In 60 seconds
What to know now
- At two weeks, improvement may be uneven, but pain, mobility, wounds, bladder or bowel problems and feeding concerns should have an active plan.
- Mood symptoms that are intense, worsening or lasting beyond the brief early transition deserve assessment now.
- The baby's weight, feeding and alertness should be reviewed with a clinician rather than managed by repeated unsupervised changes.
What you may notice
Your recovery and mind
Persistent urine leakage, difficulty emptying bladder or bowel, pelvic heaviness, severe constipation or pain that limits walking is worth raising early.
Tell the care team if sleep is impossible even when the baby is settled, anxiety feels relentless or you feel detached, hopeless or unsafe.
What is happening
Baby care and development
Ask how the baby's individual growth pattern will be followed and what feeding signs should trigger an earlier review.
Short periods of awake, supervised tummy time can begin when the baby is ready; sleep remains flat on the back in a separate clear space.
A short checklist
What to do now
- List what has improved, what is unchanged and what is worse before the check-in.
- Ask for pelvic-health, wound, feeding or mental-health referral when a concern needs more than reassurance.
- Keep recovery tasks small: food, fluids, prescribed care, gentle movement and protected sleep.
Pause and check
What not to do—or what to ask first
- Do not use comparison with another parent's recovery to decide that a symptom is normal.
- Ask before changing prescribed treatment or starting supplements marketed for milk supply, mood, weight loss or healing.
What may be coming up
Appointments, tests and decisions
Use the two-week contact to close loops on results, referrals, blood pressure or anaemia follow-up, wounds, feeding and mood.
For the support person
One useful thing a partner can do
- Ask specific questions—about pain, fear, sleep and feeling safe—then remove a concrete burden instead of waiting to be directed.
Contact your care team
Contact your doctor or maternity team promptly
Some concerns need advice before the next routine appointment even when they do not feel like an emergency. If a symptom becomes severe, sudden or frightening, use urgent care instead.
See when to contact careUrgent or emergency
Urgent signs during pregnancy or within a year after birth
Get medical care immediately for these symptoms. The list is not exhaustive; if something feels seriously wrong, seek help.
Open urgent warning signs