I am 24 years old. I've given birth to a baby by caesarean method and he is eight months old. I have seen my hip size increase in the past months. My stomach too has bulged.  Please help me.

The body changes that take place after a caesarean birth are increase in hip and stomach size. Please do not worry. After you have completed the phase of lactation, it would be advisable to get into a fitness regime, which involves cardiovascular and resistant training. Start with a walk, of 30 min everyday, with some stretches and deep breathing exercises. Do this for atleast 3 months. This will condition the body to a new set of more intense exercises. The next 3 months, do a light jog of 25 min coupled with a spot jog of 10 minutes followed again by stretching and deep breathing. On weekends, take up swimming for an hour. The water medium is a fantastic place for calorie expenditure (9 Kcal / min) and toning of lax muscles. The next three months should involve a faster paced run, and a sport either basketball or badminton where you can increase your stamina. Every 3 days  of the week a sport and other days you should climb stairs for 30 minutes. This will help reduce your hip size and tone your thigh muscles. Continue to swim, make that on a Sunday. If you are unable to swim, ensure that you are using the rowing/ cross trainer at the gym. (Swimming is preferred however). This looks after your nine month plan, which I feel is a good start to losing those extra kilos that you would have gained at the time of pregnancy.
I am 25 years old. My breast seem to be sagging a lot. I have a two-month-old baby. This has started after I stopped feeding. What should I do?

Breast feeding should be carried out preferably for 4 months, and then weaning should take over. Discontinuing early may have an effect on breast shape and size. Is the milk production less or is it by choice that you have stopped feeding. Either way, it would be advisable to feed for 2 more months, for the health of the baby, breasts and your body weight.

*Parul Dube R D is the Member of  Health Professions Council, UK.

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