Q: I delivered a healthy baby boy through a Caesarean section. I would like to clarify a few questions: 1) My son got jaundice on the 3rd day. Is it common? How long will it last? 2) I put on a lot of weight during pregnancy and would like to lose atleast 30kgs. 3) I am breast feeding my son. Can I take honey along with warm water + lime juice in the morning as I heard it cuts down fats. 3) Can I get a detailed diet list keeping in mind I am breast feeding. 4) When can I start brisk walks and exercises like skipping/aerobics/sit ups? 5) Most of the weight gain is waist down. Can I know a proper exercise to reduce the fat and tone up my thigh muscles. 6) When can we start intercourse? Please guide me.

A:1) This is very common and usually disappears by the time the baby is 10 days old. When the baby is in the womb, the waste products are removed through placenta. Once the baby is born, their own body has to do this. It can take a few days for the baby to be able to remove it's waste products properly. Therefore, in the early days of your baby's life, some waste products can build up in the body. One such waste product is called bilirubin. This causes the yellow colour in the skin. 2) Yes, you can have honey with warm water and lime juice in the morning. 3) You should take plenty of fluids, vegetables, sprouts, cereals, pulses and legumes. This along with galactogogues like asparagus, fenugreek, dry ginger, dry fruits and coconut kernel help in secretion of adequate quantity of milk Bananas with saffron and crystal sugar are very good galactogogues. For your exact intake as you want to know, you should check out with a physician and a nutrition expert. You will land up harming your baby if you decide on a crash diet to reduce. A sensible diet with a light regime of exercises will help you to reduce gradually. Take a glass of fruit juice, water, coconut water or buttermilk just before feeding. 4) You must have started some breathing, ankle and knee exercises. You can start walking for about 10 minutes (as an exercise). This is an extremely safe and gentle type of exercise. It takes 10-12 weeks to recover from this surgery. General pelvic floor exercises and the exercises to strengthen the muscles around the perineum should not be attempted till 6 weeks or till the pain in the pubic bone subsides and the perineum has healed. 5) You have asked for exercises for the lower part of your body. Take care to do them as per your tolerance level. Always include warm ups prior to and cool downs after exercises. All the connective tissues in the body become more relax than normal due to pregnancy and you become more prone to sprains and injuries. These are strenuous exercises and you should wait for 10-12 weeks before the surgery has healed. Exercise -1 a) Lie face down on the floor. b) Rest your head on your left forearm and stretch your right arm in front of you. c) Raise your left leg off the floor so that your knee is about 2 inches above the floor. d) Take a deep breath as you bend your foot inwards. e) Breathe out as you lower your knee to bring it back to the position as in (c). f) Repeat with the other leg. Exercise-2 a) Lie face down on the floor. b) Rest your head on your left fore arm and extend your right hand in front of you. c) Raise your left leg up to 30 degrees keeping your buttocks tight. d) Hold briefly. Lower your leg back on the floor. d) Repeat with the other leg. Exercise-3 a) Stand with feet apart. b) Rest your hands on your hips. c) Breathe in as you slowly bend your knees as if you are sitting on an imaginary chair. Do not let the squat go beyond the seat height. d) Breathe out as you stand up. Exercise-4 a) Stand with feet apart. b) Raise your right hand in front of you. c) Take a deep breath in while you lift your right leg to touch your right hand.(it may take a few days before you can really touch your hand) d) Breathe out as you bring your leg back to the original position. e) Repeat with the other leg. Exercise-5 Do the same exercise as exercise 4, but with the opposite hand and leg. You can later add weights to your legs once you are comfortable doing them, may be after 5-6 weeks of doing free exercises. 6) You should wait for 10-12 weeks before you start intercourse.