Usually, a woman puts on about twenty-four pounds of weight during pregnancy.

After the baby is born, about thirteen pounds are lost immediately. A few more pounds are lost during the following week.

But it can take up to six months more for a mother to regain her normal figure and weight.

Most pregnant women tend to develop poor posture during their pregnancy. This is because they lean back to counteract the weight in front.

Here are some simple exercises to be done after your baby is born, which will help you regain your posture, normal weight, and figure.

A Few Words of Warning

Before starting exercises, a woman must seek the doctor's confirmation. If he gives you the green signal, do these exercises gradually.

* Exercise to be Done on the First Day : Lie in bed on your back. Breathe in deeply, expanding tummy muscles. Then breathe out, drawing tummy muscles in lightly. Repeat with knees drawn up and feet flat on the bed. Stimulates blood circulation in the legs by moving feet, ankles and legs occasionally,

* On the Second Day, Add this Exercise: Lie in bed on your back. Cross your ankles and point your toes down-wards. Press thighs and backside together. Tighten tummy muscles and other muscles in the lower torso area.

Repeat. Then cross the ankles the other way and do the exercise twice.

This helps to tone up the- muscles stretched during childbirth.

* On the Third Day, Add this Exercise: Lie in bed with legs stretched out. Don't bend your knees. Tighten up the right high and hip-joint to make your right leg shorter than the left.

Repeat with the other leg.

* On the Fifth Day, Add these Exercises :

1. Kneel on your bed or on the floor on all fours. Keep your arms straight (don't bend your elbows) and slightly in front of your shoulders.

Raise back upwards and then lower it. Repeat.

This exercise is good for strengthening muscles in the abdomen and the back.

2. Lie in bed and raise your head up while simultaneously drawing up one leg bent at the knees.

Repeat first with the other leg, and then with both legs drawn up at the same time.

This exercise helps to flatten the stomach and helps it to regain its normal shape. It also helps to tone up the muscles at the front of the abdomen.