The Benefits of Exercise After Pregnancy

I’ve had the good fortune of being a recently new uncle twice within the past year. As such it’s been hard for my wife and I to not talk about having one of our own (though we have still concluded to wait for now). Despite our conclusions however, I have been somewhat cognizant of pregnancy and baby related stories that I stumble upon throughout my day. Today I found a little info on the benefits of exercise after pregnancy and how it helps the mother and child; I thought I would share.

Exercise After Pregnancy & Postpartum Depression

According to the Mayo Clinic exercise after pregnancy does a few things for the mother in addition to the obvious benefits of weight loss and physical conditioning. What struck me is the magnitude of postpartum depression and mood disorders prevalent in new mothers. Depression of any sort is very bad for your health and it does nothing to prevent or heal disease… in fact depression and generally sour attitudes seem to stunt recovery and spawn sickness. Exercise after pregnancy however has been shown to prevent postpartum depression (as it does for all forms of depression) and thus contributes to the overall health of the mother.

Mothers who are in higher spirits sleep better, burn more calories as they are less sluggish throughout the day, and are better able to care for their babies. Additionally mothers who have more energy are more likely to breast feed their children which has been shown to provide a boost to early childhood development.

What To Do

Exercise after pregnancy is absolutely crucial to the physical well being of the mother, but oft overlooked, it is crucial to the mental health of the mother and to the family as a whole. Just be careful when you start your postpartum exercise program and keep the intensity low. Go for a walk… or go for multiple short walks as this has even been shown to be more effective than one long walk in lowering blood pressure. And if you really want to optimize your regimen; exercise after eating to immediately counteract the fats that you take it at meal time. You body will thank you in the long run.  And if you need further motivation please click through to read up on the anti-aging traits of exercise.

Source
Mayo Clinic