It's best to wait until you've had your 6-8 week postnatal check with your GP before returning to your pre-pregnancy levels of exercise. If you weren't very active before your pregnancy, this is a good time to start exercising. Try to build up gradually and stop if you have any pain.
If you had an emergency C-section then you may need to wait a few extra days before you start walking outdoors. Your abdominal incision takes AT LEAST 6 weeks to heal, so it's important to avoid straining your tummy while healing is occurring.
Here are the do's:
Walking within the first 24 hours of your procedure. While uncomfortable at first, walking is a great way to lower the risk of post-op complications such as blood clots and jump start normal bodily functions (like getting the bowels moving).
Walking, jogging, swimming, and biking are all great choices for strengthening your ab muscles after a c-section. It's best to avoid sit-ups, crunches, and planks for several weeks.
Recovering from a C-section requires that you give yourself space and time needed to heal properly. This also means that some activities and behaviors may need to be avoided or adjusted until you're at least 6 weeks postpartum, you're fully healed, or your doctor has confirmed it's OK to do so. Avoid: stomach sleeping.
As a cesarean section is an abdominal surgery, your doctor will likely advise you to not lift anything over 8-10 lbs, depending on the doctor as well as the details regarding your cesarean and your personal health. Lifting restrictions typically last anywhere from 6-8 weeks.
Just make sure not to push yourself too much, as overexertion after C-section delivery can have serious consequences, including wound infection or injury.
Getting up and walking around once you are home will help you heal faster and can help prevent blood clots. You should be able to do most of your regular activities in 4 to 8 weeks.
While you're in hospital, your midwife should give you information on exercises that will help you recover from your c-section. They will encourage you to start moving around as soon as you're able to get out of bed. Gentle walking will help you recover from your surgery.
Doctors, traditionally, have advised women to avoid stairs after a C-section. But Kathryn Houston, a clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, shrugs off that recommendation. “Stairs are fine as long as you take them slowly,” she says.
A woman is at increased risk for a dangerous blood clot throughout her pregnancy, during childbirth, and up to 3 months after her baby is born.
Lifting more than your baby, stretching, straining and deep bending are not recommended until about 4-6 weeks post-delivery OR until you are able to do these movements with no pain or strain and your incision feels like it has healed.
The coloration of the c-section scar should start to fade from red to pink, and it should look pretty uniform. The c-section scar should become less tender to the touch as this happens. You shouldn't see anything seeping out of your scar, if so contact your healthcare team to ensure it's healing correctly.
Exercise, food and sleep after caesarean
A gentle walk each day can help your body and your mind feel better. You could start with 5 minutes walking around your home. You might like to ask a physiotherapist at the hospital to give you some other good exercise ideas as you start to recover.
It's important for mothers to care for themselves after a a cesarean delivery. After any delivery, a mother needs to allow her body to rest and heal. Ideally, this means little to no housework, and no running after other little ones.
The risk of having a complication after delivery is highest during the first two weeks after delivery. But waiting will also give your body time to heal. In addition to postpartum discharge and vaginal tears, you might experience fatigue, vaginal dryness, pain and low sexual desire.
It takes 4 to 6 weeks to recover from a C-section
"The uterus, abdominal wall, and skin need to heal after a C-section. The initial healing occurs within 4 to 6 weeks postpartum," says Malavika Prabhu, MD, a specialist of maternal-fetal medicine at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine.
Just like with any surgery, your body needs time to heal afterward. Expect to stay in the hospital for 2 to 4 days after your delivery. If there are complications, your stay will be longer. Give your body 6 to 8 weeks to fully heal.
Since you'll receive two incisions — one in your abdomen and one in your uterus — your surgeon will close both incisions.
How long do you bleed for after a c-section? You will have some vaginal bleeding (called lochia) for 2–6 weeks after the birth. Bleeding sometimes lasts longer than this, but it should have stopped by 12 weeks. This bleeding happens after vaginal and c-section births.
Risk of clots falls off after 12 weeks
Women at the highest risk are those who have chronic high blood pressure, those who develop high blood pressure during pregnancy, older women, smokers, women who have had a blood clot before, and women with certain inherited blood disorders.
During the first six weeks after having your baby, you can gradually increase activity at a pace that suits you. You could start with a five-minute walk, and gradually extend this time when you feel able.
Women who've given birth via C-section have a few extra obstacles to clear, as they heal from abdominal surgery. Most doctors recommend that C-section patients not lift anything heavier than their baby (or 10 pounds) for the first three weeks, which may prove difficult when there is an older child at home.