Ladies-- running post c-section and breastfeeding

[April G]

Any thoughts or experiences with this?  Post c-section.  Haven't ran in 6 months.  Will be limited to treadmill until spring stroller season.  And containing the jugs??  Super sports bra just didn't cut it at my attempt to run today.

[Jon Allen]

I'm not a girl, so hope I'm not intruding. But my wife has had 5 kids. While nursing, she usually wears a regular bra and then 1-2 sports bras on top during runs.

Although she just got some new The North Face ones that she can wear solo.

[Melody]

I've had a C-section and a couple V-bacs and recovery was completely different for the two.  I would say you are totally safe to go out and run - it will feel awkward and you might even get some weird twinges where your scar is, but running at this point should not be harmful. I felt like my organs were going to drop out of me and like I was wearing a metal fanny pack for a good 7-10 days.  But it got easier and I got faster and built up my endurance within several months.  I definitely would start slow and easy - maybe even running with walking breaks and slowly build up your miles.  The injuries you are susceptible to after childbirth are almost always related to doing too much too soon.  I like the Moving Comfort series of supportive bras.  Running Warehouse usually has some pretty good deals and has free shipping both ways if you don't end up liking it.  Good luck and congratulations!

[Susannah Hurst]

After my baby as far as sports bras go depending on the bra I had to double up for a few months until my baby was starting to eat solids and my supply was down. Padded sports bras were my favorite. I'm not sure on how recovery is from a c-section but because of the stress on my pelvic floor from supporting a growing baby I needed to do pelvic floor therapy to help with bladder control during my runs. (Again I'm not sure how this would be different for a c-section because some of the trauma I had was from delivery). A lot of the exercises are the same as the kegel exercises that are recommended during pregnancy. Core also helped with this but it took a while to feel comfortable because of the gap between my rectus abdomini.