How long does it take for your body to go back to normal after birth
If you are wondering how long it takes for your body to return to normal after birth, the answer is simple. The 6-week timeline you hear about is not true for everyone. Instead, its important to see your postpartum period as an individualized journey.
Most experts, myself included, advise that postpartum recovery can continue until 12-18 months’ postpartum. We want to set a clear timeframe. This helps new moms have a realistic idea of recovery. It is better than expecting to "bounce back" in 6 weeks.
If you're curious about the "why", that's exactly what I'm addressing here.
At my pelvic health clinic, I help many postpartum women. They often ask, “How long will it take for my body to go back to normal after birth?”
I want to preface this blog by saying that the postpartum period can be emotionally hard for so many reasons:
you’re not getting enough sleep
hormones are running wild
you’re adjusting to a new role as a mother
and among everything else, you’ve also undergone some significant body changes in a short timeframe and that can be really hard.
Bodies go through an incredible transformation during pregnancy and birth, and after it’s all said and done, sometimes our bodies don’t feel like our own anymore.
I know many mothers feel like they should be happy with their bodies if they love their children. But the two are not mutually exclusive. You can love your child and feel grief over your body having changed.
In this post, I’ll discuss typical postpartum timelines, factors that affect recovery time, and ways that you can help your body heal after having a baby. So let’s dive in!
Typical postpartum timelines
I know that everyone thinks of 6 weeks as the magic number since that’s when you’ll have your OB follow up to “clear” you, but 6 weeks is actually just the beginning.
The reason I put clear in quotes is because when an OB clears you, they are mainly looking at your vagina and cervix, and any tears or incisions that may have happened during childbirth, to make sure that they are healing well and not likely to get infected. This is certainly an important step in your recovery.
However, 6 weeks after you give birth, your OB or midwife is generally not assessing the strength or coordination of your pelvic floor or core muscles because that’s the job of a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist (hi! it's me!)
And when it comes to returning to exercise, you want to make sure that your muscles are recovering well in order to prevent symptoms such as pelvic heaviness, urinary leakage, back pain, ab separation, the list goes on. And having strong and well coordinated muscles can often alleviate these symptoms!
As much as we wish our bodies would just automatically return to their pre-pregnancy state, we often benefit from guidance on the postpartum journey. I always explain postpartum as similar to a teen going through a growth spurt.
You know how they are sometimes clumsy and awkward? It’s because their body just changed drastically in a short amount of time and their brain is trying to catch up. During pregnancy and postpartum, the same thing happens.
So if 6 weeks is not the benchmark, when should we expect to feel like ourselves again?
Please don’t get mad at me when I tell you this but most experts, myself included, advise that postpartum recovery can continue until 12-18 months’ postpartum!
Because think about it - your hormones often don’t even stabilize until about a year out. How can we expect your body to immediately return to your pre-pregnancy state?
The good news is that if you are in the early postpartum phase and are experiencing unpleasant symptoms or are feeling stir-crazy wanting to get back to your movement routine, you can see major improvements within the first 6 months postpartum.
So please don’t think that all hope is lost for the next 18 months. We just like to set that timeframe so that new moms have a more realistic idea of recovery rather than holding themselves to the impossible timeline of “bouncing back” in 6 weeks.
Factors that affect recovery time after birth
So if postpartum is considered 18 months but you can start feeling really good within mere months of giving birth, what makes the difference between which camp you fall into?
There are quite a few factors that can affect healing time after birth including:
How your birth experience went: There will be a big difference between how someone who pushed for 30 minutes and had no complications feels vs. how someone who pushed for 3 hours and had a third degree tear during vaginal delivery does.
C-sections also tend to heal slower than vaginal births. And if you experienced any kind of infection immediately postpartum, that can also delay healing.
How much support you have: There is also a big difference between someone who has family help or a postpartum doula and is able to rest throughout the day and sleep through the night most nights vs. someone who is doing it all on their own.
If you are taking on most of the parenting and household responsibilities, sometimes that’s just how life shakes out (and know that you are amazing!). But please give yourself some grace if you don’t seem to be “bouncing back” like your friend who has a ton of help is.
How many other kids you have: This one is a mixed bag. Barring any significant labor and delivery complications, it is often easier to recover from a second birth than a first. However, if you’re now having to take care of a toddler and a newborn, that transition can be emotionally challenging and physically demanding, which can slow healing.
How you’re feeling mentally: Postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression are profoundly real and can be debilitating.
If you are struggling to just get through the day, you will likely not feel your best physically. And while movement and exercise can absolutely help improve mental health, if you are feeling extremely stressed or hopeless, your first priority should be talking to a psychiatrist or psychologist.
Physical healing will go hand-in-hand with mental healing.
How active you were during your pregnancy: This one is my favorite because if you’re currently pregnant, it’s a factor that you can (usually) influence. I have so many patients who work with me throughout pregnancy and then tell me that their postpartum recovery is so much easier than they thought it’d be.
This is because when you actively work on your strength and coordination during pregnancy (both for your pelvic floor muscles and your body as a whole), it’s a lot easier to get it back once postpartum. (Of course, I want to caveat this with the exception that if you are given physical activity restrictions due to a complication in your pregnancy, or if you are just too nauseous or fatigued to move during your pregnancy, please do not beat yourself up!)
Age and genetics: I hate to include this one because we can’t change them, but it can be true. Generally speaking, it’s easier to recover if you are younger. However, I have had plenty of postpartum patients in their mid-late 30s so a smooth recovery is not out of reach if you are older! And some people really do just “snap back” a bit easier. Chalk this one up to just good luck!
As you can see, there is so much that goes into postpartum recovery that it can be hard to answer the question “how long does it take for your body to go back to normal after birth?”
But hopefully, I’ve given you some things to consider if you are feeling like your recovery has progressed slowly and are getting frustrated.
The biggest takeaway I’d love for you to get from this post is that everyone is different and it’s so important to give yourself grace. You just made a whole human being!
Ways that you can help your body heal after having a baby
So with all that said, how can you help yourself heal after having a baby?
I’d recommend the following postpartum healing tips:
If you’re having pain, try to manage it with tools like sitz baths, padsicles or warm washcloths, postpartum wraps or support belts, etc. (We go over all of these and more in physical therapy!)
Take your stool softeners as prescribed and stay hydrated.
Rest when you can, and accept offered help.
When you feel ready, you can start including gentle movements. Here are some great exercises that you can incorporate as early as a few days postpartum:
You can also begin taking short walks when you feel up to it. I’d recommend starting with just 5 minutes (or around the block) then adding 5 minutes at a time as you feel ready, knowing that you may stay at one time interval (for instance, 10 minutes) for days or weeks before you feel ready to progress.
Listen to your body. I know this advice can sometimes feel vague, so I want to clarify. If you have any concerning symptoms like pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, increased pelvic bleeding, increased fatigue, or something else that feels off or out-of-the-norm, then you likely did too much for your current capacity and need to scale back.
And this can apply not just to exercise but activity in general. I have met a lot of new moms who ran around town all day running errands and then didn’t feel great afterward, so I advise them to only do a few errands at a time while they’re still healing. We always want to respect our body’s current limits.
See a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist! We can help guide you from the early postpartum days to a full recovery. In my clinic, I use many hands-on techniques to help you feel better. We also review your specific goals and make an individualized plan to get you there.
I’ve had plenty of mamas with dreams to get back to running marathons without hip pain or to be able to go to the trampoline park with their kids without leaking, and we make it happen!
So there you have it. Hopefully now, you have a better idea of what to expect postpartum. Remember that every postpartum journey is unique.
Where to find a postpartum physical therapist in Durham, NC
If you’re local to Durham, I’d love to help you navigate your recovery! As a pelvic health physical therapist, I love helping new moms get back to feeling their best after birth.
Please reach out via the contact form here or by scheduling a complimentary discovery call here. I’m here to support you and I’m so excited to chat!
