Miscarriages are painful events both physically and emotionally, and are suffered by many women all over the world. If you have suffered a miscarriage, your doctor may recommend starting an exercise routine both for improved physical condition and as a way to spend some time focused on yourself. Below are three ways to safely exercise if you have just suffered a miscarriage. Remember to consult with your doctor, nurse or health care provider before starting any type of exercise program.
1. Start Slowly
Women who have recently experienced a miscarriage should start slowly when beginning a new exercise routine. While starting slowly can mean starting at a different level for all women, a basic rule of thumb is to start with an amount of exercise that seems manageable to you, and increasing the amount of time spent exercising by 10% each week. Therefore, women who start with ten minutes of exercise per day during the first week can increase their time to 11 minutes in the following week, and slowly work up to the US Surgeon General's recommendation of 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. When starting an exercise program, be sure to tell a friend on family member where you will be exercising, in the event that you become too tired to make your way back home.
2. Monitor Your Heart rate
When starting an exercise routine after a miscarriage, it is very important to keep a close eye on your heart rate. Your heart rate is an indicator of how difficult the exercise is. Working too hard can result in internal bleeding or more damage to organs that may have undergone trauma during the miscarriage. To check your heart rate, you can either purchase a heart rate monitor at a price ranging from $50 up to $150, or your can measure your heart rate on your own by locating your pulse on your wrist, and counting the number of beats that occur in a one-minute time period. For best results, women who just experienced a miscarriage should keep their heart rates below 150 beats per minute.
3. Stretch before and after Exercise
Performing a good stretching routine is essential for women who have recently suffered a miscarriage and are interested in starting an exercise program. For best results, stretches should be performed at both the beginning and at the end of the structured exercise routine. If you are not an experienced exerciser, you may be able to consult with friends, family members or personal trainers for some basic stretches. Stretching before exercise is not only important in the prevention of potential injury, but is also important to make the exercise overall more enjoyable. As a basic guideline, hold each stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds. Research has found that stretches held below this amount of time aren't as effective in properly warming up the muscles before beginning to exercise.