Story and photos by GRACE CHEN

How wonderful it is to have a baby! Finally, a child to cuddle and love. But the downside of it is jelly belly, stretch marks and weight gain. It is a small price to pay, though, for the wonders of motherhood. Fear not, for there are ready solutions to help you get your figure back, provided you are willing to work at it.

For new mothers eager to regain their pre-pregnancy weight, the process of getting back in shape can begin right after delivery and the code to remember is BED – an acronym for breastfeeding, exercise and diet.

Prescribed by Elizabeth Muthu, midwife, lactation consultant and prenatal and postnatal fitness instructor at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, the combination will ensure that new mothers can emerge from their confinement periods rejuvenated instead of exhausted.

This is easier said than done for breastfeeding mothers like Shahlini Arasu, 37, whose daughter is 22 months and son is four months old. The first few days were tiring as she had to wake up every one-and-a-half hours to feed the baby.

“The lack of sleep got to me and one day, I just broke down and cried,” she reveals.

Shahlini Arasu sharing a light moment with her children, Daarnya Devan, 22 months, and Reyshan, four months.

At the same time, the presence of stretch marks on her breasts and tummy are still too v isible for her to step out in a bikini with confidence. For someone who used to go for two-hour workouts at the gym five times a week and constantly watched what she ate, Shahlini also admits that the weight gain is making her feel a tad conscious.

Not one to take things lying down, Shahlini once again heads for the treadmill three times a week, for an hour each session, at a gym near her home in Shah Alam.

Fortunately, she has the support of her husband, mother and mother-in-law who look after the children when she goes for her workouts.

Adds Elizabeth, a good dose of TLC (tender, loving care) always helps, and so does a massage with special formulas (like Bio-Oil), which is a good way to relax, help stretch marks fade and firm up sagging breasts at the same time.

Traditional methods can also be employed. Sharifah Aini Muhmad, 39, remembers her second pregnancy with daughter Emerly, now 10, when she ballooned from a svelte 46kg to 80kg.

“I had back problems, so I could not go for my usual walks and home yoga sessions. It did not help that after the delivery, I had to go for three operations to have tumours removed, which meant that I was flat on my back for the next six months,” recalls Sharifah Aini.

The traditional herbs and wraps, says Sharifah Aini Muhmad, helped in her bid to regain her figure. She is pictured here with two of her three children, Adam, nine, and Alfieq, 15.

The former construction contractor who hails from Ipoh credits her late grandmother, Azizah Alang Ariffin, a trained midwife, with helping her regain her figure.

When Sharifah Aini healed from her surgeries, Azizah trekked to the jungles for fresh herbs like kacip fatimah and rolled them into rice balls for her granddaughter to ingest. For 44 days, she was corseted in a tight waist trimmer (bekung in Malay) that reached down to the thighs. According to traditional Malay beliefs, this will help put the hip bones in place after childbirth.

Once her stitches dissolved, Sharifah Aini was massaged with a home-concocted heat rub of turmeric, black pepper, garlic and coconut oil to rid the stomach of wind.

Food intake is crucial at this time as it affects the quality and flow of breast milk. Elizabeth recommends a daily intake of 2,500 calories split into six small meals consisting of brown rice, protein, fruits and vegetables.

“Eating frequently helps to burn calories and maintain a healthy milk flow. It is also important to eat the right food. If you are going to tuck into high-fat foods like fried chicken and cheese burgers, you will pile on the pounds,” she warns.

This does not mean that mothers have to go on a Spartan diet during the confinement period; just avoid processed foods and added sugars.

“Just to give you an idea, I still include cheesecake in my diet menus. But I make sure to stress that mothers should take their last meal of the day four hours before going to bed so that there is time for the food to digest. You can also snack, but make healthy choices like nuts which are rich in omega oils,” says Elizabeth.

To regain fitness and firm up flabby muscles, mothers must not forget to exercise.

One of the most popular is the Kegel exercise, which works to improve muscle tone by strengthening the pubococcygeus muscles of the pelvic floor. By repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles as if to hold back urine, the benefits of Kegel include prevention of incontinence in later years and increased sexual gratification.

Called the “hidden” exercise as it can be done anywhere and anytime, mothers can begin right after delivery as it is said to promote the healing of perineum stitches.

Elizabeth recommends that exercises to firm up the a bdomen, arms and thighs begin one week after vaginal delivery and mothers should remember to start off gently.

“For toning that jelly belly, sit cross-legged with baby on lap and gently tuck in the stomach muscles. Hold till the count of 10, and release. Repeat as many times as is comfortable.

“Mum can also do another variant by lying on her back, with baby on her stomach and lifting her head up as if cupping an apple with her chin and maintaining the position as long as she can.

“To firm up flabby arms, extend both hands straight out at the sides and stretch them as far back as possible. Do this together with half squats, which work to firm up the thighs. Start off by holding the position for a minute and gradually extend to five,” says Elizabeth.

Including baby in your exercise routine helps to keep it sustainable, says midwife and prenatal/postnatal fitness instructor Elizabeth Muthu.

Making time for exercise may be tough for new mothers who have yet to fine-tune the juggling act of being mother, life partner and career woman.

For Jennifer Soong, a mother of two children aged 10 and 12, and a personal wealth manager with AIA in Singapore, it took three years after the birth of her second child before she could find time to join a Pilates and cardio workout class. But two years later, this Ipoh native was fit enough to take part in long-distance running and finish her first 10km race.

It took three years before Jennifer Soong could find time for an exercise class; the effort clearly has paid off for the mother of two kids, Odelia Hiew, 12, and Oswald, 10.

Today, the 41-year-old who trains five times a week says that on days when she wants to go on long runs, she will wake up as early as 4.30am while shorter runs mean that she can sleep in till 6am.

“The first thing I did was to set dates with running buddies. Going it alone, it’s easy to just call it quits and go back to sleep. But when you know there is a friend waiting for you, it’s not so easy to cancel,” she notes.

If exercise is not your cup of tea, Sharifah Aini offers a solution by allowing serendipity play a role. “There’s no need to adopt an exercise regime. Just lead an active lifestyle,” she says.

Sharifah Aini’s days with her three children have always been filled with lots of action. Her youngest son, Adam, nine, was barely one when he went on his first fishing trip.

At home, she takes them outside while she does her gardening. In the evenings, they go for strolls at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreational Park, and to experience the outdoors, she takes them on fishing trips to her husband’s farm in Jeram, near Kampar, Perak.

A mother of two teens aged 13 and 19, Elizabeth, 40, opines that new mothers should not allow the presence of their baby to hinder their movement.

“There is a misconception that if you are breastfeeding, you have to sit down. With my babies, I would let them suckle while I swept the floor or did the cooking. These are some ways a mother can be more active, ” she suggests.

She adds that new mothers should also learn to ask for help.

“Involving the husband in childcare is one way,” she concludes.