Postpartum Recovery
Recovery after pregnancy and birth isn't a six-week deadline or a bounce-back goal. It's a coordination process with its own timeline.
Recovery after pregnancy and birth is not a deadline or a bounce-back goal. It is a process of rebuilding coordination, starting with breath, at your own pace.
These posts cover diastasis recti, pelvic floor work beyond Kegels, when to return to exercise, and the mental side of recovery. This is education, not medical advice: speak to your doctor or pelvic health physiotherapist about your own situation.
Postpartum Sleep, Not the Gap, Was Linked to How Mothers Felt
A 2026 study of 196 first-time mothers found poor sleep and caesarean birth, not diastasis severity, were linked to lower quality of life.
Do Hypopressive Exercises Help Diastasis Recti? A 2026 Trial
A 2026 trial of hypopressive exercises after birth found the gap stayed the same, while plank holds, body image and comfort improved.
A New Guide Finally Answers When to Return to Running After Birth
Cardiff and Exeter researchers built a return-to-running guide with postpartum runners themselves, not a generic six-week rule.
What Grip Strength Reveals About Pelvic Floor Recovery
A coach on what the research linking grip strength to pelvic floor muscle strength actually shows, and what it doesn't yet prove.
Moving Through Pregnancy Shapes More Than Your Own Recovery
A 38,000-pair Japan cohort study links movement in pregnancy to stronger early motor development in babies. What it means for training.
The Six-Week Clearance Was Never the Real Timeline
New postpartum guidelines are replacing the fixed six-week clearance with individualized, symptom-based timelines, not a single date for every mother.
Pregnant and Still Lifting? The Guidelines Don't Fit You
New 2026 research shows a third of women lifting through pregnancy are warned off it by their own care providers, despite growing evidence it's safe.
Postpartum Recovery Is Pelvic Floor and Mental Health
The old postpartum conversation split the body from the mind. What's actually working now treats them as one recovery, not two.
The Recovery Timeline Isn't Six Weeks, It Might Be Six Years
New 2026 research shows postpartum depression symptoms can persist through a child's sixth birthday, not weeks or months.
Postpartum Recovery Isn't About Bouncing Back
A coach's reflection on why postpartum recovery isn't a race back to a former body, but a rebuilding of capacity on your own timeline.
Diastasis Recti: What the Gap Doesn't Tell You
Why the width of a diastasis recti gap matters less than function, and what one client's three-month recovery actually taught me.
Rebuilding the Core After Birth, Without the Crunches
Rebuilding core strength after birth isn't about crunches or ab challenges. It starts with breath, pressure, and awareness.
The Return-to-Exercise Timeline Nobody Tells You About
Why there is no universal week-by-week return-to-exercise timeline after birth, and what actually determines readiness.
What I Actually Check Before Programming a Postpartum Client
Before writing a single exercise, here is what a postpartum coach actually assesses about a new client's recovery and life.
Pelvic Floor Work Beyond Kegels
Pelvic floor recovery after birth involves far more than Kegels. Breath, coordination, and pressure management matter just as much.
If this sounds like your situation and you'd like help applying it to your own body, here is how we work.
Other topics: Philosophy · Movement · Sleep & Recovery · Food & Nourishment · Time Alone & Nervous System · Neurodivergent Coaching
Subscribe to Postpartum Recovery
An email when we publish something new on postpartum recovery, about once a week. Nothing else - no spam, unsubscribe any time.
Prefer reading on Substack instead? Follow along there →