C-section recovery: moving gently after a caesarean

Recovering from a caesarean means recovering from surgery while caring for a newborn, and that is a lot to ask of anyone. Check with your OB or midwife before you start any exercise, and let them set the pace. This page shares general, widely given guidance. It is not medical advice.

Your wound is your doctor’s area

How to clean and dress your wound, when stitches or dressings come off, and what is normal for your scar are all questions for your OB and the nurses who looked after you. Follow the instructions they gave you. If you were not given any, or you have forgotten them, call and ask. Nothing on this page, or in a yoga lesson, replaces that care. Gentle private postpartum lessons come later, and only once your OB has cleared you.

Moving through the day

In the early days, everyday movement is the practice. A few things many people find helpful:

• Getting in and out of bed. Roll onto your side first, then use your arms to push up as your legs lower over the edge. Reverse it to lie down.
• Support the belly. Holding a small pillow over the wound when you cough, sneeze, laugh or stand up can make it feel steadier.
• Short, easy walks. If your OB has encouraged them, gentle walks around your home are often part of recovery. Go slowly and stop when you feel tired.
• Lift as little as you can. Ask your OB what is sensible to carry besides your baby.
• Take stairs and car rides slowly. Go one step at a time with a hand on the rail, and a small folded towel between the seatbelt and your belly can make the ride home more comfortable.
• Accept help with the heavy things. Let someone else carry the laundry basket, the groceries and older children for now.
• Find a comfortable feeding position. Many people find a side-lying position, or a pillow across the lap, keeps the baby’s weight off the wound.

Breathing while you wait

Before you are cleared for exercise, slow breathing is something many people can do lying down or propped up. Rest a hand on your chest and breathe in gently through your nose, letting the ribs widen. Breathe out slowly. Keep it easy and small; there is no need to push the belly out or pull it in. If anything pulls at the wound, stop. There are a few more in this guide to slow, calming breaths.

After you are cleared

Once your OB clears you, gentle movement can come back step by step. Start with a short, slow practice and see how you feel that evening and the next day.

• Begin on the floor. Supported shapes such as supported child’s pose with a bolster under the chest, or resting with your legs up the wall, are often comfortable places to start.
• Keep the belly easy. Skip crunches, sit-ups, long plank holds, deep twists and deep backbends until your OB or a physiotherapist says otherwise.
• Get up the side-lying way, even after a lesson, rather than sitting straight up.
• Stop at the first sign of pain at or around the scar.

Your core may feel unfamiliar for a while. A women’s health (pelvic floor) physiotherapist can assess it and give you exercises that suit your recovery. The diastasis recti exercises page explains why that assessment matters.

When to call your OB

Contact your OB promptly, or seek urgent care, if you notice:

• Redness, swelling, heat, oozing or a bad smell at the wound
• The wound opening
• Fever or chills
• Pain that gets worse instead of better
• Heavy bleeding or large clots
• Pain or swelling in one calf
• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• Pain when you pass urine
• Low mood or anxiety that does not lift

If something feels off, call. You never need a better reason than that.

How postpartum lessons adapt after a caesarean

I am certified in prenatal and postnatal (postpartum) yoga through Doula School International. I am not a medical professional, so I teach only once your OB has cleared you, and I ask what they said before we begin. In a lesson we keep well away from anything that asks much of the abdomen, stay close to the floor, and change a shape the moment it does not feel right. The page on postpartum lessons at home explains how they work. For the wider picture of the weeks after birth, see the postpartum recovery guide.