Your body spends the first six weeks after birth doing a large amount of repair at once. Bleeding tapers, the womb (uterus) shrinks back, wounds knit, breasts change, and hormones move a long way in a short time. Most of this settles on its own, and some of it takes longer than six weeks, which is normal and not a sign that something went wrong. This page is health information for learning and planning, not a substitute for your own midwife, doctor or health visitor.

If a symptom is severe, sudden or frightening, skip the reading and get help. The postpartum warning signs guide lists what needs care today.

What the first week usually looks like

Bleeding is heaviest in the first few days and slowly becomes lighter and browner. Cramps come and go, often strongest while feeding, because feeding makes the womb tighten. Many people feel sore, swollen and very tired.

Your breasts change whether or not you are feeding a baby. Around the second to fourth day they often feel full, firm and warm as milk volume increases.

Sleep is broken. Appetite and thirst are usually large. Passing urine can sting for a few days, and the first bowel movement is often the thing people dread most.

Weeks two to six

Bleeding usually keeps fading, and the womb has often returned to around its pre-pregnancy size by six weeks. Stitches dissolve or are removed. A caesarean scar stops being painful to move around and starts being merely odd to touch.

Energy does not come back on a schedule. WHO's 2022 postnatal guidance treats the whole first six weeks as a period of active recovery with regular contact from a health professional, not a gap between the birth and the check-up.

Hair shedding, night sweats, sore wrists, and feet that no longer fit old shoes are all common and usually settle over months.

Bleeding, and what counts as too much

Bleeding after birth is called lochia. It changes colour from red to pink to brown to pale over days and weeks, and it can pause and restart.

Soaking a maternity pad in an hour, passing clots larger than a plum, or bleeding that suddenly becomes heavier again all need urgent advice. CDC lists heavy bleeding among the signs that need immediate care after birth.

Read bleeding after birth for what each stage usually looks like.

Your pelvic floor and bladder

Leaking urine when you cough, laugh or lift is common in the first weeks and is worth mentioning at any appointment. Common is not the same as something you have to live with.

Being unable to pass urine at all, or having no warning before you leak stool or wind, needs same-day advice. See your pelvic floor after birth.

Mood, and the difference that matters

Feeling weepy, raw and easily overwhelmed in the first two weeks is very common. Feeling flat, frightened, numb or unable to sleep even when the baby sleeps, and having it last beyond two weeks, is a different thing and is worth saying out loud.

There is no prize for coping quietly. Your mood after birth explains what to look for and who to tell.

If you have thoughts of harming yourself or the baby, treat it as an emergency. Femio's global Need help now page can help you find the next safe step.

Eating, moving and lifting

Eat and drink to appetite. There is no recovery diet to follow, and this is not a time to be counting anything.

Gentle walking is usually fine early on if it feels fine. NICE's postnatal guidance directs questions about returning to exercise, lifting and driving to your own care team, because the answer depends on how you gave birth and how healing is going.

What Femio can and cannot do here

Femio can hold what you notice — bleeding, pain, mood, feeding, sleep — so the pattern is in front of you and in front of your clinician at the next appointment. Femio cannot examine you, cannot confirm what is causing a symptom, and cannot tell you whether something is serious.

Bring what you have logged to your six-week check. A written note of a bad week is much easier to explain than a memory of it.

When to see a doctor

Contact your midwife, doctor or postnatal service for bleeding that gets heavier instead of lighter, a wound that becomes more painful, red or smelly, a fever, pain passing urine, calf pain or swelling, a headache that will not go, or low mood lasting beyond two weeks. Seek emergency care for heavy bleeding, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, seizures, or thoughts of harming yourself or the baby.

Say clearly how many weeks ago you gave birth. It changes what a clinician thinks of first.

Seek care now: Contact local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department for heavy bleeding that soaks a pad in an hour, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, a seizure, severe headache with vision changes, or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. Do not wait for a routine appointment or an online reply.

Frequently asked questions

How long does recovery after birth actually take?

The first six weeks cover the fastest changes. Pelvic floor strength, scar comfort, hair and sleep often take several months more.

Is it normal to still bleed at six weeks?

Light bleeding or brown discharge can last around this long. Bleeding that becomes heavier again, or smells offensive, needs advice.

Does a caesarean recovery follow the same timeline?

The bleeding and hormone changes are similar. Wound healing, lifting and driving are different, so follow the advice given by your own team.

When can exercise start again?

Ask your own clinician at your postnatal check. It depends on your birth, your healing and your symptoms, not on a fixed week number.