The Postpartum “Bounce Back” Debunked

 

The “bounce back” culture influenced by social media, celebrities, and societal pressures has led to unrealistic expectations and subsequent disappointment for new moms. And I was one of them!

 

As a first time mom, I jotted down my 12-week postpartum fitness and weight loss goals with the full expectation of achieving them. Heck, even surpass them! As a previous collegiate athlete and self-proclaimed fitness guru, nothing made me more pumped than a new fitness challenge.

 

I am still on my way to achieving those goals, almost a year later!

 

The physiological adaptation of pregnancy and impact on physical fitness has been extensively studied and defined. The reality is, these physiologic changes can persist for more than one year after delivery and impact a woman’s return to her pre-pregnancy level of fitness and body composition.

 

In a study published in 2021, data from a cohort of US Army active duty women who became pregnant while serving in the military provided an assessment of the impact of pregnancy and delivery on physical fitness, and the length of time it takes for women to recover their fitness and body compositions postpartum. The study found that by 36 months postpartum, 75% of women were able to achieve pre-pregnancy fitness levels. You read that right: three years!

 

Not to mention the multiple barriers to postpartum exercise, including limited time, lack of childcare, financial cost, fatigue, negative self-image, and poor social support, to name a few! These are likely just as impactful to the timeline of our recovery as the physical changes of pregnancy.

 

So let’s bounce “forward” together, leaving unrealistic, and now debunked, expectations and pressures “back” behind us.