Postpartum Warning Signs: What to Watch For in Her First Six Weeks

After the birth, everyone looks at the baby. Somebody needs to keep an eye on her. That’s you.

She’s recovering from something big, whether it was a vaginal birth or a C-section, while running on no sleep. And when something’s wrong, she may not notice, or may not want to make a fuss. Here are the postpartum warning signs to watch for, what’s normal, and how you help.

How to help your partner recover after birth

Take everything else off her plate, so her body can do its job. Your list:

• Keep water and snacks within her reach, every time she sits down to feed.
• Take the night shifts you can. Our guide on how to split night feeds shows how.
• Handle visitors. Short visits, clean hands, and you’re the one who says it’s time to go.
• Do the household jobs without being asked: laundry, dishes, meals.
• Ask how she’s feeling, and actually listen. Not “how’s the baby”, but “how are you?”
• Go with her to the postpartum checkup and tell the doctor what you’ve noticed at home.

What’s normal in postpartum recovery, and what isn’t?

Usually normal in the first weeks:

• Bleeding that slowly gets lighter and changes color over several weeks.
• Soreness, cramping and stitches that ache, especially when she’s feeding.
• Night sweats.
• Full, tender breasts when her milk comes in.
• Exhaustion.
• Mood swings, tears and feeling overwhelmed in the first two weeks: the baby blues.

Not normal, call her doctor:

• Bleeding that gets heavier instead of lighter.
• A wound or stitches that are red, hot or oozing.
• A red, hot, painful spot on the breast, especially with fever.
• Pain that gets worse instead of better.
• Low mood or anxiety that lasts longer than two weeks.

Postpartum warning signs to watch for

These are urgent. Call 911 or go to the emergency room if she has any of these in the year after birth, according to the CDC’s urgent maternal warning signs:

• Chest pain, trouble breathing or a racing heart.
• A seizure.
• Thoughts of harming herself or the baby.

Call her doctor right away, and go to the ER if you can’t reach them, for:

• A headache that won’t go away or keeps getting worse, or changes in her vision.
• A fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.
• Heavy bleeding: soaking a pad in an hour, or large clots.
• A red, swollen or painful leg.
• Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away.
• Extreme swelling of her hands or face.
• Dizziness or fainting, or overwhelming tiredness.

When you call, say she gave birth recently. It changes how seriously the signs are taken. Some of these, like high blood pressure, can show up days or weeks after she’s home.

Postpartum depression signs a partner should know

The baby blues are common and fade on their own within about two weeks. Postpartum depression is different: it lasts longer, feels heavier and gets in the way of daily life. About 1 in 8 women report symptoms of postpartum depression. It can start weeks or even months after the birth.

Signs to watch for:

• Sadness, anxiety or feeling empty for more than two weeks.
• Can’t sleep even when the baby sleeps, or sleeping all the time.
• Feeling disconnected from the baby, or not enjoying anything.
• Feeling hopeless, worthless or like a bad mother.
• Constant worry or panic.

It’s common, it’s treatable and it’s not her fault. If you see it, say so gently, and help her call her doctor. The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). You can call for her, too. In a crisis, call or text 988.

And check in on yourself. About 1 in 10 dads gets depressed around the birth as well. Our article on your relationship after the baby has more on that.

How to help with C-section recovery

A C-section is major surgery, and she’ll be told to take it easy for weeks. Your jobs:

• Lift for her. Her doctor will set limits, often nothing heavier than the baby. Car seat, laundry basket, groceries: yours.
• Bring the baby to her for feeds, and hand them back after.
• Watch the wound: redness, swelling, oozing or a bad smell mean a call to her doctor.
• Drive. She’ll be told when she can drive again. Until then, you’re the chauffeur.
• Get her up and walking a little, if her doctor recommends it. Gently, with you next to her.

What happens at the six-week postpartum checkup?

The “six-week checkup” is changing. ACOG recommends she has contact with her care provider within the first three weeks, then a full visit no later than 12 weeks after birth.

That visit covers her physical recovery, mood, sleep, feeding, birth control and any ongoing health issues. Go with her if you can. Hold the baby in the waiting room, and tell the doctor what you’ve noticed. You see her at 3 a.m. They don’t.

It’s not an automatic green light for sex, by the way. That’s her call, on her timeline.

Our free newborn red flags and recovery sheet puts the baby’s warning signs on page one and hers on page two. Stick it on the fridge. And for the baby, read our newborn red flags guide.

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General information, not medical advice. This page doesn’t list every symptom. If something feels wrong, call her doctor or 911.

Sources: CDC: Urgent Maternal Warning Signs, CDC: Postpartum depression, ACOG: Optimizing Postpartum Care, HRSA: National Maternal Mental Health Hotline.