Dr Christian’s view on the dangers of losing baby weight too quickly

Experts say new mums should ignore “celeb pressure” and wait before doing any vigorous workouts, Dr C weighs in…

When I first saw this, I thought six W months seemed over the top, but this advice is absolutely right because it relates to high-intensity exercise, such as running and HIIT workouts, which put pressure on your pelvic muscles.

PREVENT MUSCLE DAMAGE

However straightforward your pregnancy and birth, those muscles will have been impacted, so exercising too hard too soon can cause incontinence or, in extreme cases, even a prolapse – where an organ drops down. The official guidance says that women can return to running six weeks after an uncomplicated pregnancy and labour. The crucial word there is “uncomplicated”, so if you had a Caesarean, a bad tear, or a difficult recovery, you need to ask your GP or obstetrician before you start exercising. To put that into perspective, running puts three times your body weight on your pelvic floor, so if it’s already weakened, that’s a dangerous thing to do.

DON’T BE FOOLED!

A lot of women see images of celebs who look slim again quickly after having a baby, and feel pressure to do the same, but there’s no point comparing yourself to a celeb because you have no idea what’s going on behind closed doors; they could have a chef, a personal trainer and a nanny, or they could have had cosmetic surgery. They may have even injured themselves by rushing back into exercise, but they’re unlikely to share that with the world. Also, if a celeb was slim before pregnancy, and didn’t gain weight during, it isn’t surprising that they look slim shortly after. Just don’t compare yourself! After six weeks, provided all is well and you’ve checked with your doctor, start exercising gently, by walking or swimming. Even lifting weights, and doing things like sit-ups and planks, can exacerbate problems like diastasis recti, where abdominal muscles separate.

TAKE IT SLOWLY

Also, remember that breastfeeding burns calories, and is usually enough to help you lose whatever you gained in pregnancy, so you don’t need to do these ridiculous workouts. Rather than feeling like you should exercise to lose weight, do it to switch off. You’re already exhausted, you will end up exhausting yourself even more – and you could cause real damage. Look after yourself and your baby. Strenuous workouts can wait.