Prenatal & postpartum physical therapy

Physical therapy during pregnancy

Your body changes fast in pregnancy. Ligaments loosen, your center of mass moves forward, your abdominal wall stretches and your pelvic floor carries more load every week. Aches are common, but most of them respond well to treatment. You don't have to push through the next six months.

Birth preparation

Birth prep sessions usually start in the third trimester. The goal is for you to feel familiar with your body and your options before labor starts, whether you're planning a vaginal birth or a cesarean.

• Labor positions that open the pelvis and can be used with or without an epidural
• Pushing practice: coordinating breath with pelvic floor relaxation instead of bearing down against a tense floor
• Perineal massage: how and when to start it, which is linked to fewer tears needing stitches in first vaginal births
• Partner coaching so your support person knows how to help with positions and comfort
• A recovery plan for the first weeks home, including how to get out of bed, cough and lift your baby comfortably

Recovery after birth, week by week

Postpartum recovery doesn't end at the six-week check. Here is how care usually progresses. Your plan is built around your birth, your symptoms and your goals.

1. 0–6 weeks

   Early recovery

   Breathing, gentle core and pelvic floor reconnection, walking, and comfortable ways to feed, lift and carry. In-home visits are available so you don't have to leave the house.

2. 6–12 weeks

   Full assessment and rebuilding

   A complete exam, including an optional internal pelvic floor assessment, then progressive strength work for your core, hips and pelvic floor. Scar care for C-section or perineal tears.

3. 12 weeks +

   Return to running and impact

   Current return-to-running guidance recommends a graded return no earlier than about 12 weeks after birth, after passing strength and impact tests. We test, then build your plan.

4. Years later

   It's not too late

   Leaking, heaviness, back pain or a stubborn diastasis can be treated whether your baby is 6 months or 16 years old.

Diastasis recti

Diastasis recti is a widening of the connective tissue between the two sides of your six-pack muscle. It's a normal part of pregnancy: research has found it in roughly 60 percent of first-time mothers at six weeks postpartum, and it often improves over the following year.

The width of the gap matters less than how well the tissue handles load. Treatment focuses on breathing, pressure management and progressive core strength so you can lift, run and train without doming or pain. You don't need to avoid crunches or planks forever. You need a plan that progresses them.

C-section recovery

A cesarean is major abdominal surgery, and many people are sent home with little guidance. Physical therapy can help with incision sensitivity, scar mobility once it has healed, abdominal weakness, and the low-back and hip pain that often follow. It also covers a gradual return to lifting and exercise.

What to expect at your first visit

• A conversation about your pregnancy or birth, your symptoms and what you want to get back to
• A movement and strength assessment of your back, hips, abdominal wall and breathing
• An internal pelvic floor exam only if it's appropriate and you want one. It is always optional.
• A clear explanation of what's going on and a home program that fits around feeds and naps

Pregnancy & postpartum FAQs