When to Start Running After Delivering Baby

I waited 6 weeks primarily because I was tired. I felt good starting at 6 weeks, but honestly, I peed in my pants a lot until about 4-5 months post partum. My friend is an ultra-marathoner and she went back at 4 weeks post partum to running, but had the same pee issue!

I am a runner. I would wait the 6 weeks. During pregnancy your body secretes hormones that relax your ligaments and musculoskeltal structures. You don't want to get injured. I picked it up too hard and too fast and developed serious IT band issues as well as femoral tibial pain syndrome. Not fun. Took a year of PT to recover.

I am not a runner (I know you said runners only, but I thought I'd share) but I jog and intend to jog through as much of this pregnancy as I can. I started back with gentle exercising (whatever the early recommended abdominal exercises were after birth) as soon as possible, did plenty of walking (as I had a toddler and a newborn two years ago) and started right in with 30 minute sweaty workouts indoors at 6 weeks to the day (every day). I overdid things with housework after my first delivery and tried to take it easier for a few weeks after my second before I started working out hard again. If you were mostly walking during this pregnancy you can probably get away with walking for another week or two then adding a bit of gentle cardio or light jogging, but you could see if your doctor could move your post-partum check-up to 4 or 5 weeks (mine was at 4 1/2 weeks) and your doctor might give you the green light to run again. All I can really say from experience is I didn't realize how much recovery my body needed until I tried to do too much too soon. Good luck.

I'm not a runner, but I play ice hockey. It totally depends on you and your delivery experience. Go with your gut. There's no need to wait until 6 weeks - there's nothing magical about that number. For some people, it's 2-3 weeks, for others it's 2-3 months.

If I were you, I'd start with light exercising now if you feel up to it... swimming, walking, etc for a few days and if it feels fine, then start running. If you had stitches, you might be extra sore down there and may want to hold off on the bike - or even running since it can add pressure. If you feel fine after a few days, then continue.

After my 1st was born, I was so tired and sore I didn't think about exercise for the first 2 months. At 6 weeks, it still hurt to walk, let alone run or skate (I had a big tear with lots of stitches - heck, I didn't move the hospital bed after delivery for 3 days except to use the bathroom!).

After my 3rd was born, I walked easily to my postpartum room an hour after delivery. I was back at ice hockey practice 2 weeks after she was born and played in a hockey tournament at 6 weeks. My doctor said it was OK. I skated at hockey practice with her blessing until I was 5 months pregant (had to quit when too big for the gear!). She understood that I was in good shape, a really good skater (20+ years now of playing ice hockey!) and I'm on a nationally ranked ice hockey team.

Every delivery is different, every person is different so you are the only one who can make that decision. Start slow and stop if something feels wrong or painful. Keep going if it feels fine. Many studies have shown that the sooner new moms get back to their old routines, including exercising, the better relaxed they are and are much more likely to not develop depression.

I'm glad you asked this question. I did my first 1/2 marathon last October and am so missing running (I am 35 weeks pregnant) and can't wait to start again, and I wasn't quite sure how fast or slow I should go about getting back into it. Can't wait to hear other experiences. Good luck!

With my first I waited 5 weeks because I was so darn sore! The 2nd I waited about 3 1/2 and with the 2rd it was about 10 days.I felt good, but still didn't push it too much until after my 6 week follow up.

It depends on the birth and how you feel. My girlfriend who ran through most of her pregnancy started running 3 weeks after this last one. She had a homebirth - so everything was normal. She said she felt a difference with the uterus not completely back to it's normal size yet, but felt really good and was only able to go a few miles. She was taking Utrophin PMG for uterine health and had no issues with increase in lochial flow.

I feel your pain! Prior to getting pregnant the last time, I was running 25+ miles a week and doing pretty hard-core strength training 6 days a week. Once I got pregnant, due to some issues I had, my doctor told me I couldn't get my heart rate up over 120 bpm when exercising. Yeah right...that pretty much meant I had to stop most of what I had been doing. I basically had to take a 9-month hiatus and started over from scratch.

You should wait until your doctor gives you the go-ahead to start training, especially since it has been over 9 months since you've actually ran. In the meantime, you could probably walk while pushing the baby in the stroller, do gentle exercises in the pool, and work on stretching and body-weight strength training at home. Take it easy - Better safe than sorry.

I ran all throughout my pregnancy - until the 40th week. I think it depends on how you feel and how your delivery went. After my first I started running at 3 weeks - after my second it was about the same. But I started with about 10 minutes with each. Good luck. It's was hard for me to wait 6 weeks as well.

I, too, run marathons. Good for you! You need to get clearance from your doctor to exercise. I don't think mine gave me the green light until six weeks postpartum. Something I didn't take into consideration after giving birth was the additional weight I was carrying because of breastfeeding. If you are nursing, find a good, supportive sports bra. I couldn't believe how sore my chest was after my first run!

you really should wait until your doctor says it's okay! think about what you just went through! there are physical reasons to wait. think about your baby and your health.

I started running 12 days after my last baby - he was my third. It's been 6 weeks since his birth now and my exercise routine is back to the intensity before I got pregnant! I ran throughout the pregnancy, much slower and much less mileage, and I'm still not quite up to where I was with speed and endurance. Oh, and I had a vaginal birth, no tears or stitches :)

Your situation is exactly mine-except I am still pregnant with #4. I ran marahons before starting kids, but work up to a 1/2 marathon and olympic tri in between each kid. I would say go as you feel. I made a mistake after #2; I started running at 3 weeks and it was too soon--I felt like my uterus was hanging down (sorry-tmi). What really helped me transition to running from walking after delivery was jumping rope. It's very convenient and can be done wherever--I did it in the garage in the a.m. with the monitor so I could listen for the baby. By the way, exercise doesn't affect breast milk production. I did an olympric tri when my oldest was 5 months old-I breastfed her in the car before the race and immediately after I was done-she had no complaints :)