Postpartum: Recovering and rebuilding after birth.
8 sections, about 15 minutes in total
6 wks
The usual medical check-up is at 6 weeks. That is a starting point, not the finish.
1 in 8
1 in 8 new mothers experience postpartum depression symptoms (CDC).
12+ mo
Twelve months or more is a realistic time to fully rebuild, and that is normal.
Start with the signs
The signs your body is still recovering.
Each one is common, and several have specific fixes. Tap the signs you have to see why they happen.
Nothing you tap is stored. This is a mirror for you, not a form for us.
Checking the common advice
What the research says about recovery.
Tap each one, make your call, then see the verdict. The ones about rushing your recovery turn out to be wrong.
Tap a promise from the label or the ad:
Pick a claim, make your call, then see what the trials actually found.
Verdicts summarize ACOG and CDC guidance and move as it does. Coaching context, and any mood symptom beyond two weeks, or a scary thought at any point, is a call for help.
After the birth
Your hormones reset over the weeks after birth.
Tap each tab to see what shifts, what it can feel like, and roughly when it settles.
Tap a tab to open it. The detail lands here.
This is education, not a diagnosis, and links are associations rather than proof of cause. If low mood or thyroid-type symptoms like a racing heart, deep fatigue, or feeling too hot or cold hang around, ask for a TSH test and a mood check rather than treating it yourself.
If you are breastfeeding
Understand how breast milk works.
Tap each tab to see how milk changes stage by stage, what affects it, and what helps. If you are not breastfeeding, you can skip to the next section.
Tap a tab to open it. The detail lands here.
This is education, not feeding advice for your specific situation. How you feed your baby is your call, and fed is what matters most. A lactation consultant is the right person for feeding problems.
The rebuild order
Rebuild your body in this order.
Click through the four stages. They work in this sequence, and skipping one is linked with problems later.
Tap a step to open it. Each one carries the detail.
What six-week clearance really means
Being cleared at six weeks means you have healed enough medically. It does not mean you are ready for hard workouts. Clearance is the starting point. Symptoms like leaking, pressure, pain or a doming core set the pace from there, and a pelvic floor physiotherapist is the right person to see for them.
After pregnancy
Abdominal separation is common and it is trainable.
Tap through the four tabs in order. They build on each other, so what it is comes before what to do about it.
Tap a tab to open it. The detail lands here.
The gap is trainable, not guaranteed to close, and this is education rather than treatment. If it is not improving, or something bulges or hurts, see a pelvic floor physio.
Signs to watch for
Normal recovery, and when to call for help.
The left list is usually part of recovery. Anything on the right means calling for help without waiting.
Normal recovery
- Bleeding that gets lighter over the weeks, deep tiredness, and a soft belly that doesn't feel like yours yet
- The “baby blues”: tearfulness and mood swings that come and go in the first two weeks
- Hair shedding around months 3 to 6, which grows back, and a sex drive that takes its own time to return
Call your provider this week
- Heavy bleeding, large clots, a fever, or pain from a tear or incision that is getting worse. Call now, do not wait
- Sadness, anxiety, anger or feeling empty that lasts beyond two weeks, or any frightening thoughts. This is postpartum depression, it affects 1 in 8 new mothers, and it is very treatable. Making the call is a strength
- Leaking, heaviness or a bulging feeling that does not go away. That needs a pelvic floor physiotherapy referral, not just kegels
If a thought ever frightens you, about yourself or the baby, call a crisis line or your midwife team right away. It is a medical symptom, not a reflection of who you are as a mother.
The habits that help
Small habits you can keep.
Each of these fits into life with a newborn. Toggle what you would do.
Your total score
8/ 39
Start with the five minutes of floor work. It only needs a few minutes.
The score is for illustration, not a clinical measure. Weight loss is left off this list on purpose. Early postpartum dieting undercuts recovery, mood and milk supply. That work comes later, and it goes better once you have rebuilt a foundation.