Am I ready to exercise after birth?

"Cleared to exercise" is too broad to act on. This check takes your birth, your week and the handful of symptoms that change the answer, and tells you which kinds of movement are generally appropriate now, which usually come next, and what should wait until someone has looked.

General information for education, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. Nothing you enter is stored. If something feels wrong, call your midwife, doctor or local emergency number.

Weeks since birthweeks

Birth

Have you had your postnatal check?

In the last week, have you had any of these?

Bright red bleeding that is getting heavier, or soaking a pad in an hourPain at your scar or stitches when you moveLeaking urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh or jumpA feeling of heaviness, dragging or a bulge in the vaginaA ridge or dome down the middle of your tummy when you sit upDizziness, breathlessness or chest painNone of these

How this works

The week thresholds come from the exercise library the MatraBloom app builds sessions from: each movement has an earliest week after a vaginal birth and a later one after a caesarean — pelvic floor at two versus four, strength at three versus six, direct core work at eight versus twelve. The symptom questions only ever take things off the list.

Common questions

When can I start exercising after giving birth?

Breathing and gentle walking from the first days. Pelvic floor work from about two weeks after a vaginal birth and four after a caesarean, gentle strength from about three and six, and direct core work from about eight and twelve. Those are typical earliest points, not targets.

Do I have to wait for the six-week check?

Not for walking, breathing and pelvic floor work. The check matters most for anything loaded and for anything that has not felt right: it is the moment to ask specifically what you are cleared for.

When can I run after having a baby?

The 2019 guideline from pelvic health physiotherapists in the UK is twelve weeks at the earliest, and only without leaking, heaviness or pain. Returning earlier is where most pelvic floor injuries happen.

Sources

Turn this into a daily plan

MatraBloom builds a short session for the week you are in, asks how you are each day, and reminds you gently. Free on Android.

Get MatraBloom free

Keep reading

When can I exercise after birth? →Postpartum exercises to avoid →Running after birth: what physiotherapists say →

More free tools

Postpartum week calculator →C-section recovery calculator →Postpartum bleeding checker →Postpartum depression test (EPDS) →Breastfeeding calorie calculator →Kegel timer →Pelvic floor self-check →Diastasis recti self-check →