breastfeeding, so enjoy this time to eat for the energy you and your baby need. I know how it feels to look at my body and see the "scars" and "flaws" of childbirth, but then I look at my gorgeous little girl, and the lines on my belly and c-section scar are so worth it!

I too went through emergency c section with my first baby. I was told after any c section after 6 weeks try to do things slowlyl and work yourself into exercise. Try not to lift more than what the baby weighs and take your time so to let the scar inside and outside heal because the more you strech it the worse the scar will be. Sorry I have no suggestions since I still cannot seem to lose baby weight from my now two and three year olds!!!!!!!!