Activities to try

Start with something low impact and simple — such as a daily walk. If you're looking for camaraderie, see if you can find a postpartum exercise class at a local gym or community center.

With your health care provider's OK, also consider these specific exercises:

• Pelvic tilt. Try the pelvic tilt a few times a day to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent. Flatten your back against the floor by tightening your abdominal muscles and bending your pelvis up slightly. Hold for up to 10 seconds. Repeat five times and work up to 10 to 20 repetitions.
• Kegel exercise. Use this exercise to tone your pelvic floor muscles, which support the uterus, bladder, small intestine and rectum. When practiced regularly, Kegel exercises can help reduce urinary and anal incontinence. Contract your pelvic floor muscles, as if you're attempting to stop urinating midstream. Hold for up to 10 seconds and release, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions. Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day. Avoid Kegel exercises when urinating.
• Happy baby yoga pose. Your pelvic muscles can tighten and become painful after childbirth. This yoga pose can help relax and gently stretch your muscles to relieve pain. Lie on your back and bring your knees toward your chest. Open your knees slightly wider than your hips. Keeping your arms on the inside of your knees, use your hands to hold onto the outside of your feet or ankles. Bend your knees so that the bottoms of your feet face upward and gently pull your feet downward to lower your knees toward the surface. Focus on relaxing your pelvic muscles as you work toward holding this pose for about 90 seconds.