Stay healthy after a baby! | Motherhood.com.my - June 2020

Article written by Hridya from GetDoc Image Source: https://www.babycenter.com/postpartum-health Pregnancy is a life-changing experience, in more ways than one. Health most often takes the back seat after the arrival of the baby. You can see a lot of women complaining of not keeping a check on their weight and health after the baby. But is it possible to stay health after delivery? Yes, it is absolutely doable. Here are some tips! Tip 1: Get the Go-ahead from your doctor! We know you will be very eager to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight immediately after delivery. Doctors would usually ask to wait for a period of 6-weeks before you can start exercising. This period need not be same for all mothers, get your health checked and only if your doctor permits, start exercising. In the mean time you can always go for walks. Tip 2: Talk to friends! Ask your friends and find out a good, qualified fitness instructor. Look for one who specialises in postnatal fitness. It is always better to not exercise rather than doing incorrect exercises. If you are unable to find one, start going for walks, walking is one of the best exercises. Tip 3: You are already an athlete! Yes! There are a lot of tasks that mums do which makes them athletes already! You may be doing a lot of squatting, twisting, pulling, turning, pushing, lifting unknowingly apart from carrying your baby. Sounds familiar right? Think about the random tasks you do – lift your baby, adjust the car seat, push the trolley at a supermarket, load, unload the stuff you bought. So mummy, you are already doing a lot of exercising, keep doing it, just be kind to yourself and do not overdo it. Tip 4: Be hydrated Image Source: https://www.foodtrients.com/inside/3-more-reasons-to-stay-hydrated/ If you are a breastfeeding mum, this is absolutely essential for you. Water is very important in helping you recover from childbirth. It helps in tissue repair, organ and cell repair. Most important of all, the brain needs you to have loads of water. Tip 5: Eat well – eat healthy Being a mum can be a very demanding job – you need to have a lot of energy to do all the tasks associated with it. Breastfeeding can also make you very hungry. So avoid junking on empty calories, eat healthy. Snack on nuts, bananas and as much as possible try to avoid reaching for that sinful cake and packet of crisps! It is advisable to consult your health care provider/ registered dietitian regarding postpartum nutrition. You can also talk to certified lactation consultants regarding advice about nutrition while breastfeeding. Tip 6: Rest is very important That said, it can be a bit tough to give yourself time. But it is not impossible. Work it out with your partner and give yourself some me-time. This will help you come out of the post-delivery depression, fatigue easily. On top of that, you also need ample rest. This holds good especially in the first few weeks as you get in sync with your baby’s sleep timings. Just lie down and listen to some relaxing music even if you are unable to sleep. This will help soothe the brain. In the first few weeks after delivery, the mother needs to be relieved of all household responsibilities – she must only be feeding the baby and taking care of herself. Tip 7: Avoid looking at the weighing scales for sometime! Give the scales a break. Image Source: https://www.health.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-plateau Yes, yes we know it is a very tough thing to do. Remember you gained this extra weight in 9 months so all that weight will not disappear in a jiffy. It will take its time to go away. So give those scales a break, give yourself a god amount of time to get back to being “fit”. What is more important is to be fit rather than slim after delivery, drive this point into your head! To make an appointment with a gynaecologist, you can head over to GetDoc and do it in a jiffy! Sources: ParentsKool Stanford Children’s Health

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