Initial Healing

Week 4 postpartum: one month, and the end of bleeding for many

General guidance, not medical advice. Follow your own provider’s clearance. Read our Medical Disclaimer and Editorial Policy.

Around a month in, discharge is often pale or has stopped altogether. Energy is usually more reliable than it was, though broken sleep keeps its own ceiling on that.

This is also the week people start comparing themselves to others, which is worth resisting. The range of normal here is genuinely wide.

What is most worth attending to

Adding a little range — calf and hamstring stretches, longer walks — rather than adding intensity.

Movement that is generally appropriate at week 4

This is what MatraBloom would draw on to build a session at this point in recovery. It differs by birth type because a caesarean is abdominal surgery, so anything loading the abdominal wall is held back longer.

After a vaginal birth

  • Breathing — Diaphragmatic Breathing, Cool-Down Breathing, Restorative Breathing
  • Gentle mobility — Neck & Shoulder Rolls, Ankle Circles, Heel Slides, Seated Spinal Twist, Standing Calf + Hamstring Stretch, Cat-Cow (Supported), Child’s Pose, Standing Side Stretch
  • Pelvic floor — Gentle Pelvic Tilts, Seated Pelvic Floor Squeeze, Wall Hip Hinge
  • Strength — Wall Slides, Glute Bridges, Standing Leg Lifts, Seated Rows (Towel), Band Pull-Apart, Seated Band Row
  • Light cardio — Seated Arm Reaches

After a caesarean

  • Breathing — Diaphragmatic Breathing, Cool-Down Breathing, Restorative Breathing
  • Gentle mobility — Neck & Shoulder Rolls, Ankle Circles, Heel Slides, Seated Spinal Twist, Standing Calf + Hamstring Stretch, Cat-Cow (Supported), Child’s Pose
  • Pelvic floor — Gentle Pelvic Tilts

If you had a caesarean

Gentle pelvic floor work generally becomes appropriate around now after a caesarean, roughly two weeks later than after a vaginal birth.

What becomes available next

Core generally comes in at week 8 after a vaginal birth, and week 12 after a caesarean.

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