Breastfeeding and Postpartum Exercise – A Smart and Healthy Pair!We all know postpartum exercise in pretty much any form is good for us – it keeps us healthy as we recover from the birth, lowers stress in this new phase of life, and helps us lose the baby weight more quickly. It's important to wait for your doctor's okay before doing anything strenuous, but barring any specific instructions, a little light stretching is usually okay - and once your doctor gives you the go-ahead, you're ready to get started. What Special Considerations Does Breastfeeding Pose?This was a question that, to be honest, I had never even considered – until a particularly sporty friend of mine, also a new breastfeeding mama, mentioned she had read some news articles mentioning that nursing mothers may want to approach exercise and breastfeeding slightly differently.
For example, you might wonder what some of the
best postpartum exercises and methods
are. Well, when it comes to bone density, it appears there’s a pretty specific answer.
Keeping Your Bones StrongAccording to a September 2009 study released by the American College of Sports Medicine, breastfeeding moms who combined strength training with cardio exercise three days a week registered a lower-spine bone mineral density loss of 4.8%.Nursing moms who didn’t exercise at all experienced a 7% loss, putting them at a risk for osteoporosis later in life. I think it’s important to note that this study only looked at women four to 20 weeks postpartum, and that bone density loss is usually temporary – the study notes that women transfer around 200 milligrams of their calcium stores per day to their breast milk, and when they wean their infants, bone mineral density levels usually restore themselves. However, it’s just one more reason to break out the hand weights, fire up the workout DVDs and keep active following birth – our bodies are working hard to produce that wonderful milk for our babies, and it’s up to us to make sure we keep our bodies in top shape, all the way around! But Before You Freak Out…I think it’s important to note that this study only looked at women four to 20 weeks postpartum, and that bone density loss is usually temporary – the study notes that women transfer around 200 milligrams of their calcium stores per day to their breast milk, and when they wean their infants, bone mineral density levels usually restore themselves.However, it’s just one more reason to break out the hand weights, fire up the workout DVDs and keep active following birth – our bodies are working hard to produce that wonderful milk for our babies, and it’s up to us to make sure we keep our bodies in top shape, all the way around!
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