Most women are told they can exercise again at their six-week check. Here’s the short answer: six weeks is when you can begin a gradual, structured return to movement, not when your body is ready to pick up where it left off. The six-week check is a general health clearance, not a full assessment of your pelvic floor, abdominal wall, or how your body is actually moving. For most mums, a safe return to running, lifting, or high-impact exercise happens over three to six months or more, depending on your birth, your recovery, and your body.

The six-week mark is often treated as a magic milestone. You get your check-up, your doctor says everything looks fine, and suddenly the expectation is that you can just… pick up where you left off.

But if you’ve been through labour and birth, you know your body doesn’t always feel like a six-week version of itself.

Returning to exercise after having a baby is one of the most common things I help mums with at Chiropractic Moves. And one of the most important things I want to say upfront is: the six-week clearance is a starting point, not a finish line.

Why the rush to return can backfire

During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin loosens your ligaments to prepare your body for birth. It doesn’t immediately switch off after delivery. Your pelvic floor has been under significant load for nine months. Your abdominal wall may have separated (this is called diastasis recti, and it’s far more common than most people realise). Your joints are still adapting.

Jumping back into running, HIIT, or heavy lifting before these structures have had a chance to rebuild can lead to issues that linger for months or years. Things like pelvic floor dysfunction, lower back pain, hip instability, or that feeling of “things just not being right” that is so hard to articulate but very real.

What I look at in a postpartum assessment

When a new mum comes in to see me, I’m not just asking about her birth story (though that matters too). I’m looking at:

• Pelvic floor function: Is there any heaviness, leaking, or pressure? These are signs the floor isn’t ready to handle impact loading yet.
• Core activation: Can the deep abdominal muscles and pelvic floor work together the way they need to for running, lifting, or rotation?
• Diastasis recti: Has the abdominal separation closed? Is there any doming or coning when loading the core?
• Spinal and pelvic alignment: Are there areas of restriction from birth, from feeding positions, from the asymmetrical demands of carrying and caring for a baby?
• Hip stability: Can the hips stabilise the pelvis through a single-leg stance (essential for running and stairs)?

None of this requires you to be in pain. These are functional assessments that help us understand what your body is ready for, before you ask it to do something it isn’t.

A general timeline to think about

I want to be clear that this is a rough guide, not a prescription. Every body and every birth is different. But as a general framework:

• Weeks 0-6: Rest and gentle movement. Short walks, breathing exercises, gentle pelvic floor engagement. Nothing that loads the abdomen or pelvic floor heavily.
• 6-12 weeks: Begin rebuilding. Walking, swimming, stationary cycling, bodyweight exercises with good form. Get assessed before progressing.
• 3-6 months: Progressive loading begins if pelvic floor and core are functioning well. Light resistance training, low-impact exercise.
• 6+ months: Return to higher-impact activities like running or group fitness classes, with appropriate build-up and ongoing attention to symptoms.

If you had a caesarean, these timelines are typically longer, particularly around any exercise that loads the abdominal wall.

Red flags to pay attention to

Whatever stage of postpartum you’re in, stop and seek assessment if you experience:

• Any leaking of urine or faeces during or after exercise
• A feeling of heaviness or pressure in the pelvis
• Pain in the lower back, pelvis, or hips that doesn’t settle after rest
• Doming or coning of the abdomen during core exercises
• Pain with intercourse

These are not things you need to push through. They’re your body’s way of telling you something needs attention first.

You don’t have to figure this out alone

A lot of the mums I see tell me they wished they’d come in sooner. Not because something was seriously wrong, but because they spent months feeling unsure about what was okay to do, and an assessment gave them a clear picture and the confidence to move forward.

If you’re postpartum and thinking about returning to exercise, or if you’ve already returned and something doesn’t feel quite right, I’d love to help. Bring your baby along, we love having them here.

Book with me online at chiropracticmoves.com.au or call 0404 717 488. 💙

Dr. Amanda O’Doherty

Hi, I’m Amanda. Chiropractor, mum, human body nerd, keen walker (with stroller of course) and social butterfly. I work with mothers and babies to help with underlying musculoskeletal issues of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding; so that mothers can gain confidence in their body for their birthing and breastfeeding journey.