How to exercise after caesarian section

Colleen Namuddu gave birth under C-section from Nsambya Hospital two months ago.  She could not just wait to be discharged and leave the hospital. However, upon stepping down from the hospital bed, she felt some pain which she took to be normal since she had just given birth.

However, the pain did not go away soon as she had anticipated. The family sought medical advice and was shocked to be told of how exercises were the only prescription to heal the wound and prevent the recurring pain. 

But isn't exercising dangerous to the woman under that state? No, according to Matilda Nambuya, a midwife from Nsambya Hospital, as long as the woman follows the guidelines below, all would be well.

Heavy lifting

After C-section, one is advised to avoid lifting anything that weighs more than the baby as it places pressure on the healing muscles.

Avoid twisting movements such as palates, dancing and yoga as the internal and external stitches need to heal without more damage that bring a lot of pain

Women should instead do exercises such as walking, deep breathing, arm rotations and ankle flexes as Shafik Walugembe from Temple World Gym, Bweyogerere explains below.

Walking

Low impact exercises such as walking are the best for such women so as to enable the legs gain more flexibility and support the body firmly.

This should be moderate and done for 20 minutes twice a day.

Deep breathing

This can be done while lying on one's back with the knees supported with any soft thing such as a pillow or cushion. The mother then concentrates on tightening stomach muscles when she inhales. This can be done 10 times twice a day.

Arms rotations and ankle flexes

Hold the arms from the sides of the body and create small circles with the arms. This can be done more than 15 times a day. For ankle flexes, it is done from the bed sides by hanging the feet off the bed and then swinging them side to side.