By Debbe Geiger

Congratulations! You’ve just had a baby. It’s an exciting time, but also one filled with stress and discomfort. Your hormones are raging, you’re sleep deprived, your body aches and maybe the last thing you want to do is look in the mirror. You might get exhausted just thinking about how to fit exercise into your new routine, but it’s one of the best things you can do to feel better both physically and emotionally.

“Most new moms face extreme exhaustion initially and can feel very overwhelmed with motherhood/breastfeeding, but even after a sleepless night, a walk outdoors in the fresh air really can make you feel human again,” says Dr. Amy Riley, OB/GYN with Sutter Roseville Medical Center and a mother of four, including triplets!

Aside from getting you back in shape, exercise does wonders for your mood and self-esteem too. Exercise is especially important for new mothers who may suffer from postpartum depression, since it can prevent or minimize symptoms.

Working out can also “improve your energy, which new mothers need plenty of, and it improves your sleep,” (the quality if not the quantity), adds Dr. Lisa Callahan, medical director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Taking the time to exercise also means taking time for yourself, and that’s important when your world has been turned upside down by the arrival of a new baby. “It’s important for you to say that exercise is about me, and I’m going to take some time for me,” says Kathy Stevens, a Reebok master trainer in Rancho Palo Verdes, who has a series of postpartum exercise videos called Baby and You. “Those are emotional needs that exercise can fulfill.”

WHEN TO START

Sandra Scanni is an avid exerciser, yet she tipped the scales at 200 pounds during her first pregnancy. “I really wasn’t careful,” she says. “I wanted the chocolate cake. I had pancakes for dinner. I ate Chinese food. I indulged.” However, the mother of four (including twins) says, “I enjoyed being pregnant as much as I enjoyed getting in shape after the pregnancies.”

Within three months of each of her three deliveries, Scanni was back to her pre-pregnancy weight of 120 pounds. “I did abdominals the next morning. I started exercising two days after delivery, even with the twins. I went right back to walking and running and exercising. In a week I was kickboxing. I’m a very determined, ambitious person. I knew anything was possible.”

Scanni, a personal trainer, cautions that her routine isn’t for everybody. “Pregnancy is tough, and getting in shape afterward varies from person to person.

How much exercise you do after your pregnancy and when you start all depends on the shape you were in before you became pregnant, and the amount of activity you did during your pregnancy.

That’s why experts recommend you listen to your body and be realistic about your expectations. “Traditionally we think it takes about six weeks for the body to recover, but it can take upward of a whole year for a woman to regain her normal form, both physically and mentally,” says Dr. Elizabeth Joy, an associate professor of family medicine, who has done extensive research on exercise after pregnancy. “Women are sleep-deprived, they are at a disadvantage bio-mechanically, they are trying to nurse and, oftentimes, they are trying to care for another child and go to work. Fitting exercise in during the postpartum period can be a challenge.”

TAKE IT EASY

According to Helene Byrne, author of Exercise after Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best, taking it slow is often key. There are several gentle exercises you can do to begin the process. In her book, Byrne recommends starting with Kegel exercises to tone your pelvic floor muscles, which support the pelvic organs and aid in urinary and bowel control. She also suggests exercising the transverse abdominus (the deepest abdominal muscle layer). “That is the most important muscle to regain control of when you are building back your body. When you work that muscle, it pulls everything back in.” These postpartum abdominal exercises, which serve as precursors to more traditional exercises, such as crunches, also help the body realign itself.

During pregnancy, Byrne explains, “Your pelvis tips, and that changes the alignment of your spine. When you’re not in good alignment, it creates functional imbalances. Some muscle groups have to work too hard and the opposite muscle groups don’t have to work hard enough.” If you don’t correct the problem with the right exercises after the baby is born, she says, “the muscles that are too tight continue to pull you out of good alignment, and you don’t get a quality workout.”

BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

If you’re not an exercise enthusiast, Callahan stresses that “a little goes a long way. “ A lot of women find that just going for a five or ten-minute walk is a good thing to do,” she says. Other activities that are easy on the joints include riding a stationary bike, swimming, gentle yoga practice or group exercise classes specially tailored for postpartum fitness. “Starting to exercise, even in a small way, helps women remember to take care of themselves.” And, in the long run, if you don’t take care of yourself, how can you do a good job taking care of anyone else?