Is it safe to exercise while breastfeeding? The short answer is yes! Exercise is good for a breastfeeding mother, but some education can be helpful. There are countless health benefits of exercise from building muscle and maintaining a healthy weight, to producing endorphins and increasing self-confidence. There are also however, some things to keep in mind if you’re breastfeeding.
Hard exercise such as weightlifting, a spin class or distance running can change the taste of breastmilk from lactic acid buildup, making it bitter (Murry 2022). This may bother some babies and not others. This is easily overcome by pumping the first small bit of breastmilk post workout to get the lactic acid out or wait a little while post workout to feed if possible.
A study in 2020 found that only 35% of women maintain their pre-pregnancy physical activity post childbirth. The study found many women were concerned that exercise would negatively impact their milk supply (Snyder et al. 2020). This is not true. The author suggests healthcare providers work hard to overcome this misinformation given exercise while breastfeeding is safe and provides many benefits to breastfeeding women.
