Recovery

Pelvic floor challenges such as incontinence, diastasis recti, painful sex, constipation, others are very common in the postpartum period. Your pelvic floor muscles weaken from the pressure of your growing uterus and baby in pregnancy as well as the pressure and tearing from vaginal delivery (or cesarean after an attempted vaginal delivery). Just because these issues are common doesn't mean you have to live with them.

Postpartum mental health is a spectrum, not black-and-white “baby blues or PPD”, though it’s often presented that way. This means solutions go beyond “let it pass or see a psychiatrist”. There are many in-betweens, types of depression and anxiety disorders, and remedies. Just please don’t suffer alone or in silence.

Postpartum nutrition is super important but often overlooked. Certain foods are more important than ever to nourish our bodies because they can help us recover faster and better, and they're not entirely the foods we might expect. Now is definitely not the time to diet, but it’s also not the time to gorge on junk food either. Science and centuries of collective cultural wisdom have taught us some great foods to help with postpartum recovery. The good news is there are lots of great options.

Everyone's recovery looks different but here is a general overview of what to expect week by week for the first 6 weeks and beyond.

Physical recovery takes time, but there are also very concrete things you can do to help this process along and manage your pain. Read more for general tips, along with things you can do for specific common issues like constipation and hemorrhoids.