2 Months Postpartum: “Cleared” Doesn’t Mean Recovered

So, you had your discharge appointment with your maternity provider and magically you’re cleared to climb mountains, train for the Olympics, and plant seeds in your lady garden (if you know what I mean).

Okay, we’re exaggerating a bit. But being “cleared” can feel incredibly invalidating when you still feel completely out of sorts and the world around you seems to be saying, you should be fine by now.

At two months postpartum, you are still very much in the throes of recovery and transition. The adrenaline of birth has settled. The visitors who were begging to come see the baby have gotten quieter. Your partner may be back at work. And suddenly, moms can find themselves feeling even more depleted and exhausted than they did in those first few weeks.

If that’s you, we hope these words feel like a comforting hug. You aren’t supposed to suddenly be “done” recovering at six weeks. Here are a few areas our Vivara nurses encourage moms to pay attention to around the two-month postpartum mark.

Mental Health: How Are You Doing?

Your provider may have completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) with you. Think of this screening tool as a conversation starter, helping identify when a mom may need a little more support.

Postpartum depression and anxiety are common, and they don't always look the way we expect. Depression can show up as hopelessness, loss of interest, withdrawal, or feeling disconnected. Anxiety might look like racing thoughts, constant checking, panic, intrusive worries, or feeling afraid to be alone with your baby.

If things are feeling heavy here, you deserve support just as much as your baby does.

Some Calgary-area providers our team recommends include Two Birds Counselling for grief, loss, trauma and TFMR; Rocky Mountain Wellness, including ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), trauma and couples support; Little Door Therapy; and Gray Jay Therapy, which offers support in areas including sex therapy, adolescence, blended families, birth trauma and cycle breaking.

And because dads matter too and can also experience postpartum mental health challenges, Deep Roots Therapy and Therapy for Dudes offer men's mental health support.

Your Pelvic Floor Deserves Some Love Too

Around this point postpartum can be a great time to consider seeing a pelvic floor physiotherapist. And yes, this applies whether you had a vaginal birth or a C-section.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy can support recovery of your pelvic floor, abdominal wall, core, scars, and overall function after pregnancy and birth. Symptoms like pelvic heaviness or pressure, pain with movement or intimacy, persistent low-back or hip pain, abdominal doming, leaking, or difficulty returning to exercise may be common postpartum, but that doesn't mean you simply have to live with them.

A few providers we love include Healthy Families in NW Calgary, Shifra in Cochrane, and Embodiment with Isha in South Calgary.

Still Feeling Completely Depleted?

You're caring for a tiny human around the clock while your own body is recovering from pregnancy and birth. Of course you're tired.

But if your exhaustion feels significant, persistent, or simply more than you expected, bring it up with your healthcare provider. Depending on your symptoms and history, they can determine whether further assessment or bloodwork is appropriate.

You don't need to decide which labs you need or diagnose yourself from Google. You can simply start with: “Something still doesn't feel right. Can we look into this?”

That is enough.

You Don't Need Another Postpartum To-Do List

Now we've mentioned therapy, pelvic floor physio, talking to your provider... and suddenly we've given an exhausted mom another list of things she needs to accomplish.

We know.

You don't need to do all of this tomorrow. You don't even need to do all of it. Sometimes you just need someone to sit beside you, look at the whole picture, and help you figure out what would actually make you feel better.

That's where our Vivara nurses come in. We support moms with mental health and emotional wellbeing, feeding transitions, sleep and nervous system regulation, scar and body recovery, return-to-movement guidance, and postpartum depletion and recovery.

Two months postpartum is not “too late” for postpartum care. In many ways, this is when moms need to be held the most.

Empowering mothers to feel like themselves again, or perhaps to get to know this new version of themselves, is what we do.

References

Bérard, A., Sheehy, O., Zhao, J.-P., Vinet, É., Bernatsky, S., Abrahamowicz, M., & Gorgui, J. (2020). Symptoms of postpartum anxiety and depression among women in Canada: Findings from a national cross-sectional survey. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111(6), 888–898.

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. (2023). Your pelvic floor.

This article is for educational purposes and does not replace individualized medical care. If you're concerned about your physical or mental health postpartum, connect with your healthcare provider.