Table of contents:
- 1. Walk
- 2. Lower pelvic exercises
- 3. Exercise the lower abdominal muscles
- 4. Tilt your pelvis
- 5. Move the legs
- 6. Yoga
After a miscarriage, exercise is probably the last thing you want to do. However, moderate exercise in the first 6 weeks after a miscarriage will help you regain strength in body and mind.
Exercise has many benefits, such as helping to reduce anxiety or depression, it can also help you adjust to other people, and relieve muscle tension and help you sleep better.
Learning new things can help restore self-confidence. It's natural that you no longer want to train your body at a time like this. However, exercise will slowly help strengthen you back.
It is better to wait until you have visited your gynecologist before starting vigorous exercise. For example, check with a health professional before you start running, or try a sport you have never done before. However, there are some moderate exercises you can do in the first few weeks.
Just relax, treat yourself well, and do what you can and how you feel. Here are some sports you can try:
1. Walk
Walking is the best form of exercise to start the new day after a miscarriage. Walking alone can help you get through complicated and painful events. Walking with a partner, friend, or family member can make you calmer.
You may not want to leave the house at all. You may worry if you see women with babies, or you may still look pregnant. However, if you feel you are able, start by taking short walks with some fresh air. Walking in a beautiful place, in the forest or in water, is also calming.
2. Lower pelvic exercises
Even if the miscarriage occurred in the first trimester, the pelvic floor muscles will still be affected by hormones.
Pelvic exercises are beneficial, so try to start as soon as possible. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles will restore the tissue around the vagina. This exercise improves circulation to the pelvic area, helping to reduce swelling and bruising. If you have stitches, this exercise will not open the seams.
You may find this exercise useless in the first few days or weeks. Continue, because this sport will work even if you can't feel it.
3. Exercise the lower abdominal muscles
Lower abdominal muscle exercises may help shrink the stomach after pregnancy. The lower abdominal muscles work with the pelvic floor muscles to support the back and pelvis.
Try this exercise, lying on your side or on your stomach, whatever you find most comfortable, with your knees bent.
Take a deep breath and as you exhale, tighten your lower pelvic muscles as if they are squeezed and lifted. Imagine that you are holding back your gas and urinating at the same time. Once you have tightened your lower pelvis, slowly pull your belly button in and up. You should feel your lower abdominal muscles tighten.
Keep it this way as you count to 10 without holding your breath. Then, relax the muscles slowly. Wait for at least 5 seconds and repeat. Try to avoid moving your back or tightening the abdominal muscles above the waist too much.
Sit on an exercise ball with both feet on the floor, preferably on a carpet or mat to make sure the ball doesn't slide away from you.
Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles and lower abdomen and slowly raise one leg up from the floor. Remember to breathe. Hold for 5 seconds, slowly lowering your legs and relaxing your muscles. Repeat 5-10 times on both legs.
4. Tilt your pelvis
Pelvic tilts are an exercise that allows you to gently move and stretch your back and work your abdominal muscles. This exercise also helps relieve back pain. You can tilt your pelvis lying down, sitting, or while sitting on an exercise ball.
How to tilt the pelvis while lying down:
Lie on the floor or bed. Place a pillow under the head. Bend your knees by raising your legs in front of your buttocks. Tighten your lower pelvis and pull your lower abdominal muscles in, then press your lower back against the floor or bed. Hold for 3 seconds and raise your back from the floor or bed. Repeat 10 times. Try not to hold your breath.
How to tilt the pelvis with a sports ball:
Sit on an exercise ball with both feet on the floor, preferably on a carpet or mat to prevent the ball from rolling.
Move the ball back and forth with your buttocks, so that your hips move together. Try to hold the shoulders. You can also move the ball from side to side to work your hips.
5. Move the legs
Lie on your stomach with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Tighten your abdominal muscles, and let your back relax as you move your legs away from your body, slowly straightening your knees. The goal is to use the abdominal muscles so that the back does not arch.
As soon as you feel your back begin to arch, bend your knees again and return to the starting position. Repeat 8-10 times.
Watch your breath during the exercise. As your abs get stronger, you will be able to move your legs further before your back starts to arch.
6. Yoga
Yoga focuses on the balance between mind, body and breath.
Yoga sessions usually include relaxation and breathing exercises, body poses, and sometimes with elements of meditation. Yoga can strengthen your body and help you control strong emotions.
Relax. If you have questions about this form of exercise, or want to talk about how you feel, see your midwife, health care professional or doctor.
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