Coming Soon · Pelvic Health
Postpartum Pelvic Floor: The First 12 Weeks
What's normal and what isn't in the first 12 weeks postpartum — a candid, clinician-led walkthrough of pelvic floor recovery, what a first visit looks like, and when to seek care.
AIM Clinical Team · Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy · 25 min
Recording in the works
This clinician-led video guide is scripted and heading into production. In the meantime, our written guides cover the same ground, and our clinicians are the fastest path to a personalized plan.
What you'll learn
- Distinguish common postpartum symptoms that resolve on their own from those that warrant assessment.
- Describe what a pelvic floor physiotherapy assessment involves, and what internal exam consent looks like.
- Explain breathing and pressure-management retraining ("blow before you go").
- Outline realistic return-to-run and return-to-lifting timelines postpartum.
- Recognize when C-section or perineal scar work is indicated.
What the video will cover
00:00
Cold open
- Hook: "Most postpartum pelvic floor symptoms — leaking, heaviness, pain — are common and treatable. You don't have to live with them."
- Presenter positioning: AIM pelvic floor physio, sees postpartum patients daily.
- Who this is for: pregnant, freshly postpartum, or years postpartum with symptoms nobody's addressed.
01:00
What's actually normal in the first 6 weeks
- Bleeding (lochia) tapering over 4–6 weeks.
- Perineal soreness or a healing scar; some initial pelvic heaviness.
- Mild urinary urgency or the occasional cough-sneeze leak early on.
- Visible abdominal separation (diastasis) — extremely common at 6 weeks and often improves.
- A body that doesn't feel like yours yet — expected and time-limited.
05:00
What isn't "just normal"
- Leaking urine / gas / stool that persists past 6–8 weeks — or that you simply don't want to live with.
- Heaviness, dragging, or "something falling out" — possible pelvic organ prolapse; worth assessing.
- Pain with intercourse, tampon use, or a pelvic exam.
- A C-section or perineal scar that feels stuck, tethered, painful, or numb.
- Doming or a gap in the abdomen that limits movement.
- None of these are "just what happens." All are treatable.
10:00
What a pelvic floor physio assessment actually involves
- A thorough conversation — history, symptoms, birth, hopes.
- External assessment of breathing, posture, movement, abdominal wall.
- With your consent, an internal exam to assess pelvic floor strength, coordination, tone, and any scar tissue.
- You are always in control — internal exam is optional, deferred, or declined without your care being reduced.
- Plan built from findings, not from a template.
14:00
Breathing and pressure management — "blow before you go"
- The core, diaphragm, and pelvic floor are one pressure system.
- On effort — lifting the baby, standing up, coughing — exhale gently before or during the effort so the pressure doesn't bear down on the pelvic floor.
- This is the single most impactful skill most postpartum bodies learn in the first month.
- Demonstrate: inhale into the ribs, exhale on the lift.
17:00
Kegels aren't always the answer
- Some pelvic floors are weak — those benefit from strengthening.
- Others are too tight — those need to learn to relax before they can strengthen.
- Without an assessment, "just do more Kegels" can make the wrong muscle work harder.
- Down-training (relaxation) is a real, evidence-based intervention.
19:00
Return-to-run and return-to-lifting
- Return-to-run: typically not before 12 weeks postpartum, sometimes later. Symptom-guided, not calendar-driven.
- Progression: walking → walk-jog intervals → continuous jog → running with progressions.
- Return-to-lifting: same principle — progressive load, symptom-guided, with breathing/bracing skills in place.
- The number that matters is your body's response, not the date on the calendar.
22:00
Wrap + CTA
- Recap: what's normal, what isn't, and that everything on the "isn't" list is treatable.
- Point to the postpartum article and the companion PDF (first-12-weeks tracker).
- CTAs: Book a pelvic floor assessment and Book Now. Direct-billed to most extended health plans.
Companion resource
Postpartum Pelvic Floor: First 12 Weeks Tracker
A gentle, judgment-free tracker for the first 12 weeks — what to notice, what to raise with your provider, and how to phase return to movement.
- "Normal vs. not-normal" cheat sheet for the first 6 weeks
- Breathing-and-brace ("blow before you go") illustrated in 3 steps
- Weekly symptom check-in (leaking, heaviness, scar, pain 0–10)
- Return-to-walking / running / lifting progression cards
- When to book a pelvic floor physio assessment
- Discreet notes-to-self space for the first appointment
PDF ships with the recording. Ask your clinician for a printed copy at your next visit.
Related care & reading
Service
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Private, specialized care for pelvic floor dysfunction, prenatal/postpartum recovery, and pelvic pain.
Service
Physiotherapy
General physiotherapy for pain, injury, mobility, and function.
Condition
Pelvic Pain
Discreet, compassionate care for pelvic pain in any form.
Article · 6 min
Postpartum Pelvic Floor Recovery: What's Normal and What Isn't
A practical guide to postpartum pelvic floor recovery — what to expect in the first 6–12 weeks, what's not normal, and what pelvic physio actually does.
Ready to move from watching to doing?
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