You've just had a baby. Your body feels completely different, you're exhausted, and you're wondering whether what you're experiencing is normal.
Maybe you're leaking urine.
Maybe your pelvic floor feels heavy or uncomfortable.
Maybe you're recovering from a C-section and you're afraid to use your abdominal muscles.
Or maybe you've reached that magical six-week mark when you're supposedly cleared to resume everything, but you feel nowhere near ready.
As a pelvic health physiotherapist, I've spent years having conversations with postpartum women about these exact concerns.
And there are five messages I find myself repeating over and over again.
So I decided to put them together in Episode 134 of The Pelvic Floor Project.
Whether you've just had a baby, you're preparing for birth or you're months into your recovery, these are five things I really wish every postpartum woman knew.
1. Postpartum recovery can be really hard. And you're not alone.
I recently received a message from a postpartum patient that really stuck with me.
She described how, for the first several days after giving birth, she had almost no bladder control. Every time she stood up, she would completely empty her bladder.
She was frightened and frustrated.
But one part of her message stood out to me more than anything else.
“Nobody told me this could happen.”
Now, this degree of urinary incontinence certainly doesn't happen to everyone.
But it reminded me how unprepared many women feel for the physical changes that can happen immediately after birth.
I struggle with how to prepare pregnant women for this.
On one hand, I want them to know that postpartum recovery can be challenging.
On the other hand, I don't want to be the person who takes all the excitement out of their pregnancy by listing everything that might go wrong.
It's a little like when you're parenting a toddler and someone says, “Just wait until they're a teenager!”
Not particularly helpful, right?
But I do want women to understand something important.
How your body feels in the first few days after birth is not necessarily a prediction of how it will feel six months or a year later.
Think about spraining your ankle badly while hiking.
It's swollen. You can't put weight on it. You can't move it properly. Your muscles don't seem to be working.
You wouldn't assume that your ankle is going to stay that way forever.
You understand that the tissues need time to heal, the swelling needs to settle and you'll gradually rebuild strength and movement.
The same principle applies to postpartum recovery.
Your body has been through an enormous physical experience. There may be swelling, pain, tissue injury and temporary changes in how your muscles function.
But there's one big difference.
Imagine spraining that ankle and then being sent home with a newborn puppy that needs you around the clock.
Suddenly, resting and recovering become much more complicated.
That's postpartum recovery.
You're healing while caring for a newborn, sleeping very little, navigating hormonal changes and possibly learning to breastfeed.
It's a lot.
Your body is resilient. What you're experiencing today doesn't necessarily represent your future.
But you also shouldn't have to navigate frightening or bothersome symptoms without help.
Sometimes you need medical assessment.
Sometimes you need physiotherapy.
Sometimes you need emotional support.
And sometimes you simply need someone to help you figure out what to do next.
My advice? Ask yourself:
What do I need today?
Not what does social media say I should be doing.
Not what did my friend do.
What do I need?
2. You don't have to wait six weeks to start your recovery
This is probably one of my biggest frustrations with postpartum care.
I've been a physiotherapist for 20 years, and I spent my first seven years working in hospitals.
I treated people immediately after major surgeries.
Hip replacements.
Knee replacements.
Back surgery.
Heart surgery.
We're talking about procedures involving incisions, sutures, and sometimes saws, hammers and surgical hardware.
And yet, physiotherapy often begins on day one.
Why?
Because rest and rehabilitation aren't mutually exclusive.
We don't walk into someone's hospital room the day after a knee replacement and tell them it's time to play soccer.
We help them understand how to move safely.
How to get out of bed.
How to manage pain.
How to use their muscles.
How to gradually rebuild function while respecting tissue healing.
Now compare that with what many postpartum women are told.
Rest for six weeks.
Don't use your core.
Wait until your six-week appointment.
And then, suddenly, they're told they can resume their normal activities.
That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Early recovery doesn't mean intense exercise
When I talk about starting recovery early, I'm not suggesting you begin running or lifting heavy weights a few days after giving birth.
I'm talking about education, gentle movement, positioning, breathing, pain management and learning how to reconnect with your muscles.
Maybe you're having trouble getting out of bed after a C-section.
Maybe you're afraid to contract your pelvic floor because you've had stitches.
Maybe you're experiencing bladder leakage and want to understand what's happening.
These are all things that can be addressed before six weeks.
Even gentle attempts to contract and relax the pelvic floor can be appropriate early in recovery for many women, provided they're comfortable and consistent with their medical guidance.
And after a C-section, we can discuss comfortable movement, positioning and ways to manage swelling without manipulating an unhealed incision.
I often use this example with patients.
Clear your throat.
Did you feel what happened in your abdomen?
Your core muscles contracted.
You can't simply turn your core off for six weeks.
You use these muscles when you cough, laugh, get out of bed, pick up your baby and go to the bathroom.
The goal isn't to avoid using them.
It's to understand how to use them comfortably and progressively as you heal.
You get to decide when you're ready for guidance
If you're three days postpartum and have questions, you deserve answers.
If you're six weeks postpartum and want help returning to exercise, that's great too.
And if you're six months postpartum and finally feel ready to focus on yourself, you're not too late.
There's no universal date when everyone needs to begin physiotherapy.
You don't need to wait six weeks to ask for help, but you also don't need to add physiotherapy to your to-do list before you're ready.
Of course, medical complications, significant tears and surgical restrictions may require a more individualized approach.
The important thing is that guidance should be available when you need it.
3. Six weeks doesn't mean everything should be back to normal
Here's another message I wish we could change.
The idea that six weeks is some sort of finish line.
Think about someone who's been running regularly for years.
Now imagine they stop running completely for six weeks.
Even without an injury, they probably won't return to their previous level of fitness immediately.
They'll need to build back up.
Now imagine someone who has spent nine months adapting to pregnancy, given birth, experienced significant hormonal and physical changes, and spent the following six weeks sleeping poorly while caring for a newborn.
Why would we expect their body to be completely back to normal at six weeks?
And yet, that's often the expectation.
Women come into my clinic at six weeks postpartum and ask:
Why am I still leaking?
Why does my pelvis feel heavy?
Why does my scar feel uncomfortable?
Why don't my abdominal muscles feel normal?
Does this mean I've damaged something?
I find this heartbreaking because the expectation itself can create so much fear.
The reality is that healing takes time, and rebuilding strength, endurance and coordination takes time too.
Being medically cleared at six weeks generally means your healthcare provider is satisfied with certain aspects of your recovery.
It doesn't mean you're automatically ready to return to CrossFit, running, heavy lifting or every activity you did before pregnancy.
Those activities require capacity.
And capacity is somethinging we build.
Learn to recognize your own thresholds
I often talk to patients about using a traffic light approach to movement.
Green light: You feel comfortable and confident. Keep going.
Yellow light: You notice mild discomfort, heaviness, fatigue or apprehension. Get curious. Can you change your position, reduce the intensity, adjust your breathing or take a break?
Red light: You experience significant or increasing pain, worsening symptoms, increased bleeding or another concerning change. Stop and seek appropriate guidance.
These aren't rigid rules or a substitute for medical assessment.
They're a way of learning to pay attention to your body rather than either avoiding every sensation or pushing through everything.
Some women are naturally cautious and avoid movement because they're afraid of causing damage.
Others are accustomed to pushing through discomfort and struggle to slow down.
Neither approach is necessarily helpful in every situation.
The goal is to become curious about what your body can do today and gradually build from there.
Recovery is a progression, not a date on the calendar.
4. Postpartum recovery isn't just about your pelvic floor or your core
I hear this all the time.
I had a vaginal birth, so I need to work on my pelvic floor.
Or:
I had a C-section, so I need to work on my abdominal muscles.
But pregnancy and birth affect so much more than one area of the body.
Think about everything that changes during pregnancy.
Your abdomen stretches to accommodate your growing baby.
Your centre of gravity shifts.
Your posture changes.
Your pelvic floor adapts to increased demands.
Your breathing mechanics change.
Your muscles develop new ways of coordinating movement.
And your nervous system continually adapts to these changes.
Then you give birth.
Whether vaginally or by C-section, your body has another significant experience to recover from.
I often use the analogy of a trampoline when explaining the pelvis.
Imagine the bones of your pelvis as the frame of the trampoline.
The pelvic floor is like the flexible surface suspended within that frame.
Then imagine all the surrounding muscles working together to support movement and manage pressure.
It's a team.
And during pregnancy and birth, the entire team has to adapt.
Afterward, that team may need time and practice to coordinate effectively again.
It's not always about weakness or scar tissue
Sometimes women are told that their symptoms must be caused by a weak pelvic floor.
Or tight muscles.
Or scar tissue.
Or abdominal separation.
But symptoms are rarely explained by one finding alone.
I often tell patients that after birth, the whole system can feel a little shocked.
Your body has changed dramatically, and your brain and muscles are adapting to a new situation.
Sometimes people naturally regain confidence, strength and coordination as they gradually return to their usual activities.
Others benefit from more specific guidance.
Maybe they need to learn how to relax their pelvic floor.
Maybe they need to rebuild strength.
Maybe they're holding tension because they're afraid of movement.
Maybe their breathing and abdominal muscles aren't coordinating the way they used to.
Or maybe they need help understanding what sensations are expected during recovery and which deserve further assessment.
Your core isn't gone. Your pelvic floor isn't dead. And your body isn't necessarily damaged just because it feels different.
Sometimes the system simply needs time, movement and guidance to work together again.
5. Please don't compare your recovery to someone else's
This one is hard.
Especially with social media.
You see someone running six weeks postpartum.
Someone else is back at the gym.
Another woman says her C-section recovery was easy.
Meanwhile, you're struggling to get through the day.
And you start wondering:
What's wrong with me?
But think about how many variables influence postpartum recovery.
Your health before pregnancy.
Your pregnancy experience.
How labour and birth unfolded.
Whether you had a vaginal birth or C-section.
Any complications or tissue injuries.
How much sleep you're getting.
Your baby's temperament.
Feeding challenges.
Your support system.
Your stress levels.
And your individual physical recovery.
No two women are starting from exactly the same place.
I remember this from my own experience.
After my second birth, I had a slower physical recovery than I expected.
And I'm a pelvic health physiotherapist!
I knew about the muscles.
I understood tissue healing.
I knew what exercises to do.
But I couldn't simply muscle my way through recovery.
I needed to take things slowly.
And that experience has stayed with me.
Sometimes knowing all the right things doesn't change the fact that your body needs more time.
And that's okay.
Someone else's recovery isn't a measuring stick for yours.
Find support that meets you where you are
If you're struggling, I encourage you to reach out.
But find someone who helps you understand what's happening rather than simply giving you a long list of things that are wrong with your body.
A good healthcare professional should help you feel informed and supported.
They should also consider what you realistically have the capacity to do.
When someone comes into my clinic, I often ask:
What do you feel like you need right now?
Maybe it's reassurance.
Maybe it's understanding why something hurts.
Maybe it's two exercises that take five minutes.
Maybe it's a plan to gradually return to running.
And maybe right now, you don't have the time or energy for any exercises at all.
The last thing a new mom needs is a list of 17 exercises that becomes another source of guilt when she can't complete them.
Your rehabilitation plan should fit into your life, not become another thing you're failing to keep up with.
My biggest message: Your body is resilient
If I could leave postpartum women with one message, it would be this:
You don't have to be back to normal at six weeks. You don't have to figure everything out on your own. And you don't have to compare your recovery with anyone else's.
Your body has gone through an enormous amount of change.
It's capable of healing and adapting, but sometimes it needs time, support and guidance.
There isn't one perfect postpartum exercise program.
There isn't one timeline that works for everyone.
And there certainly isn't one right way to recover.
Be curious about your body.
Respect what it's telling you.
Ask for help when you need it.
And remember that the way you feel today doesn't necessarily predict how you'll feel in the future.
Slow and steady. Your body is resilient, and you deserve support along the way.
This blog is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace individualized medical advice.
Episode Partners
This episode of The Pelvic Floor Project is supported by Embodia and SRC Health, organizations that help make it possible for me to continue creating evidence-based pelvic health education.
Embodia provides online continuing education and mentorship for pelvic health and rehabilitation professionals, including access to courses and expert-led learning from clinicians around the world.
SRC Health creates medical compression garments designed to provide support during pregnancy, postpartum recovery and for women experiencing pelvic health concerns.
Sponsorship does not influence the topics, guests or educational content of The Pelvic Floor Project.
