Post pregnancy Return to running

As soon as you reach 6-8 weeks post baby you might be planning to lace up your running shoes, but hold up, have you really given your body a long enough healing time?

I advise you to wait at least 4 months before you return to running, even if you have no complications (longer if c-section delivery). 

Running is a high impact sport, placing a lot of demand on the body. High impact exercise can cause an increased risk of pelvic floor dysfunction compared to low impact exercise. Postnatal women need adequate time to heal and regain strength, particularly of their abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. 

You might feel mentally ready, but your body could just be saying otherwise. 

When you do start running, build this up gradually. Start with brisk walking, jogging and intervals. A ‘couch to 5km’ can be helpful, as this usually includes walk breaks and builds gradually towards 5km of running within around 9 weeks. The best thing to do is listen to your body and see how each session feels.

Visit a women's health physiotherapist 

Running is a high impact sport placing a lot of demand on your body. To be ready to run again, your body needs time to heal and regain its strength after having a baby. 

This is my number one tip!

It is recommended that all women, regardless of how they deliver, seek out a pelvic health assessment with a specialist physiotherapist to evaluate strength, function and coordination of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, which are often impacted by pregnancy and delivery.

If you feel any of these signs when attempting to run again, then the importance of getting a referral to a pelvic health physiotherapist is further highlighted:

• Heaviness/ dragging in the pelvic area (can be associated with prolapse).

• Leaking urine or inability to control bowel movements.

• Pendular abdomen or noticeable gap along the midline of your abdominal wall.

(This may indicate Diastasis Rectus Abdominis (DRA))

• Pelvic or lower back pain

• Ongoing or increased blood loss beyond 8 weeks postnatal that is not linked to your monthly cycle

There’s still plenty you can do

In the days/weeks following delivery (dependent on type of delivery) gentle abdominal exercises, including breathing exercises, can begin to help retrain the coordination of the core muscles. I recommend that you seek out advice from a professional to find out which exercises would be suitable for you to do. 

Gentle walking can also begin, which can be built up gradually. 

After you have had your check up by a female health physiotherapist (around 6 weeks post baby) and you’ve the go ahead to exercise. I would recommend starting with light weight training, which can be built up gradually. Start with bodyweight exercises and add resistance each week. 

I have found that this is very effective when working towards returning to running. You will be rebuilding strength and increasing your fitness levels. 

Two of my clients are featured below, both of whom were keen runners prior to pregnancy. They ran throughout pregnancy and are now back running 5- 6 months post delivery. 

Both these clients started weight training with me between 8-10 weeks post baby. We focused on rebuilding strength, improving core coordination and healing any abdominal separation (both of which are now fully recovered).

Once they felt strong enough they started incorporating some gentle runs and have built up since then. Here are their stories… 

Holly

‘I’ve been running for the last couple of years, enjoying the social aspect of being part of a club as well as competing in road/off road races for fun. Before lockdown I was training for my third marathon (Paris), but instead I had to make do with running loops around the Emirates stadium and Sunday long runs on Hampstead Heath, near where I lived before moving to Leeds. 

Almost as soon as I found out that I was pregnant I felt pretty tired, but was lucky enough to be able to run for most of my pregnancy, albeit at a much slower pace with walking breaks. The most annoying thing was round ligament pain and the aching soles of my feet, plus needing a wee every 5 minutes. I ran in a mile race and a 3 mile relay at seven months, and ran/walked my last 5k at 38 weeks! 

After having my baby girl, I didn’t run for 16 weeks, instead focusing on gradually restrengthening my core, walking, indoor cycling and sessions with Claudia. I began by doing the couch 2 5k programme very slowly and worked my way back up to doing a 10k race last week (5 months post baby). I’m looking forward to building back up to longer distances and intensity, as well as going out with my daughter in the running buggy!’

This is Holly running a race at 34 weeks! Wow!

Faye

‘Before pregnancy, I was running 3-5 times a week. Doing lots of races. Cycling and swimming weekly too.

During pregnancy, running 3 times a week. Kept the distance but reduced the intensity. Walking when I needed to, didn’t always stick to plan. Ran a 5k a few days before giving birth. Lots of walking and swimming throughout.

I restarted running at 12 weeks postpartum properly. I did go for a jog sooner but didn’t feel quite right. Found the pelvic floor physio really helpful for advice. I followed a broad couch to 5k (probably a more accelerated version). Started run/walking, then extended the running time keeping the pace slow. I’ve also restarted cycling and swimming for cross training and have found that, together with walking everywhere with Skye means I haven't lost much fitness. Things I found useful to return:

- Our strength sessions

- Cross training and keeping fit before I started to run again with lower impact cardio

- Doing my pelvic floor exercises (I was doing these 3x per day using the Squeezy app)

- Also found I feel better running cross country than on roads as less impact

Now at 5 months post, I’m currently running 3 x a week, totalling around 30k. Have managed to run a few races and have felt brilliant!

I’d missed the buzz of wearing my club kit and racing!
Next stop buggy running when Skye hits 6 months old.’

Faye at 30 weeks pregnant out on a run! 

All recoveries are different 

Take your time when returning to running. Every pregnancy, all recoveries and all return to running stories will be different. 

It’s important to go by how you feel, not place too much pressure on yourself and listen to your body.