Many women love to run. And the advantages are many:
It's always available,
you don't need a gym membership,
it's easy to learn,
it doesn't require lots of expensive gear - all it takes is a decent pair of shoes
it's usually easy to see improvement,
you can compete against yourself (and others) in races,
it burns your fat,
it gives you a toned body - strong legs in particular,
it gives you a good sweat if you push yourself,
you can do it alone or with a running mate.
But can running be bad for you?The answer is yes! Especially if your body is recovering from pregnancy. You should not be in a hurry to run. If you want to do cardio training you should go for power walks or use a bike or a cross trainer instead.
Your postpartum body is not ready yet. It has carried a baby, and often a lot of extra weight, for quite some time, which has placed a lot of stress on your pelvic floor muscles. Also, a vaginal birth clearly affects the pelvic floor and the pelvic floor muscles. But remember, other than these obvious physical factors which I just mentioned, the pregnancy hormone relaxin affects the pelvic floor since it softens the tissues in your body and allows your pelvic floor to stretch during birth. The relaxin hormone will gradually disappear from your body after the delivery but will stay in your body for as long as you are breastfeeding.
When can I start?I think it is good to wait at least six months after the delivery before you start running, but if you are breastfeeding your baby you might have to wait even longer since the relaxin hormone will stay in your body for as long as you are breastfeeding. If you start running too early when your body is not ready you may harm yourself. Running with a weak or damaged pelvic floor can lead to incontinence, bowel problems and different types of prolapses. You don't want that, just wait! When you do think you are ready start slowly, run for a short period of time, walk and run a bit more, listen to your body!
