QuestionI am a runner and want to start running again as soon as possible. Do I have to wait until after the 6 week check up? What effect will the episiotomy have on exercise and start date? Will exercise affect nursing- production and quality (will it taste sour to infant)?
AnswerYou've asked a lot of good questions. Since I don't know the specifics of your individual condition, I will answer in generalities.
Most athletic women rebound from pregnancy and childbirth very quickly, and waiting for six weeks to resume exercise is not necessary. But be aware that until you are about 6 mo. postpartum, that your ligaments are long and soft, and to do not support your joints as they used to. High impact exercise, like running, is more stressful on the ligaments, particularly at the ankles and knees, then low impact exercise. This makes you much more vulnerable to a joint injury then before you became pregnant.
High impact exercise can also tend to stress your episiotomy scar if you have not yet fully re-toned your pelvic floor muscles. You should do many sets of Kegel exercises, pelvic floor contractions, so that you get to the point where you can stop a full stream of urine when you use the bathroom.
I recommend that you resume aerobic exercise with fitness walking with short bouts of jogging to see how your body responds. If your joints feel OK, then you can slowly increase the amount of jogging, until you can run comfortably for 30 minutes nonstop, with NO adverse effects the next day. Any type of knee pain, stiffness, shin pain, ankle soreness, or reduced range of movement means that you've overstressed your ligaments.
I know that it can be really hard for an athlete to exercise at a more moderate level. You're chomping at the bit to get out there and go! But the postpartum period is a short time in your life, and a major joint injury will sideline you from what you love doing for a long time.
Lactic acid in breast milk depletes at the same rate as in your muscles, and falls to an insignificant amount after about 15 minutes. Aerobic exercise does not accumulate nearly as much lactic acid in the body as does anaerobic exercise, so here too, not much to worry about.
Exercise does not diminish the amount of milk that you produce. But you should make sure that you consume enough calories on the days that you exercise, to make up for what you burn.
All postpartum women should perform core conditioning exercises, and rehab their abdominal walls from the inside out. For more info on how to do this, visit http://www.befitmom.com/abdominal_reconditioning.html
