Don’t Rush Weight Loss after Childbirth

It turns out that the desire to shed the weight gained during pregnancy fast can have negative effects on the mother’s health as well as the baby’s. According to a recent study, women should avoid extreme weigh loss plans immediately after giving birth. Why?

Scientists from the German Institute of Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) found the answer to this question. They conducted a study on 250 female volunteers. The medics examined dynamics of weight during pregnancy and after childbirth. As it turns out, women should get worried about the excess weight only if they don’t get back to their normal shape and weight by the time the child is one. Moreover, those women who breastfed and watched their diet returned to their regular weight or even went below it within a year. On the other hand, most women who started to work hard on losing weight within a month after childbirth shortly stopped breastfeeding as well.

It naturally takes 3 to 12 months for a woman to return to her normal weight (the rate of weight reduction depends on the initial state of health and body). If you want to get back to your normal weight then you should start taking care of your diet during pregnancy. Most importantly you need to forget about the stereotype that a pregnant woman should eat for two, as this is a common mistake which leads to overeating and excess weight after childbirth.

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