Essential reads & resources

At Seven Starling, we believe that supporting mental health means supporting the whole person — and that includes caring for the physical body. That’s why we’re excited to share a post from our trusted partner, Origin, a leading provider of pelvic floor and whole-body physical therapy. Origin's clinicians provide personalized care to help you feel strong and confident throughout your motherhood journey. Use code STAR35 for $35 off your first pelvic coaching visit through 12/31/2025. 

If you broke your leg, no one would question your need to get it checked out, treated, and strengthened until you were back to normal. Yet after pregnancy and childbirth, many people receive little more than a bottle of painkillers and an ice pack, even when dealing with complications like perineal tearing, stitches, or recovery from a cesarean section.

This disconnect highlights a troubling gap in postpartum care. Pregnancy and childbirth represent some of the most significant physical challenges your body will ever face, yet the recovery support rarely matches the magnitude of what you've been through.

What is your pelvic floor?

Your pelvic floor is a supportive hammock of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that spans the bottom of your pelvis. These muscles work quietly but powerfully to support your pelvic organs (bladder, uterus, and rectum), control bladder and bowel function, contribute to core stability, play a role in sexual function, and more.  

Your pelvic floor is constantly working with your diaphragm and deep abdominal muscles to help you breathe, maintain good posture, and provide stability for your spine. When you cough, sneeze, laugh, or lift something heavy, your pelvic floor automatically contracts to help manage the increased pressure in your abdomen. 

Like any other muscle group in your body, your pelvic floor can become tight, weak, or dysfunctional, especially in pregnancy and postpartum, as your body changes physically and hormonally. 

How does your body change during pregnancy?

Pregnancy brings major changes to your body, and your pelvic floor is right in the thick of it. As your baby grows, your pelvic floor muscles stretch and lengthen to accommodate your expanding uterus. Pregnancy hormones soften your ligaments and connective tissues, making everything more flexible, which is helpful for birth but can leave you feeling less stable and supported.

Here's what might be happening to your pelvic floor and body during pregnancy:

• Pelvic floor changes: Your muscles stretch and weaken as they support increasing weight. The added pressure can lead to urine leaks when you cough, sneeze, or exercise. You might also experience pelvic pain, heaviness, or even pelvic organ prolapse, where organs shift downward due to changes in pressure.
• Postural shifts: As your belly grows and your center of gravity shifts forward, your body compensates by arching your back more. This can create a chain reaction of tension and pain throughout your spine, ribs, and pelvis. 
• Breathing changes: Your growing baby pushes up against your diaphragm, making it harder and sometimes more painful to take deep breaths. This affects how your core muscles work together and can contribute to back pain and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Other common changes you might experience: 

1. Low back pain, which can happen for different reasons in the first, second, and third trimesters
2. Tailbone discomfort from sitting in a different position to accommodate your belly
3. Round ligament pain from your growing uterus
4. Constipation from pregnancy hormones and iron-rich prenatal vitamins
5. Swelling in your feet, hands, and even labia
6. That characteristic pregnancy "waddle" as your pelvis widens
7. Larger feet from stretched ligaments and fallen arches

How pelvic floor physical therapy can help

As pelvic floor therapists, we’ve seen countless patients who thought their symptoms were just something they had to live with. Spoiler alert: they’re not!

Pelvic floor therapy provides evidence-based care for the pelvic floor and whole body, with strong research supporting its effectiveness.

During pregnancy, pelvic floor therapy can help you:

• Address urinary leaking before it becomes a bigger problem
• Manage pain in your back, hips, or pelvis as your body changes
• Improve constipation through positioning and breathing techniques
• Exercise safely throughout your pregnancy
• Prepare your body for the physical demands of labor and birth
• Learn proper pelvic floor coordination to help with a vaginal delivery

After delivery, pelvic floor therapy can include:

• Gradually rebuilding your core and pelvic floor strength
• Addressing persistent leaking or urgency issues
• Healing and managing scar tissue from tears or cesarean sections
• Creating a personalized plan to get back to exercise safely
• Returning to pain-free sex when you're ready
• Managing ongoing pain or dysfunction

The postpartum reality: Your body needs time to heal

Whether you had a vaginal delivery or cesarean section, your body has been through a marathon. Your pelvic floor muscles have been stretched for months, your abdominal muscles may be separated (diastasis recti), and your entire core system needs to learn how to work together again.

During delivery, your pelvic floor stretches to allow your baby to pass through, meaning those muscles need rehabilitation to regain their strength and coordination. If you had a cesarean section, your abdominal muscles and fascia were cut through, and your pelvic floor still experienced months of pregnancy-related changes.

Postpartum isn't just about your pelvic floor. You may also be dealing with:

• Hormonal shifts that continue to affect your tissues
• Sleep deprivation that impacts healing
• New movement patterns from feeding, carrying, and caring for your baby
• Possible ongoing issues like painful sex, persistent leaking, or abdominal weakness

The mind-body connection postpartum

Many people don’t realize how deeply connected physical pain and mental health are, especially during the postpartum period. Chronic pain can be exhausting and isolating, and leave you feeling disconnected from your body at a time when you're trying to heal, bond with your baby, and adjust to a completely new role. In fact, research shows that postpartum pain is closely linked to higher rates of depression. 

The relationship works both ways too. When you're struggling mentally, physical discomfort often feels more intense, and you might be less likely to seek help or engage fully in treatment. That's why addressing both your physical recovery and emotional wellbeing together is so important. Pelvic floor physical therapy has been linked to improving mental health outcomes after birth, helping you feel more in control of your body and recovery process during a time when everything can feel overwhelming. 

When is the ideal time to start pelvic floor physical therapy postpartum?

Traditionally, patients will get referred to pelvic floor therapy at the 6-week mark, when they get the official “sign off” from their OB. However, in most cases, there's often no medical reason to wait that long for many aspects of treatment. 

Bladder leaks, back pain, core weakness don't wait six weeks to show up, so why should treatment? Origin’s pelvic floor therapists typically start with very mild interventions like breathwork, light stretching, and gently squeezing your muscles, and progress at whatever rate you are comfortable with. You can even attend visits with your baby, which is even easier at home with virtual care. 

What else can a pelvic floor therapist help with?

Pregnancy and postpartum recovery affect far more than just your pelvic floor. Pelvic floor therapists are movement experts trained in orthopedic physical therapy and specialize in women’s and pelvic health. Origin can help you navigate your body’s changes with personalized guidance for: 

1. A personalized return to fitness plan to help avoid injuries
2. Assistance with wrist pain from picking up or carrying your baby
3. Ergonomic advice for lifting baby in and out of the crib
4. Returning to pain-free sex after giving birth
5. Expert help with improving your posture after all the changes from pregnancy

Ready to get started?

Experiencing pain, leaking, or dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum is common, but it's definitely not something you have to accept. Your body has been through an amazing transformation, and it deserves proper care and rehabilitation. 

Whether you're in your first trimester and want to feel your best for pregnancy and birth, 2 weeks postpartum and leaking with every sneeze, or 2 years postpartum still dealing with painful sex, it's never too early or too late to get help. Your body's capacity for healing and adaptation is truly incredible when given the right support.

No matter what stage you’re in, Origin Physical Therapy is here to help you feel strong, confident, and comfortable every step of the way. Schedule your first visit to discover how pelvic floor therapy can help support your pregnancy and postpartum experience. 

Through December 31, 2025, use code STAR35 for $35 off your first pelvic coaching visit at Origin for expert care for pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and sexual health.

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