The postpartum recovery checklist

The first days at home

• Sleep when the baby sleeps, even at odd hours
• Keep a peri bottle by every toilet and use warm water
• Restock pads and disposable underwear before you run low
• Take pain relief on the schedule your provider gave you, not only when it hurts
• Keep water and one-handed snacks within reach of where you feed
• Keep trips up and down stairs to a minimum

Watch your healing

• Notice your bleeding: it should slow and lighten week by week
• Rinse stitches or a C-section incision gently and pat the area dry
• Use a stool softener until the first bowel movement is comfortable
• Tell your provider about swelling, redness, or warmth in one leg
• Call your provider for a fever, foul-smelling discharge, or soaking a pad within an hour

Mind and mood

• Name how you feel out loud to someone you trust
• Know that weepy, fragile days in the first two weeks are common
• Flag low mood or anxiety that lasts beyond two weeks to your provider
• Say yes when someone offers food, laundry, or an hour of holding the baby
• Pick one thing a day for yourself, even a shower or fresh air

Appointments and people

• Book and keep your postpartum check, usually around six weeks
• Ask whether a pelvic-floor physiotherapy referral is right for you
• Line up a lactation consultant or feeding support if feeding hurts
• Save your provider and an after-hours number in your phone

Easing back to movement

Only after your provider has cleared you. There is no prize for rushing.

• Start with short, flat walks when you feel ready
• Begin gentle core and pelvic-floor work once you are cleared
• Avoid lifting anything heavier than the baby in the early weeks
• Let your timeline be your own: comparison helps no one heal