You Don’t Have to “Bounce Back”: Reframing Postpartum Recovery

Let’s be honest… pregnancy and childbirth are incredible, AND they are also a lot on your body. Over the course of nine months, your body grows and supports an entirely new life. Your posture changes as your center of gravity shifts. Your ribs expand to make room for your growing baby. Your abdominal muscles stretch (sometimes separating in the middle, called diastasis recti), and your pelvic floor works overtime.

During labor and delivery, those same muscles stretch to their max to help your baby enter the world. It’s an amazing, demanding process, both physically and emotionally. So, it’s no wonder your body feels different after giving birth. Because it is different. 

The Pressure to “Bounce Back”

Somewhere along the way, “getting your body back” became the focus of postpartum recovery. We see it everywhere: the expectation to lose weight quickly, fit into pre-pregnancy clothes, and “feel normal” again within weeks.

It’s completely normal to have goals and want to feel like yourself. It’s also normal to feel uncomfortable or even disconnected from your body after giving birth. Your body has gone through massive change: hormonally, structurally, and emotionally. Feeling “off” doesn’t mean something is wrong with you, it means you’re human.

What’s not normal is the unrealistic pressure to rush your healing. You just did something incredible. You don’t need to “bounce back.” You need time, support, and care.

The Role of Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

This is where pelvic floor physical therapy comes in — to help you heal, reconnect, and rebuild in a safe, supported way.

In the early weeks, our focus is on healing. We make sure your core and pelvic floor are recovering properly — checking things like rib position, abdominal separation, and pelvic floor tone. We use gentle techniques to help you reconnect with your body, restore breath and movement patterns, and begin rebuilding your foundation.

As your healing progresses, we start to retrain and strengthen. We help reengage muscles that haven’t fired in a while — like your deep core and glutes — and guide you through progressive movements that challenge your body safely.

We also address things you might not expect, like:

• Peeing or pooping discomfort (yes, we talk about it — and teach you how to make it easier!)
• Returning to exercise with confidence
• Reducing feelings of pressure, heaviness, or leakage
• Managing aches and pains that show up from feeding, carrying, and caring for your baby

You Deserve Support In Postpartum

Having a pelvic floor physical therapist on your team during postpartum recovery isn’t just about your body — it’s about your mind, too. Up to 1 in 8 women in the U.S. experience symptoms of postpartum depression after giving birth. (source) In fact, maternal mental-health disorders are now considered the leading complication of childbirth, affecting around 1 in 5 U.S. women. (source)

Imagine how much difference it makes to know someone is checking in with you each week — not just to adjust your exercise plan, but to monitor how you’re doing, how your body is healing, and how you’re feeling emotionally. That consistency, and teammate in your corner, supports your recovery in tangible ways, helping to ease physical discomfort, and offering a compassionate space to heal.

When you’re caring for a new baby, your plate is full. You don’t have the time or energy to manage everything alone. A pelvic-floor PT offers more than therapy: they offer connection, accountability, and care tailored to the realities of your postpartum body and life.

The Bottom Line

Your body doesn’t need to “bounce back.” It needs to heal, rebuild, and reconnect.
Pelvic floor physical therapy helps you do just that — so you can move confidently, regain strength, and feel at home in your body again.

Give yourself grace. Thank your body for what it’s done.

And when you’re ready, we’ll help you take the next step toward feeling strong, comfortable, and connected again, inside and out.