What to expect, things to ask and how to prepare for your 6 week check-up after a vagin*l or C section birth.
Motherhood is hard. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a mom for 1 day, 6 weeks or 18 years. As soon as that baby comes earth side, you start to realize that your life, and everything you knew before giving birth to that beautiful little baby, is changing. Drastically. Quickly. Beautifully. But, nevertheless, changing.
You start to realize over those first 6 weeks that your body just went through one of the most difficult things a body can go through. Your body just carried and grew a WHOLE BABY inside of your womb for months and months, and then somehow found a way to bring that baby into this world! You have been through it! With the birth of that beautiful and amazing baby, you also gave life to a new version of you. You are not the same now as you were before. You are STRONGER!
And now, your 6 week check-up is approaching. You have been caring for your baby for a WHOLE 6 WEEKS! Doesn’t that feel crazy?? How did time just go by so quickly, and yet so slowly at times?? If you’ve been through a sleepless night with your newborn, you know what I mean by time can move slowly and quickly all at the same time! But now, it’s time for your postpartum check-up, and I want you to go into this appointment with as much information and validity as you possibly can!
My hope for all postpartum women is that you…
Go into your 6 week check-up feeling empowered!
Feel worthy of healing!
Understand that you have options for recovery.
Know that you have the ability to heal.
Will continue to do AMAZING things with your beautiful and strong postpartum body!
So, before we get into the specifics of that 6 week postpartum check-up, I want to start off by saying one very important thing...”common” is NOT the same as “normal”.
Now, I’m saying this because this is something that you may hear from your medical providers (and others), and I want you to be armed with the truth about postpartum recovery and the treatment options you have or can ask for.
So let’s start off with a question I get asked quite frequently…
What can I expect at my postpartum check-up??
The main objectives of this appointment are…
To check that you are healing properly post-birth
To discuss any concerns you may have moving forward.
These objectives are typically accomplished by the following:
An assessment of the body - you may receive a brief internal examination to check the cervix and/or uterus. However, you may not receive an internal examination at all. Often times, this assessment is not focused on your pelvic floor muscle recovery or testing for possible Diastasis Recti.
Questions about your mental health - this will typically come in the form of a questionnaire that you fill out prior to the examination OR possibly a brief discussion with your provider. This discussion may include questions like, “How are you holding up?” or “Do you ever have feelings of anxiety or depression?”.
Birth control discussion - this topic may also come with the discussion of being “cleared” to have intercourse again and how you may want to prevent another pregnancy at this time, or the time frame around having another pregnancy.
Another possibility during your 6 week check-up is the potential that it may also be scheduled at the same time as your baby’s well-child visit. This means that you may have to be more vigilant about making your part of the visit a priority as well and ensuring that ALL of your questions and concerns get ASKED and ANSWERED.
Which leads me to the tricky part…how do we know what questions to ask?? How do we know what’s normal versus common? How do we know when to hold our ground and ask further questions or request a second opinion, or when something is truly just be part of the normal postpartum healing process?
WELL…these questions are EXACTLY why I created this checklist!
As women, our questions, concerns and worries can often be shoved to the side never to be spoken of again. And a lot of us (myself sometimes included) don’t like to be thought of as a bother, a worrier or an overly anxious new mom, so we do one of two things - we either stop talking about it and convince ourselves that we are those things and we’ve made all of this stuff up, OR we stop talking about it and try to deal with it on our own. Either way, a lot of us just STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. And that is NOT okay with me.
We. Know. Our. Bodies.
We KNOW when something isn’t quite right. We know deep down, even when someone tries to convince us otherwise, when our bodies haven’t healed properly. So now, it’s time to SPEAK UP! And this checklist is going to be a tool to help you do just that!
The Ultimate 6 Week Postpartum Check-Up Checklist
Pelvic Floor:
Urinary incontinence (leakage)
Bowel incontinence
Constipation
Hemorrhoids
Pelvic heaviness, feeling of something “falling out”
Pelvic pain, burning sensation when urinating, stinging, sharp etc.
Perineal tearing healing
Other Physical:
Diastasis Recti (abdominal separation)
C-section incision
Abodminal discomfort
Other?
Mood/Mental Health:
Anxious, excessive worry
Sad, uncontrollable crying
Mood swings
Feelings of disconnect
Unwilling to let anyone help
Feeling alone
Inability to sleep when baby sleeps due to worry or anxiety
Easily irritated, cannot find joy in anything, do not want to be around anyone
Feelings of hurting yourself or your baby
*Check all that apply or circle if applicable*
Now that we’ve covered your symptoms, the next step is asking the questions. No question is off-limits here. Do not allow your provider to hurry past this time of the appointment. This is your time to get the questions asked and the answers you need in order to make a plan, move forward proactively, or simply gain more information about your postpartum life! And please, if no one else in your life has told you this, let me be the first…if an answer you are given DOES NOT sit well with you, for one reason or another, DO NOT be afraid to get a second opinion.
It’s so easy at the time of the appointment to convince yourself these questions aren’t really necessary or maybe even forget what questions you had in the first place - mom brain, am I right?! So feel free to reference this blog post at the time of the appointment to jog your memory and have something to refer to in the moment!
Things you may want to discuss with your provider…
Pelvic Floor PT referral (not all states require it, but always good to ask!)
Is there anything I need to be cautious of with my C-section incision still?
Is there anything I need to be cautious of with my perineal stitches?
Return to exercise? What is safe? Would Pelvic PT be a good idea for this?
Return to sex - what to watch out for? (And please, do not let them tell you to just “have a glass of wine and you’ll be fine” or allow them to make you think that pain with sex is normal. It is not.)
What other options do I have besides the pill for birth control?
When should I seek help if the leaking doesn’t stop?
Do you have resources for therapy/counseling?
Breastfeeding: mastitis, engorgement, low supply, latch issues, tongue ties, etc. Is there lactational support?
One tip I highly recommend is to write down any symptoms - or anything that just feels “off” - during those first 6 weeks of recovery. As the check-up gets closer, if any of those things you wrote down have resolved, cross them off. If any of them remain, make sure to bring it up to your provider! No symptom is too small or insignificant to write down!
For all of this information in a printable, easy to read and write on form, sign up to receive my FREE 6 Week Check-Up PDF to fill out and take with you to your appointment! This is great to use for writing down those notes you have and keeping track of your symptoms as well! Click the button below to snag it for free and use when you need it!
And lastly, your health, your recovery, your body, your mindset, you. as. a. mom/wife/friend/human MATTERS! You do not deserve to suffer in silence or put up with anything postpartum that doesn’t feel right to you. Let’s all stand together, show up to our 6 week check-up with a freaking checklist and list of questions to address AND GET THE CHECK-UP WE NEED AND DESERVE! Let’s work together to change the healthcare standard for postpartum women and let them see that we mean business!
