When can you start postpartum exercise?
Postpartum exercise can start gently, with walking and pelvic floor work from early on, and low-impact training usually follows the postpartum checkup, which in the US tends to fall by 6–12 weeks after birth (in the UK, the 6-week postnatal check). One 2019 professional guideline suggests waiting until about 12 weeks to run, which is a guide rather than a fixed rule in either country, and as with all exercise for women, your birth and your recovery set the pace.
Postpartum (UK: postnatal) exercise is planned movement in the months after birth, from short walks in the early days to strength training and impact sport later on. It is a gradual return rather than a restart, and it can look quite different after a vaginal birth, a C-section (UK: caesarean) or a run of broken nights with a newborn. Many women find it helps to think in phases, each one building on the last. Taking it slowly is normal, and there is plenty of room to shape a postpartum workout around the days you actually have.
What counts as postpartum exercise?
Postpartum exercise covers walking, pelvic floor work, gentle mobility, strength training and, later, impact activity such as running. It follows on from whatever movement you managed before the birth, and our page on exercise in pregnancy is for the months before this one.
Two terms come up often in any postpartum workout plan. Diastasis recti (UK: tummy muscle separation or abdominal separation) is a widening of the gap between the two sides of the abdominal muscles. A pelvic floor physical therapist (UK: women's pelvic health physiotherapist) is a specialist in the muscles that support the bladder, bowel and uterus, and can suggest a plan that fits your birth and your goals.
What does the evidence say about starting postpartum exercise?
The evidence supports a gradual return to postpartum exercise rather than a fixed start date. The clearest outline is the 2019 guideline on returning to running after birth by Goom, Donnelly and Brockwell, written for medical, health and fitness professionals. Its shape is simple: pelvic floor work and walking from early on, low-impact work once your checkup is behind you, and impact last.
UK guidance from the charity NCT follows the same shape. After a straightforward birth, it says you can begin pelvic floor and stomach exercises, gentle stretches and short walks once you feel able, and it recommends pelvic floor exercises for everyone after birth. Higher-impact exercise waits for the 6-week postnatal check, the UK counterpart of the US postpartum checkup. US guidance from CDC puts it more simply: check with your doctor first.
On running, the sources part ways a little. The 2019 guideline suggests waiting until about 12 weeks, while NCT gives no fixed timeline and says the return is best personalized. Read together, 12 weeks is a point to wait until, not a date by which anyone is expected to be running.
How much postpartum exercise, and how often?
A sensible target is at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, which CDC says can be split, for example into about 30 minutes on 5 days. In the UK, NCT describes a three-month build-up to 150 minutes of moderate activity a week plus two muscle-strengthening sessions, starting after the 6-week check if recovery is going well. Read that way, the weekly figure is somewhere to arrive, not somewhere to begin.
Many women find a phased postpartum exercise routine easier to sustain than a fixed plan. The first phase might be short walks and pelvic floor exercises on most days, with a few minutes of gentle mobility. The second, after your checkup, might add low-impact cardio such as brisk walking, cycling or swimming, plus light strength work for legs, back and core. The third, built over several weeks, might bring in longer sessions, heavier lifting and, for those who want it, running once the guidance's waiting period has passed.
Sleep, feeding and recovery all shape what a good week looks like. Some women split activity into shorter blocks around the baby, and many find that a lighter week after a rough night is part of the plan, not a setback.
A few signs are worth a doctor's visit rather than a wait-and-see. Leaking urine, a feeling of heaviness or dragging in the pelvis, pain during or after exercise, bleeding that gets heavier, or a C-section or tear wound that becomes red, swollen or sore are all good reasons to ease back and speak to your doctor or OB-GYN (UK: GP, midwife or health visitor). The same goes for low mood, anxiety or intrusive thoughts: a 2023 CDC analysis found that depressive symptoms can first appear months after birth, so they are worth raising whenever they show up.
How strong is the evidence for postpartum exercise?
The evidence for postpartum exercise is clearer on the overall shape of a return than on which specific programs work best, and diastasis recti shows this well. In their 2021 systematic review of abdominal and pelvic floor muscle training, Gluppe and colleagues found that transversus abdominis (deep abdominal muscle) and curl-up training may do better than minimal intervention, yet rated the evidence for recommending any specific exercise program as very low quality. A 2024 scoping review adds that the gap tends to narrow on its own mainly in the first 8 weeks, then plateaus.
What that means in practice is gentler than it sounds. A thin evidence base does not make a postpartum workout plan unhelpful; no single program has been shown to beat the rest, which leaves room to choose a routine you enjoy and can repeat.
The weekly activity target deserves a similar reading. It describes groups of women, and no study can tell any one woman exactly when her body is ready, so your birth, your recovery and how you feel carry real weight.
Exercise after birth by life stage
| Stage | Figure | Why | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childhood | No postpartum figure at this stage | The 6–12 week timeline counts from a birth, so nothing here applies to a child; the stage page covers active play and movement for children. | Training |
| Puberty | No postpartum figure at this stage | The timeline counts from a birth rather than from an age; the stage page covers exercise during the puberty years. | Training |
| Reproductive years | 6–12 weeks to low-impact work; running about 12 weeks | Birth most often falls in these years, so this is where the postpartum timeline applies. | Training |
| Perimenopause | Same after a birth: 6–12 weeks to low-impact work; running about 12 weeks | The timeline counts from the birth, not from your age, so a birth during perimenopause follows the same guidance; the stage page covers training as cycles change. | Training |
| Menopause | No postpartum figure at this stage | With no birth to count from, the timeline does not apply; the stage page is for exercise around menopause itself. | Training |
| Postmenopause | No postpartum figure at this stage | The postpartum year is long past by this stage; the stage page is for training in the years after menopause. | Training |
Guidance by country
Facts
Common questions
When to start postpartum exercise?
There is no set day on the calendar; the cue for the earliest movement is feeling able, not a date. If you had a C-section (UK: caesarean), stitches or complications, it's worth knowing that NCT's guidance is written for a straightforward birth, so your doctor, OB-GYN or midwife is the person to ask which movements suit you now and which can wait a little.
How long after postpartum can I exercise?
CDC defines the postpartum period as the first year after delivery, so if you are several months on and only starting now, you are still well within the period its guidance covers. The same weekly activity guidance applies across that whole year, and many women keep adjusting their routine as sleep, feeding and energy change.
When can I start postpartum exercise?
For anything beyond gentle movement, the checkup is the usual starting line: in the US that means your doctor or OB-GYN, in the UK the GP at the 6-week postnatal check. It helps to arrive with specifics: what you have been doing so far, what you would like to get back to, and anything you have noticed since the birth that you want looked at.
Do I need pelvic floor physical therapy for diastasis recti?
The research so far does not show that every woman does. In the 2021 Gluppe review, the evidence that pelvic floor muscle training adds benefit over minimal intervention for diastasis recti was rated low to very low. If the separation bothers you or you would simply like it assessed, your checkup is a natural place to ask whether seeing a specialist would add anything for you.
How do I know I am ready to run again?
A few practical signs help. About 12 weeks have passed, your checkup is behind you, and brisk walking and low-impact strength sessions feel comfortable, with no leaking, heaviness or pain during or afterward. From there, many women try a few short, easy jogging stretches within a walk and see how the next day feels. NCT notes that joints and ligaments may be more supple for up to 6 months after birth, one reason small steps appeal.
Next steps
A good place to start is whatever gentle movement feels manageable this week. At your checkup, you could ask a few questions: what low-impact work suits your birth and recovery, when impact might come back in, and whether a pelvic floor physical therapist (UK: women's pelvic health physiotherapist) would be useful for you. If something worries you before then, there is no need to wait for the appointment to ask. From there, you could build toward the weekly amount at a pace that feels sustainable, and adjust it as sleep and energy change. Postpartum exercise is not one size fits all, so take what fits your body, your birth and your days.
Sources
The guidelines and studies this page draws on.
- Returning to running postnatal guideline (Goom, Donnelly and Brockwell), Independent guideline by the authors (2019)
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Pregnant or Postpartum Women, CDC (n.d.)
- When can exercise start again?, NCT (n.d.)
- What is the evidence for abdominal and pelvic floor muscle training to treat diastasis recti abdominis postpartum? Systematic review with meta-analysis (Gluppe et al.), Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy (2021)
- Diastasis Recti Abdominis Rehabilitation in the Postpartum Period: A Scoping Review, International Urogynecology Journal (2024)
- Timing of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms, CDC, Preventing Chronic Disease (2023)