C-Section Recovery: who to see and what helps

C-Section Recovery · Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge

A caesarean birth leaves you recovering from abdominal surgery while looking after a newborn. The body can take up to six weeks to heal, and the guidance is to move gently from the start, lift nothing heavier than your baby at first and return to driving, exercise and sex when you feel fully recovered. At CARESPACE the first visit is with a physiotherapist, alongside the follow-up you have with your physician or midwife.

What recovery from a caesarean involves

The incision is usually a horizontal line, 10 to 20 cm long, just below the bikini line. It looks red and obvious at first and fades with time. Vaginal bleeding and discharge happen after a caesarean too, the same as after a vaginal birth.

This page covers what is particular to a caesarean. Everything shared with other births, such as pelvic floor training, feeding, sleep and mood, is on Postpartum Recovery.

What is expected, and what is not

• Expected: pain at the incision and low in the abdomen, tiredness, trouble moving around, and vaginal bleeding for up to six weeks
• Not expected: pain that is getting worse or that medication does not control, an incision that becomes more painful, red or swollen, feels warm or starts to ooze, a fever, bleeding that gets heavier, or pain, redness or swelling in a leg. These are on the warning list below.

Looking after the incision

• Gently clean and dry the wound every day. You can shower and pat it dry; wait to take a bath until it has fully healed.
• Wear loose, comfortable clothes and cotton underwear.
• Stitches or staples that do not dissolve are taken out by your care team, in the UK usually after five to seven days.
• Use pads, not tampons, for the bleeding.

When to get medical help right away

Nobody at CARESPACE can rule out an emergency after a birth. These signs come from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s postpartum guide and from UK postnatal guidance (NICE and the NHS), put into Ontario terms.

Call 911 if you have shortness of breath, chest pain or a seizure, if you cough up blood, or if you faint or pass out. Call 911 as well for bleeding that is sudden and very heavy, or bleeding that comes with feeling faint, dizzy or a pounding heart.

Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby are also a reason to call 911. Postpartum psychosis is rare and usually starts in the first two weeks after the birth: seeing or hearing things that are not there, believing things that are untrue about yourself, your baby or others, severe mood changes, confusion, poor concentration and not sleeping, or being agitated, hyperactive and rambling. If you or someone close to you suspects it, go to an emergency department right away; you should not be left alone, or alone with your baby.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, help is available right now.

• Call or text 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any hour.
• Call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247 for addictions, mental health and crisis services in Waterloo Region, at any hour. here247.ca
• Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you or someone else is in immediate danger.

The emergency departments in Waterloo Region are:

• WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital), 835 King St. W., Kitchener
• WRHN @ Queen’s Blvd. (formerly St. Mary’s General Hospital), 911 Queen’s Blvd., Kitchener
• Cambridge Memorial Hospital, 700 Coronation Blvd., Cambridge

If you cannot get there safely, call 911.

Call your midwife, physician or nurse practitioner without delay, and go to an urgent care clinic or an emergency department if you cannot reach them, for: heavy bleeding (one pad soaked in an hour, twice in a row), bleeding that gets heavier or does not lessen, blood clots larger than a plum or an egg, or discharge that smells bad; a fever (38.0°C or higher by ear, or 37.6°C or higher by mouth or under the arm) or flu-like symptoms; pain in your stomach, back or legs that is new, worse or not going away, or any pain that medication does not control; a severe headache, blurry vision or seeing spots; swelling in your hands, feet or face; pain in a calf, behind a knee, or in a thigh or groin, or redness or swelling in a leg or groin; feeling dizzy or faint without heavy bleeding; vomiting and trouble keeping fluids down; a sore, hard, red, painful area on a breast, or breasts that stay swollen, red, hot and painful for more than 48 hours; ongoing pain when you pee, pain in your bladder, passing only small amounts or being unable to pee, or an urgent or frequent need to pee with burning; stitches or a tear with new or severe pain, bleeding, or yellow, green or bad-smelling discharge; and, after a caesarean, an incision with signs of infection: pain, oozing, redness or warmth.

This is not a complete list. When in doubt, contact your health care provider or get emergency medical care.

After a caesarean there are three more reasons to call your midwife or physician right away: severe pain, a cough, and leaking urine. Leaking soon after this operation is checked promptly, and not left for the six to eight weeks that applies after other births, because a urinary infection, an injury to the urinary tract and trouble emptying the bladder are among the causes the UK’s national guideline (NICE) says to consider.

What the evidence says about recovering from a caesarean

• Allow up to six weeks for healing. That is the Public Health Agency of Canada’s figure, with the advice to avoid lifting anything heavier than your baby for about six weeks. A baby in a car seat is heavier than a baby, and a winter driveway full of snow is somebody else’s job this year.
• Go back to activities when you have recovered, not on a fixed date. NICE says driving, carrying heavy items, formal exercise and sex can resume once you feel you have fully recovered, including from any physical restriction or pain. That may not be for six weeks or so, and it is worth asking your health care provider when it is safe to drive.
• Walk early. Gentle activity such as a daily walk lowers the risk of blood clots, and Canada’s 2025 postpartum guideline suggests light activity soon after the birth.
• Hold off on harder exercise until the incision has healed. The suggestion is to move up to moderate and vigorous activity once the incision has healed enough, to get medical clearance if incision pain gets worse with activity, and to avoid high-impact exercise and anything that strains the stomach muscles at first.
• The pelvic floor still needs training. The Canadian guideline’s recommendation of daily pelvic floor muscle training makes no exception for caesarean births.
• Scar massage has one small trial behind it. In 28 women with long-lasting pain after a caesarean, four sessions of hands-on work on the scar and abdomen were followed by less pain and a more mobile scar. Deeper techniques did no better than gentle ones, and the trial had no untreated group to compare with.
• A caesarean does not in itself raise the risk of depression. Women who have had one are not at increased risk of depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, pain during sex or difficulties with breastfeeding, and should be offered the chance to talk through why the caesarean was done. Both points are NICE’s.

What your physician or midwife looks after

These are not CARESPACE services: pain relief and which medicines suit breastfeeding, checking the wound and removing stitches or staples, the postpartum check-up, and advice on your options for a future birth.

How each CARESPACE service helps after a caesarean

Physiotherapy

A physiotherapist can assess how you are moving around the incision and how the abdominal wall and pelvic floor are working, teach pelvic floor training, and set the order in which walking, lifting and exercise come back. Pelvic health physiotherapy is offered at CARESPACE; an internal examination is always your choice. Once the incision has healed, hands-on work on the scar, as in the trial above, may be part of treatment if it is painful or tight.

About pelvic health physiotherapy →

Kinesiology

A kinesiologist can take over when you are ready for more than walking: a graded strength and fitness program that follows the Canadian guideline’s “individualized, gradual, and symptom-based” progression toward at least 120 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity a week, adjusted if the incision or abdomen complains.

See our kinesiology team →

Massage Therapy

A Registered Massage Therapist can work on a healed scar and the tissue around it, which is the kind of treatment the one small trial tested. The trial studied women whose pain had lasted for months; none of the sources gives a date for starting scar massage, so check with your physician or midwife that the incision has fully healed first.

See our massage therapy team →

Counselling & Psychotherapy

An unplanned or emergency caesarean can leave questions and difficult memories. NICE says to offer advice and support to women who have had a traumatic birth and want to talk about it, and says not to offer single-session treatments that focus on re-living the birth. At a first visit a CARESPACE counsellor works to understand your concern and comes up with a plan. If you want trauma-focused therapy, ask when you book for a counsellor trained in it.

See our counselling team →

Other services people ask about

Nutrition & Dietitian. The sources below give no eating advice particular to a caesarean. The general advice after a birth applies: plenty of water, fibre added gradually to avoid constipation and straining, and a daily multivitamin with folic acid. A Registered Dietitian can help with that and with eating while breastfeeding; see our postpartum recovery page.

Where most people start

Start with a physiotherapist, who assesses and treats at the first visit. Book when you feel ready.

How your team works together

The physiotherapist usually leads the early stage and a kinesiologist the return to fitness. Massage therapy can be added for a scar that stays sore or tight, and counselling if the birth is weighing on you. Your physician or midwife remains responsible for the wound and your medical recovery.

Browse by service: physiotherapists, kinesiologists, registered massage therapists and counsellors.

What to expect at your first visit

1. The birth and the weeks since. Planned or unplanned, how the incision has healed, what your physician or midwife has cleared you to do, and what you want to get back to.
2. How you move. Getting up from lying, lifting, walking, and how the abdominal wall and pelvic floor respond. Say if you would prefer that the scar is not touched.
3. A first treatment and a plan: pelvic floor technique, what to do this week, and what to hold off on.

What you can do at home

• Walk a little every day and add to it gradually.
• Lift nothing heavier than your baby for about six weeks.
• Avoid high-impact exercise and movements that strain the stomach muscles until you have healed.
• Drink plenty of water and add fibre gradually so you are not straining on the toilet.
• Keep regular pain relief going for as long as you need it, and ask your pharmacist or physician which medicines suit breastfeeding.
• Ask for help with the car seat, the stroller and the laundry basket.

How long recovery takes

Up to six weeks for the body to heal, and driving, lifting and sex may not be for six weeks or so either. A return to full exercise comes after that and is gradual. The scar fades over time; the sources give no figure for how long it stays numb or sensitive. If pain around the scar is still there months later, tell your physician; a physiotherapist can assess it too.

C-section recovery in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge

Kitchener. Physiotherapy in Kitchener, Kinesiology in Kitchener, Massage Therapy in Kitchener and Counselling in Kitchener. Locations: Victoria North, Fischer-Hallman, Westmount East and Deer Ridge.

Waterloo. Physiotherapy in Waterloo, Kinesiology in Waterloo, Massage Therapy in Waterloo and Counselling in Waterloo. Locations: Weber North, Uptown Waterloo and Waterloo GoodLife.

Cambridge. Physiotherapy in Cambridge and Counselling in Cambridge. Location: Hespeler Road.

The city pages linked above show the locations and practitioners for each service, with their next availability.

Common questions

When can I drive after a C-section?

When you feel fully recovered and can move without pain or restriction, which may not be for six weeks or so. Ask your health care provider when it is safe for you.

When can I exercise after a C-section?

Gentle walking starts early. Harder exercise waits until the incision has healed enough, and then builds up gradually. If incision pain gets worse with activity, stop and see your physician or nurse practitioner before carrying on.

When can I start massaging my scar?

None of the sources gives a date. Wait until the incision has fully healed and your physician or midwife is happy with it.

Do I still need pelvic floor exercises if I did not give birth vaginally?

Yes. Daily pelvic floor muscle training is recommended after a birth, with no exception made for caesareans.

Is it normal to feel upset about having had a caesarean?

None of the sources says how common it is. You are entitled to ask questions: women should be offered the chance to discuss the reasons for their caesarean. If difficult feelings last, or come with low mood or anxiety, see Postpartum Depression & Anxiety.

Where can I get physiotherapy after a C-section in Cambridge?

See Physiotherapy in Cambridge, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will find the closest location with an opening.

Do I need a referral?

No. Book online or call 519-208-2273. You pay at each visit and receive a receipt for your extended health plan. More on fees and insurance →

Sources

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Caesarean birth (NG192). 2021, last amended 2024.
• Public Health Agency of Canada. Your guide to postpartum health and caring for your baby. Modified May 2026.
• Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. 2025 Canadian Guideline for Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep Throughout the First Year Postpartum. Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2025.
• NHS. Caesarean section: recovery. Reviewed January 2023; its review was due in January 2026.
• NHS. Early days. Reviewed January 2026.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Postnatal care (NG194). 2021.
• Wasserman JB, et al. Soft tissue mobilization techniques are effective in treating chronic pain following cesarean section: a multicenter randomized clinical trial. Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy, 2018 (abstract).
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Antenatal and postnatal mental health: clinical management and service guidance (CG192). 2014, last amended 2021.

Related conditions

Postpartum Recovery
Diastasis Recti
Postpartum Depression & Anxiety
Urinary Incontinence

Ready to book?

Book online with a physiotherapist, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will match you with the right person and the closest location.

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