Can I Exercise When I’m Breastfeeding?
To be clear this isn’t simultaneously exercising and breastfeeding, that would be a logistical nightmare. There I am in the photo above breast pads and all doing my first workout where I actually broke a sweat. The photo was taken on the 21st August 2019 and my daughter was born the first week in July. In those first few weeks following her birth I mainly walked with her in the pram or the sling, I did a lot of deep breathing exercises and pilates. I was having an extremely tough time with breastfeeding. My daughter had an undiagnosed tongue tie for two weeks and I was in agony. I’ll go into more detail of my full breastfeeding journey on another post, I learnt some really important lessons I’d like to pass on to other women so they don’t suffer weeks of mastitis like I did. That’s right… weeks. Ouch.
Anyway back to breastfeeding and exercise, I always had concerns in the back of my mind around milk production and if it would taste different, would my daughter refuse to feed afterwards? Following the Breast Health and Lactation course run by Suzanne Carney, (she’s on instagram as @anatomy_physiotherapy) I’d really like to take a bit of time going over some of the key points Suzanne made. I want to do this because several times I was told to stop exercise. This wasn’t an option for me as it’s something I’ve always done that benefits my mental health. I wasn’t about to be made to feel bad for having a bit of headspace and some time for me so I can be a better mother to my child. We’re talking 40 minutes here not hours!
So, the short answer to “can I breastfeed and exercise?”- is YES absolutely! It’s a common myth that exercising whilst breastfeeding affects milk supply- it does not. I was always told it does affect supply by an ancient practice nurse at my GP surgery. It used to make me feel like a terrible mother. No more! In actual fact Suzanna mentions that exclusively breastfed babies of exercising mothers grow at the same rate as mum’s with a sedentary lifestyle! So this is effectively saying breastmilk is nutritional regardless of exercise. My god I wish I knew that when practice nurse was banging on at me. Exercise has some really positive effects especially on emotional well-being. Personally if I don’t get out and do something every day I start to feel pretty awful. Other benefits include;
Enhanced maternal-infant relationship.
Reduced stress levels
Improving energy levels (yes even when you’re shattered and sleep deprived)
Improved blood lipid profiles and insulin response
Improved levels of cardiovascular fitness
Now we know just how good it is for us there are a few points to consider;
Intensity; The intensity of the workouts you are doing is important. I love a horrendous workout, BUT I have taken my time to build back to a higher intensity. Especially during the first 6-8 weeks when milk production was being established exercise was very much low intensity. If I went near the airdyne it was for 10 minutes at 25RMP (I’m pretty sure my daughter could do that now)! It has taken me a year to build back to the intensity I was previously working at and I’m breastfeeding my daughter three times a day. Exercising vigorously may change the taste of your milk with an increase in the lactic acid content, but this is with vigorous exercise.
Are you eating/drinking enough? Breastfeeding itself tends to burn in the region of 400-500 calories on top of the fact that your body is also making the milk which takes energy. Effectively you’re burning calories sitting still.This is important to consider when you’re thinking about what you’re eating. Anybody who follows me on instagram knows I love to eat! I actually referred to my “breastfeeding diet” quite a bit in the early days. Diet as in what I was eating, not as in “I’m on a diet,”- oh no! Meal times consisted of big plateful of nourishing food. Protien fats and carbs, and pudding… and snacks. Some of the ladies I’ve trained with in the past talk about the midnight bowls of cereal. With extra calories being burned exercising on top of the breastfeeding it is important to replace those cals with nutritious food. Without the extra calories it is harder for the body to produce breast milk. Like Suzanne says, breastfeeding is not the time to cut calories in order to drop the lbs. It’s equally as important to stay hydrated. Consider the water content of the milk that a baby is taking when they feed, that water comes from you and it must be replaced. Added to that if you’re working out and maybe it’s the summer so it’s scorching it’s easy to not realise if you’re becoming a bit dehydrated. I remember in the early days the breastfeeding thirst. I think I spoke about it in a previous post about the early days postpartum. My husband almost put a camel pack on my back, I was just constantly thirsty. I had water bottles in every room and sometimes two or three around me when I was feeding my daughter so I didn’t have to reach too far. As a rough guide use the colour odour and volume of urine as a guide to if you’re hydrated or not. Again I remember having a conversation with my husband about how he used to check the colour of his pee when he was deployed in a hot country, he’d have a colour scale assigned to a number. He used to think it was hilarious walking out of the toilet and announcing “Vic I’m a FOUR,” in the middle of Nandos. I much prefer the scale below, light beer and lemonade sound much nicer!
You can definitely announce these in Nando’s without too much bother.
When to return to exercise; Everybody is different but I would certainly recommend waiting those initial 6-8 weeks and preferably being cleared by a women health physiotherapist. So much is happening in those initial weeks, breastfeeding is being established, you’re bonding with your baby, sleep deprived and most importantly your body is healing. Irrespective of how your baby enters the world healing is so important. I can’t stress that enough. Your body needs the calories, energy, rest and nutrition for the healing process to take place. If at all possible trying to see a physiotherapist or personal trainer who specialises in post natal exercises is ideal. This is such an important time the last thing any postpartum lady needs is a MR or Mrs Motivator cracking their own agenda not having a clue. There are some great lower intensity options like yoga, pilates, swimming or (low intensity) circuits that can be done. Set some realistic goals! Its taken me a year to get strict pull ups back in my life. If you’d have told me that before I’d had my daughter I’d have thought you were joking! These things take time. Just turning up and moving is enough!
And finally…
Support when exercising; This is important, a well fitted sports bra is a must. Not only for comfort but to also make sure there isn’t too much pressure on the breast tissue itself as this can cause blocked ducts and we REALLY don’t want those. Please don’t try squeezing into your old pre baby sports bras before it’s time. Having boobs squeezed up to your armpits may well feel like they’re secured and supported but realistically we’re at high risk for blocking those ducts. I always found exercising just after I’d fed my daughter was the best time. I remember trying to do box jumps as a part of a workout before I’d fed her. Trust me it’s not worth doing! Pre feeding even after the initial 6-8 weeks I would find working out very uncomfortable. The majority of sports bras don’t have underwire in them anyway but it’s worth remembering that you need to avoid underwire bras. Below are some brands specialising in nursing sports bars;
Mummactiv
Natalactive (this lady is wonderful on instagram @natalactive)
Hot Milk
I really hope this post has been helpful for ladies wanting to return to exercise whilst breastfeeding. I’ve been there and it can be an exceptionally confusing time with lots of advice and not all of it helpful. Monitoring how you are feeling and how your baby is feeding is important. There is nothing quite like a mothers intuition. Something I found hugely helpful at the start of my breastfeeding journey was an appointment with a lactation consultant. You can find your nearest lactation consultant on the Lactation Consultants of Great Britain website found at https://www.lcgb.org . Lactation consultants have a wealth of knowledge and skills, providing women and their children with support and evidence based practice on their breastfeeding journey. I fully credit my local lactation consultant with identifying and treating my daughters tongue tie and cementing my breastfeeding journey with expert advice and encouragement. If you are struggling and want to continue breastfeeding please head over to the website and have a read. Above all, try and make that time for yourself to do something for you. You don’t have to be the fastest or the strongest. Just move a little and take some deep breaths, remind yourself of the incredible things your body has done and continues to do. Big love V x