Your body did something extraordinary — and then everyone's attention moved to the baby. Leaking, core weakness, and pain after childbirth are common. They're also treatable.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mandy Robertson, PT, DPT · August 2026
Postpartum recovery physical therapy addresses the pelvic floor, abdominal wall, and whole-body changes that follow pregnancy and childbirth — including the roughly one in three women with urinary incontinence after delivery. Cochrane-reviewed evidence shows pelvic floor muscle training reduces postpartum leaking, and structured rehab restores core function and return to exercise. RISE Physical Therapy provides one-on-one postpartum care with a Herman & Wallace–trained pelvic specialist in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, with no referral required.
Postpartum physical therapy is structured rehabilitation for the changes pregnancy and childbirth impose on the body: a pelvic floor that stretched dramatically (or was surgically crossed in a C-section), abdominal muscles that separated to make room, ligaments still under hormonal influence, and a spine and hips adapting to feeding, carrying, and chronic sleep deprivation. In much of Europe, pelvic floor rehab after birth is routine; in the U.S., most women are cleared at six weeks and never assessed again.
That gap matters because the common problems — leaking with sneezes or jumps, a doming midline, pelvic heaviness, pain with intimacy, nagging back and hip pain — are not "just part of being a mom." They're specific, assessable, and mostly very treatable, whether your baby arrived two months or ten years ago.
Book an evaluation if you recognize any of these — at six weeks or six years postpartum:
Sudden heavy bleeding, fever, signs of infection, or new severe pain in the early weeks belong with your OB first — we coordinate rather than replace that care.
This is one of the better-studied corners of rehabilitation. The Cochrane review of pelvic floor muscle training in antenatal and postnatal women found that women with postpartum incontinence who completed structured training were significantly less likely to report leaking at 12 months after delivery, and training during pregnancy reduced incontinence in late pregnancy and the early postnatal period.[1][2] A 2024 systematic review reinforces pelvic floor muscle training's effectiveness in preventing urinary incontinence after vaginal delivery.[3]
The honest notes: evidence beyond one year is thinner, and success depends on doing the training correctly — studies consistently show a large share of women perform pelvic floor contractions incorrectly without feedback, which is where individual assessment and biofeedback earn their place. For diastasis recti, the evidence base is younger but supports progressive core training as first-line care, with surgery reserved for cases that don't respond.
Postpartum care at RISE is led by a Herman & Wallace–trained pelvic floor specialist, one-on-one for a full 45 minutes in a private room — enough time and privacy for care this personal to be done properly.
Pelvic floor, diastasis, breathing, and strength — a full postpartum baseline, whether it's been six weeks or six years.
Verified pelvic floor training and pressure-managed core work rebuild the system from the inside out.
Graded, tested progressions back to running, lifting, and the life you had planned on resuming.
One-on-one postpartum care with a certified pelvic specialist — no referral needed in Idaho.
Mandy leads pelvic floor and postpartum care at RISE Physical Therapy, with Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute training in pelvic floor assessment and treatment. Meet the full team →
