Your postpartum recovery timeline, week by week

Nobody really prepares you for the weeks after birth. The focus is on the pregnancy and the delivery, and then the baby is here and your own body is an afterthought. This guide walks through what many women experience, week by week, so you know roughly what to expect and, just as important, what is worth a call to your doctor.

Week 1: rest and healing

Your body has just done something enormous. Bleeding, called lochia, is at its heaviest and will look like a heavy period. You are sore, tired, and learning to feed a newborn all at once. The single best thing you can do this week is rest and let other people carry the load.

Weeks 2 to 3: the fog and the blues

Bleeding lightens and changes colour. Many women feel a wave of low mood, tearfulness, or overwhelm around now, often called the baby blues. It usually lifts within two weeks. If it does not, or it deepens, that is worth talking about, it can be a sign of postnatal depression, which is common and treatable.

Weeks 4 to 5: energy returns, slowly

Most women start to feel a little more themselves. Short walks and gentle movement feel good. This is not the time for hard exercise, your body is still knitting itself back together, especially your core and pelvic floor.

Week 6: the check-up

The classic six-week check is where your doctor looks at how you are healing and how you are coping. Come with your real questions written down, about pain, sex, contraception, feeding, or your mood. This appointment is for you, not just the baby.

Common questions