Running after giving birth: here’s what you need to know

Having a baby is a big deal which is why some cultures talk about embracing the fourth trimester – the first 12 weeks after your baby is born – as a time to heal and recover, says Baz Moffat, former elite athlete and CEO of The Well HQ. 

There can be pressure to return to your pre-pregnancy selves quickly, but it's important not to expect an immediate bounce back. Here's how to gradually ease back into your routine. 

“When it comes to exercise, the pelvic floor has to come first – nothing else matters at this stage,” says Baz. If you feel ready, you can start doing very gentle pelvic floor exercises as soon as you leave the hospital – just connecting to your pelvic floor and relaxing it, she says.

Baz also urges women to book an appointment with a women’s health physio six to eight weeks after they have given birth. “You want to ensure your pelvic floor is sorted for the long term,” she says, not just because it’s important for your running, but because it’s crucial for the rest of your life.

If you were caring for somebody who’d been ill and were trying to bring them back to good health, you’d make them lots of lovely wholesome food, says Baz, such as chicken soup, rice and beans and hearty apple crumbles. And even though you haven’t been sick, that’s how you should think in terms of getting your strength back and nursing your body back to good health.

Don’t look to Olympians or other professional female athletes who might be back competing within four or five months for guidance, says Baz. “They have whole support teams around them and individualised care programmes to build them back up – the majority of women don’t have that,” she says, and the comparisons and obligation to get back to full fitness quickly can be unhelpful.

In those first few weeks you can take short walks – starting very slowly for five to ten minutes, and increasing the duration as you feel stronger. Then start gentle body-weight exercises five to six weeks after giving birth, such as calf raises and body-weight squats. “You want to build up functional movement patterns,” says Baz.

At six weeks, you can start to focus on your endurance a little more, she says. “If your vaginal area isn't uncomfortable, you can sit on a bike, or do some cross training. And when your scars have healed, you can go swimming.”

“Running is a high-impact sport so, as a general rule, you shouldn’t start it up again until at least three months after you’ve given birth,” says Baz. This gives your pelvic area some time to heal during that fourth trimester, though many women – especially those who’ve had surgery or C-sections – will need to wait far longer.

When you begin running again, Baz recommends doing the Couch to 5K programme as it’s a good way of gently pacing your recovery. You can run while breastfeeding, but you should make sure you stay well hydrated, and it will feel more comfortable to run when your breasts aren’t at their fullest.

It would usually take one year to get back to full running fitness after having a baby, Baz says, adding that applies to women who’ve had a straightforward birth and no health complications, such as prolapse or postnatal depression, after pregnancy.

“The mental load of this new life stage is all consuming,” says Baz, and you most likely won’t be able to commit to running regularly with friends or your running group, especially while you’re getting your fitness back and now you have childcare to factor in.

Instead, plan walks with friends in parks or other natural spaces to get out of the house and maintain that all-important social contact. You could also volunteer at a running event to stay involved with the sport and soak up the atmosphere on Event Day – in good time you’ll be back to your old self and joining them on the Start Line.

Written by Sam Haddad. Sam is a freelance journalist based in Brighton, she's been writing about sport and the outdoors for over 20 years.