Also called: Post-pregnancy health
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Postpartum Care
Taking home a new baby is one of the happiest times in a woman's life. But it also presents both physical and emotional challenges. :
- Get as much rest as possible. You may find that all you can do is eat, sleep, and care for your baby. And that is perfectly okay. You will have spotting or bleeding, like a menstrual period, off and on for up to six weeks.
- You might also have swelling in your legs and feet, feel constipated, have menstrual-like cramping. Even if you are not breastfeeding, you can have milk leaking from your nipples, and your breasts might feel full, tender, or uncomfortable.
- Follow your doctor's instructions on how much activity, like climbing stairs or walking, you can do for the next few weeks.
- Doctors usually recommend that you abstain from sexual intercourse for four to six weeks after birth.
In addition to physical changes, you may feel sad or have the "baby blues." If you are extremely sad or are unable to care for yourself or your baby, you might have a serious condition called postpartum depression.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
It sits within Women and Pregnancy and Reproduction.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Postpartum Care
323 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Tshireletso: Safety, Efficacy and Feasibility of Cabotegravir-LA PrEP in a Breastfeeding Population in BotswanaBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Adapting a Health at Every Size Intervention to Obstetric CareUniversity of Massachusetts, Worcester
- Healing at Home 2.0 - Enhanced Chat Tool for Lowering Postpartum DepressionUniversity of Pennsylvania
- Healing, Equity, Advocacy and Respect for MamasMedical University of South Carolina
- A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial to Predict Postpartum HemorrhageHolly Ende
- Kangaroo Care: Breastfeeding Success and Maternal RoleRecep Tayyip Erdogan University
Research already completed
- Wireless Physiologic Monitoring in Postpartum WomenMassachusetts General Hospital
- Newborn Care Kit to Save Lives in GB, PakistanThe Hospital for Sick Children
- Feasibility and Validation of a Smart Changing Pad for Home Infant Weight Monitoring After Hospital DischargeStan Kachnowski
- Antiretroviral Adherence Evaluation in HIV Pregnant and Postpartum WomenCenter for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisante), University of Lausanne, Switzerland
- Assessing the Maternal Outcome Monitoring SystemsColumbia University
- The Effectiveness of Serious Game-Based Training for Nursing Students in Postpartum Haemorrhage ManagementSakarya University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Pregnant and Postpartum WomenCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Recovering from BirthDepartment of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health
- Recovering from DeliveryNemours Foundation
- Your Body after Baby: The First 6 WeeksMarch of Dimes Foundation
Symptoms
- Signs and Symptoms of Urgent Maternal Warnings SignsCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Warning Signs to Look for After Having a BabyMarch of Dimes Foundation
Related Issues
- Exercise after PregnancyAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Postpartum Birth ControlAmerican College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Providing Support for Pregnant or Postpartum WomenCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Your Postpartum CheckupsMarch of Dimes Foundation
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Postnatal CareNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Postpartum PeriodNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Puerperal DisordersNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Puerperal Disorders, Postnatal Care, Postpartum Period. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Postpartum Care, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.