Pelvic Floor
Your pelvic floor: a complete guide
What it is, how birth affects it, and how to rehabilitate it properly.
Read guide →For Her · Recovery
Your body has done something extraordinary. Here’s what to expect in recovery — the stuff nobody warns you about — and how to support yourself without pressure or unrealistic timelines.
The Truth Nobody Tells You
The cultural pressure to “get your body back” after birth is one of the more damaging myths in postpartum life. Your body grew a human being, sustained it for nine months, then delivered it into the world. It will never be exactly what it was before — and nor should it be.
Postpartum recovery takes longer than most people expect — typically 6–12 months for a full physical recovery, and sometimes longer. Understanding what’s normal removes the anxiety of wondering if something is wrong when it isn’t.
Physical Recovery
Soaking through a pad in an hour, passing clots larger than a 50p, fever over 38°C, wound that’s hot/red/weeping, or pain that’s getting worse rather than better: all warrant contacting your midwife or going to A&E.
Hormones
In the 3–5 days after birth, oestrogen and progesterone drop dramatically — some of the steepest hormonal change possible in the human body. This is what causes the “baby blues”: crying, emotional fragility, anxiety, and mood swings that peak around day 3–4 and usually resolve within two weeks.
Postpartum hair loss (telogen effluvium) typically starts at 3–4 months and can be alarming in volume. It’s caused by the drop in oestrogen that kept your hair in a growth phase during pregnancy. It usually resolves by 12 months. It doesn’t cause baldness — the hair does grow back.
Extremely common in the first weeks as your body sheds excess fluids from pregnancy. Stay hydrated, wear light layers, and change bedding frequently. Usually resolves within 2–6 weeks.
Baby blues: Arrives day 2–5, usually involves crying, emotional sensitivity, and anxiety. Peaks by day 4, resolves within 2 weeks. No treatment needed beyond rest, support, and normalising it.
Postnatal depression: Persists beyond 2 weeks, worsens rather than improves, may include feeling unable to cope, not bonding with your baby, persistent low mood, or intrusive thoughts. Affects 1 in 5 women. Speak to your GP or health visitor — it’s treatable and nothing to be ashamed of.
Core & Pelvic Floor
Pelvic floor dysfunction affects up to 1 in 3 women after birth — yet most are never assessed and never told what symptoms to watch for. It’s one of the most common and most undertreated aspects of postpartum recovery.
Leaking a little when you laugh is so common it’s become normalised. It shouldn’t be. It’s a symptom of pelvic floor dysfunction and is very successfully treated with physiotherapy.
A women’s health physiotherapist (also called a pelvic health physio) can assess your pelvic floor and core properly, identify any diastasis recti (abdominal separation), and give you a personalised rehab programme. In the UK, you can ask for a referral from your GP or midwife — or self-refer privately.
The 6-week GP check is not a pelvic floor assessment. Ask specifically for a referral if you have any symptoms.
Feeding & Your Body
Breastfeeding keeps oestrogen low, which maintains a dry, more fragile vaginal environment (similar to perimenopause) — this is completely normal and resolves when feeding stops or reduces. It also suppresses ovulation for many women, though not reliably enough to use as contraception.
Breastfeeding burns approximately 300–500 extra calories a day. This is not the time for calorie restriction — your body needs fuel to produce milk, heal, and function on broken sleep.
Returning to Exercise
Weeks 1–6: Walking (gradually increasing), gentle breathing exercises, pelvic floor contractions. That’s it. The 6-week “all clear” from your GP is not a fitness clearance — it’s a general health check.
6–12 weeks: Gradually return to low-impact movement — swimming, light yoga, Pilates — once you’ve been assessed and have no symptoms. Listen to your body; increased bleeding or pressure is a signal to rest.
3–6 months: Return to more demanding exercise depending on how your body feels and pelvic floor function. High-impact exercise (running, HIIT) ideally follows pelvic health physio clearance.
Returning to high-impact exercise before the pelvic floor and core have healed can worsen prolapse, diastasis recti, and incontinence — all of which are much harder to treat once established. The short-term gain from getting back to the gym quickly is not worth the potential long-term consequences.
This isn’t about being cautious — it’s about protecting your long-term function. A pelvic health physio assessment is the most valuable postpartum investment you can make.
Recovery Guides
What it is, how birth affects it, and how to rehabilitate it properly.
Read guide →Timeline, causes, and the products and habits that support regrowth.
Read guide →When to start, how to do it, and what to expect from your scar over time.
Read guide →Nourishing your body for recovery and breastfeeding without fuss.
Read guide →A week-by-week guide to moving safely in the first six months.
Read guide →When it’s safe, what’s normal, and how to navigate it with your partner.
Read guide →Back to the Hub
All guides for women — from pregnancy through motherhood, beauty, body, and beyond.
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