Pelvic floor recovery, diastasis recti, core recovery, incontinence and a phased return to exercise.
Pregnancy and birth place enormous strain on your pelvic floor and core. Symptoms like leaking, heaviness or abdominal separation are extremely common — but they’re not something you just have to live with. A pelvic health physiotherapist can assess and treat these effectively, and most mothers benefit from a postnatal assessment regardless of how their birth went.
Leaking after birth is common — but it's treatable, and not something to accept as 'just part of motherhood'. Pelvic physiotherapy is first-line and very effective.
Leaking on cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise — common and treatable
Sudden urgency and not making it in time
Less common but important — discuss with your provider
A phased, criteria-based return to exercise
Rest, gentle pelvic floor and breathing, short walks; no heavy lifting or impact
Postnatal and pelvic physio assessment
Progressive core and pelvic strength; low-impact exercise
Criteria-based return to running and impact if continent, pain-free and core is functional
Pregnancy and birth place enormous strain on the pelvic floor and core, and symptoms like leaking, heaviness or abdominal separation are extremely common — but they are not something you simply have to live with. Diastasis recti (a stretching of the linea alba, not a tear) can be self-checked and guided back with safe exercise, while stress and urge incontinence respond very well to pelvic floor physiotherapy.
Recovery is phased and criteria-based rather than calendar-driven: gentle pelvic floor and breathing from the early days, a 6-week postnatal and pelvic physio assessment, progressive core strength from 6–12 weeks, and a criteria-based return to running and impact from 12 weeks if you’re continent, pain-free and your core is functional. Every South African mother benefits from a postnatal pelvic physio assessment — find HPCSA-registered pelvic health physiotherapists through HealthLab’s directory.
