3 Expert Tips if You’re Having Pain After Giving Birth
June 2025
Are you unhappy with how you feel after giving birth?
You imagined that your maternity leave with your little one would be filled with fun memories and bonding moments but instead you’re dealing with more pain than you expected.
Below we share 3 Expert Tips if You’re Having Pain After Giving Birth, to help you start feeling better as soon as possible!
Is It Normal to Still Have Pain 6 Weeks Postpartum?
Depending on the specifics of your birth (how long it was, how much time you spent pushing, if an instrument like a vacuum or forceps was used, and if there was any tailbone injury or perineal tearing, etc) it’s expected for there to be an initial recovery period that won’t be comfortable. For some people it can be days, for others weeks or longer. But if you’re experiencing excruciating pain, or feelings of weakness and inability to physically handle the demands of your day after 6 weeks postpartum, it’s something to pay attention to. If you’re not noticing a steady improvement in how you feel (even if it’s just super gradual and slow) before 6 weeks it’s important to speak up and let your healthcare providers and support team know so that they can help or get you connected with someone who can help you.
When you get the help you need for your body it allows you to show up for your children better. You deserve to feel good and your children deserve the best version of you!
It’s never too late to seek expert help!
The first step to feeling better is realizing that pain isn’t normal and you can get help with it. You deserve to feel better and this isn’t something that you just have to deal with. The desire to care for your baby is strong and it can be easy to put off caring for yourself - I see this ALL the time! I work with women who are two years postpartum and have been living with pain and other symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction like leaking without seeking any help.
Even if your children aren’t babies anymore, it’s never too late to seek expert care. With the right guidance and support you can get relief from the symptoms you’re experiencing. And when your children are older you have the added opportunity to model receiving help and caring for yourself, which will allow them to know it’s possible for them to do as well. Win-win!
Here are my top 3 tips if you’re having pain after giving birth:
1 - See an Experienced Pelvic Floor Therapist
Yes, this is my first recommendation because it’s going to save you so much time, effort, and energy. It’s the quickest way to get to the root cause of what’s going on in your situation because they can assess what’s showing up in your body right now. That gives you invaluable information about how to give your body what it needs to feel better. Your body is trying every moment of every day to get back to thriving but something is blocking it. If your body could have fixed things on its own it likely would have done that by now. And please don’t think of it like you would orthopedic physical therapy where you would typically go 2 times per week for 6-8 weeks - you can make huge gains with once weekly or monthly visits, depending on your needs and ability to make it into the clinic!
2 - Slow Down
From my 23 years as a physical therapist (the last 18 years focusing on pelvic health) and as someone who is parenting two kids under 10 right now, I can easily say that only good things will come from intentionally slowing down as much as you can in each moment and in each day. You can do this by trying these ideas:
See what you can say no to.
Let other people help you out.
If no one offers help, you’re allowed to ask!
When you go to the bathroom try to take more time on the toilet and see if you can focus on just peeing- catching your mind when it wanders and bringing it back to the present moment. This sounds super silly but it helps! *My trick to be able to do this when my girls were young was by putting a child seat/rocker in the bathroom with me. I couldn’t relax to pee if my child was crying in another room so that was a game-changer for me.
Same for the shower - if you can even spend a few minutes allowing yourself to feel the water and warmth while you wash instead of updating the running to-do list in your head, it’ll help calm your mind which will in turn help calm your body.
Bodies heal better when they feel safe and calm.
3 - Connect With Your Breath
By this I mean not only taking the time to do little body “check-ins” throughout your day but also taking a proper diaphragmatic breath. You don’t need to close your eyes or be in any special position - you can do this in standing after changing a diaper or sitting when feeding your little one. By turning your attention inwards for a moment you are giving your body a well-deserved break from the mental chatter even if just for a second. When your body (and specifically your pelvic floor) has a moment of rest like that it functions better, plain and simple. The more little rest breaks you can give your pelvic floor muscles the better chance they will have of being able to do what they need to do for you.
To take a proper diaphragmatic breath you need to start with the diaphragm, NOT your belly. When you breathe by forcing your belly to expand you’re more likely to hold your chest motionless and that puts downward pressure on your pelvic floor, aggravating your healing tissues. Besides breathing into your chest and ribs so that they move outwards in every direction the other key is to bring your awareness to your pelvic floor (the muscles between your legs that would normally be covered by a bathing suit) and see if you can feel your pelvic floor relax with your inhalation. You may be able to feel it relax downwards towards your feet or you might be able to feel it relax open like an ‘O’ that’s getting bigger and wider. It may sound simple but creating this habit of clearing your mind and taking even 1-2 diaphragmatic breaths frequently throughout your day can be so powerful to helping your healing!
Final Thoughts
If you’re more than six weeks postpartum and are experiencing pelvic pain or weakness, know that help is available. Waiting most likely won’t help - call 404-769-5544 to schedule with one of the expert, caring pelvic floor therapists at Renew Pelvic Health, or book your appointment with us online!