How does prenatal exercise help you recover more easily post-partum?

piinkzebrapriint · June 2012

Everyone says that keeping fit while pregnant helps your body recover faster. Can anyone give me details as to how, specifically? I've tried googling but can't find anything! TYIA!

northshore25 · June 2012

Morning,

I don't know the exact answer to this but I can say a few things. Before getting pregnant with DS I was a very active runner...usually about 6 days a week. I quit running around 8 weeks for silly reasons. Looking back, I was probably so exhausted from first tri and just didn't want to push myself in anyway. I was pretty lazy during my whole pregnancy and then I ended up nursing for 10 1/2 months. I did a bit of exercising here and there but nothing major. I was already giving so much time to nursing and pumping that I couldn't imagine taking the time to run. When DS was 11 months I started running again and holy mother was I out of shape. It was humiliating and honestly took my SO MUCH time to get back into it. I seriously felt like my a$$ was hitting my shoulder blades!!

Now that I am pregnant again, I refuse to do that again. I am going to stay active this time if it kills me. The mountain that I had to climb after DS was way to big.

Good luck!

NHRunner · June 2012

As with anything exercise related, the more in shape you are the easier it typically is to bounce back if your cardio and strength have been maintained. I am 31 weeks, still running and doing crossfit. I've scaled back the weight a bit but by continuing what I normally do I am not allowing my muscles to atrophy and my endurance remains.

I feel great and will continue to workout regularly as I definitely believe (as do my doctors) it will help me through childbirth and help me get back to my pre-pregnancy fitness level the fastest. If I was to sit around and do nothing, I cannot imagine how much of a struggle it would be to get back to that level of fitness! Plus its how I de-stress and relax, otherwise I'm very cranky. Oh and my back would be killing me all the time, too much sitting is awful for it

*LrCg* · June 2012

I know I'm against the majority but I don't see where it helps. Its my opinion that the thinking is if you are dedicated to working out prior and during your pregnancy you're more inclined to work out afterwards and get back into shape. In my personal experience, prior to having our first I worked out 4-5 days a week. I continued that with my 1st pregnancy (never modified and actually did crunches until late in my third trimester when it then started to feel uncomfortable). I'm short and petite and gained 25 lbs during my pregnancy bounced back into shape shortly after birth. Our first was about 6 months old when I got pregnant the second time and honestly with chasing a baby and the tiredness of the 1st trimester I stopped working out and never worked out during my pregnancy. I again gained 25 lbs and bounced back into shape shortly after birth. My pregnancies were the same- no morning sickness, no swelling, etc. I had homebirths and had fast and easy births for both.

emmabug727 · June 2012

I think a body that is strong and in good cardio shape is just better at recovering from any kind of difficult physical situation - childbirth, surgery, illness or otherwise. I worked out daily while pg and I never got any bad pg symptoms and pains that can be sort of common, especially at the end (swelling, extra weight gain, aching back). I pushed for 2 hours during delivery and never felt tired. And my body bounced back very quickly after - back in my regular clothes in just a couple weeks. I'm on the older side too (34), so I knew I didn't have age on my side to help with all of that. I would encourage everyone to keep up some sort of exercise program. Especially since its a lot harder to find the time to workout once LO gets here!!

piinkzebrapriint · June 2012

Thanks for the input, ladies. A little bit about why I asked the question:

I'm 33w along and at 30w was put on a modified bedrest (very modified, was told to reduce my activities: no working out, deep cleaning, lifting my toddler, etc. but can still walk around, go out with my toddler as long as he climbs into the carseat, etc.)

So up to 30w I was doing my prenatal weight lifting circuit 3x week and specific cardio 2x week. At that time I had to stop.

With my toddler I gained a total of 36 lbs and was certainly heavier by now than what I am (at 33w I have gained a total of 12.5 lbs - I was at a healthy weight prebaby to begin with.) Baby is measuring perfect and a bit ahead. The doctors have said over and over not to be worried about not gaining enough considering baby is perfectly healthy and I am perfectly healthy.

So, I am curious as to if all my hardwork prior to baby and for the 30w that I was still working out is going to help me in labour. With my toddler I had a fast natural labour to begin with - 4 hrs labour + 30 minutes pushing. I am wondering how this birth is going to compare!

I'm hoping that my 30w will not be un-doed by these less-active weeks leading to labour!

CrazyLife3 · June 2012

Here are a couple of explanations for you.

If you don't use muscle, it goes away. Less muscle equals less strength, stamina, and a lower metabolism. If you lay around for pregnancy and nursing time yoru muscle eventually becomes less and thus strength and stamina for every day activities. It is much harder than you think to add new muscle. I have first hand experience because I was a powerlifter before I got pregnant. The average woman under ideal circumstances can maybe add 6-8 pounds of lean muscle per year. So if you lose it, it is hard to put back on.

More muscle and stronger cardiovascular system equals better circulation and recovery for damaged tissues. More muscle equals less chance for developing GD because the muscles help absorb excess glucose. Short stints of exercising have proven under some circumstances to help make a baby that is better able to withstand the process of labor and not have heart decels that sometimes lead to c-section.

Muscles also have muscle memory although this topic is someone disputed. But if you were in good shape it easier to get back into good shape in a shorter amount of time after a break. But breaking for all of pregnancy and nursing is going to take away any benefit of muscle memory.

julie1408 · June 2012

For me, I think weight gain and healthy eating had more to do with an easy recovery.

With my first, I gained 40-45 pounds and worked out the entire pregnancy. PP I was tired, overweight, and stressed.

With my second, I only gained 20-25 pounds, I stopped working out in the first trimester because of morning sickness. I ate really healthy and continued to do so after the baby. Easy delivery, felt back to normal in a few days. All the weight was gone quickly and I had plenty of energy even though I went back to work earlier and was up at night more.

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