Congratulations on your new baby! If you're reading this, you're probably thinking about getting back into fitness, maybe reclaiming your body, rebuilding your strength, or simply wanting more energy to keep up with the demands of motherhood. Whatever your motivation, you're in the right place.
But before you dust off your running shoes or search for that pre-pregnancy workout video, there are some important things you need to know. The postpartum body is different. It has been through an incredible transformation, and it needs a thoughtful, informed approach to exercise. This three-part series will give you everything you need to know about postpartum fitness, starting with the foundations.
When Can You Start Exercising?
The short answer: it depends. Every woman's pregnancy, delivery, and recovery is unique. There's no universal timeline that applies to everyone. However, there are some general guidelines that can help you understand what to expect.
For women who had uncomplicated vaginal deliveries, very gentle movement can often begin within days of giving birth. This doesn't mean jumping into a workout; it means things like walking around the house, gentle stretching, and beginning to engage your pelvic floor muscles. Most healthcare providers give clearance for more moderate exercise at the six-week postpartum checkup, assuming recovery is progressing normally.
For women who had cesarean deliveries, the timeline is typically longer. A C-section is major abdominal surgery, and the incision needs time to heal. Most doctors recommend waiting eight to twelve weeks before returning to exercise, and even then, modifications may be necessary. Returning too soon can compromise healing and lead to complications.
Women who experienced complications during pregnancy or delivery, such as severe tearing, prolapse, or significant blood loss, may need to wait longer and work more closely with healthcare providers before beginning any fitness program.
The Critical First Step: Getting Medical Clearance
Before starting any postpartum exercise program, you need clearance from your healthcare provider. This isn't just a formality; it's an essential step in protecting your health. During your postpartum checkup (typically at six weeks), your provider will assess several things:
- How well your uterus has contracted back to its normal size
- The healing of any tears, episiotomy, or C-section incision
- Your overall recovery from blood loss and physical stress
- Your mental and emotional well-being
- Any complications that might require special consideration
Be honest with your provider about your fitness goals and any symptoms you're experiencing. Mention things like incontinence, pelvic pain, or feelings of heaviness in your pelvic area, as these could indicate issues that need to be addressed before exercising.
If possible, ask your provider about seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist. This type of specialized care is standard in many countries but often overlooked in others. A pelvic floor PT can assess your specific situation and give you personalized guidance that goes far beyond general advice.
Understanding Your Changed Body
Your body has done something remarkable: it has grown, protected, and birthed a human being. This process changes you in profound ways, and understanding these changes is essential for safe exercise.
Your Core and Abdominal Wall
During pregnancy, your abdominal muscles stretch significantly to accommodate your growing baby. The two sides of your rectus abdominis (the "six-pack" muscles) separate at the midline to make room. This separation is called diastasis recti, and some degree of it happens to virtually all pregnant women.
For many women, this separation naturally resolves in the weeks after delivery. For others, it remains and can cause problems if not addressed properly. A significant diastasis can contribute to back pain, poor posture, and a persistent "mummy tummy" that won't respond to traditional ab exercises. In fact, many traditional ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups can actually make diastasis worse if done before the abdominal wall has healed.
This is why core rehabilitation is so important in postpartum fitness, and why it needs to be done correctly. We'll cover specific exercises in Part 2 of this series.
Your Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support your bladder, uterus, and bowel. During pregnancy, these muscles bear increasing weight. During vaginal delivery, they stretch dramatically. Even C-section births affect the pelvic floor due to the weight carried during pregnancy.
A weakened pelvic floor can lead to urinary incontinence (leaking when you cough, sneeze, or jump), fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse (where organs drop lower than they should), and reduced sexual function. These issues are incredibly common, but they're not normal or inevitable, and they can often be improved or resolved with proper rehabilitation.
High-impact activities like running and jumping put significant stress on the pelvic floor. If you return to these activities before your pelvic floor is ready, you risk worsening any existing issues or creating new ones. This is why the advice to "just start running again" after your six-week checkup can be problematic for many women.
Your Joints and Ligaments
During pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called relaxin that loosens your ligaments to accommodate your growing baby and prepare for delivery. This hormone can remain in your system for months after birth, especially if you're breastfeeding. This means your joints may be less stable than usual, making you more susceptible to injury.
Exercise that requires joint stability, balance, or quick directional changes should be approached with extra caution during this time. Strength training with proper form can actually help by building the muscles that support your joints.
The Importance of Starting Gently
In a culture that celebrates "bouncing back" after pregnancy, it can feel tempting to push hard and try to return to your pre-pregnancy fitness level as quickly as possible. This is a mistake. Your body needs time to heal, and rushing the process can lead to injury, setbacks, and discouragement.
Starting gently doesn't mean doing nothing. It means being strategic and progressive. It means building from the foundation up, starting with breath work and gentle core activation, then adding low-impact movement, then gradually increasing intensity as your body proves it's ready.
Here's what gentle beginnings might look like in the first few weeks after your doctor clears you for exercise:
- Walking: Start with short, flat walks and gradually increase duration. Walking is excellent cardiovascular exercise that's gentle on your body
- Diaphragmatic breathing: Learning to breathe properly coordinates your diaphragm and pelvic floor, which is the foundation of core function
- Gentle stretching: Focus on areas that got tight during pregnancy, like hip flexors and chest muscles
- Pelvic floor exercises: When done correctly (not just "doing Kegels"), these rebuild the foundation of your core
- Gentle core activation: Learning to engage your transverse abdominis without bearing down or straining
The Pelvic Floor: Foundation of Everything
If there's one message to take from this first part of the series, it's this: your pelvic floor is the foundation of postpartum fitness. Everything else depends on it.
Many women think of pelvic floor exercises as simply "squeezing" or "doing Kegels." While this can be part of it, the pelvic floor is more complex than that. These muscles need to be able to contract (for strength and support) and relax (for proper function and to avoid tension issues). Many women after birth have pelvic floors that are too tight in some areas and too weak in others.
A proper pelvic floor exercise involves coordinating the contraction with your breath. As you exhale, gently lift and squeeze your pelvic floor muscles (imagine stopping the flow of urine or holding in gas). As you inhale, consciously relax and release these muscles. This exhale-lift, inhale-release pattern helps retrain the natural coordination between your breath and your core.
Signs that your pelvic floor needs attention before progressing in your fitness journey:
- Leaking urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or exercise
- Feeling like you can't fully empty your bladder
- Feeling pressure or bulging in your vaginal area
- Pain during intercourse
- Lower back pain that doesn't improve
- Feeling like you're "bearing down" when you try to do core exercises
If you experience any of these symptoms, please see a pelvic floor physical therapist before progressing in your fitness program. These issues are treatable, but they need proper assessment and individualized care.
Setting Realistic Expectations
Your body may never look exactly the way it did before pregnancy, and that's okay. It has done something extraordinary, and it will carry the marks of that experience. Fitness should be about feeling strong, capable, and energized, not about returning to some idealized past version of yourself.
Progress will likely be slower than you want it to be. There will be setbacks. You'll be sleep-deprived and your schedule will be unpredictable. Some days, a five-minute stretch while the baby naps will be your entire workout, and that's okay. Consistency over time matters more than any single workout.
Give yourself grace. You're doing something hard, caring for a new baby while trying to take care of yourself. Every bit of effort you put toward your health matters, no matter how small it seems.
What's Coming in Part 2
Now that you understand the foundations of postpartum fitness, Part 2 of this series will dive into specific exercises that are safe and effective for the postpartum body. We'll cover exercises for rebuilding your core (the right way), strengthening your pelvic floor, and gradually building back your overall fitness. We'll also talk about diastasis recti in more detail and how to modify exercises if you have it.
Remember, the goal isn't to rush through recovery. The goal is to build a strong, functional body that will support you through motherhood and beyond. Take your time with these foundations. They matter more than any workout you'll ever do.