You were told to rest for 6 weeks. Then you were "cleared." Back to normal.
Except your body doesn't feel back to normal... and nobody explained that a C-section is major abdominal surgery, that 7 layers of tissue were cut and sutured back together, or that the connective tissue in your abdomen takes the better part of a year to remodel. You went home 48 hours later with a newborn and a healing body and an impossible set of demands.
And then there's your baby. Who was on the other side of that same incision, in that same moment.
In this episode, I'm looking at C-section birth through my OT lens... both sides of it. For mama: what's actually happening with diastasis recti, why your core is a pressure system (not a strength problem), the energy conservation framework I use with clients recovering from surgery, and why 6 weeks is when you begin to rebuild, not when you're healed.
Then I'm flipping it completely and talking about your baby. Because the birth canal isn't just a passageway. The cardinal movements of labor are a precise vestibular and proprioceptive sequence, driven by primitive reflexes, that helps begin integrating those very same reflexes. It's a beautiful circular loop. And in a C-section birth (or a forceps or vacuum delivery), that loop doesn't complete... plus there's the traction of the extraction itself, which is its own layer.
If your baby arches, resists being curled in, startles hard when you tip them back for a diaper change, or feels tight through the neck and chest... this episode might be the first time someone connects it to the day they were born.
I want to be so clear: nothing here is about blame, and nothing here means your baby is damaged. That decision was right for that moment. This is about giving you a lens... and something to work with.
In This Episode
- Why a C-section is major abdominal surgery, not just a different kind of birth (7 layers, and what that actually means)
- Diastasis recti: what it is, why it matters so much more after a C-section, and why the separation itself isn't the problem
- Your core as a canister: diaphragm on top, pelvic floor on the bottom, deep abs as the walls... and what happens to pressure management when those walls are healing
- The OT energy conservation framework: how to think about your day as a budget when the demands are impossible
- Practical positioning, splinting, and compression tips (snug tank tops and high-waisted leggings should be the motherhood uniform)
- Why 6 weeks is "medically cleared for certain activities," not "healed"
- The 8 cardinal movements of labor, and why every single one is a vestibular activation event
- The feedback loop most parents have never heard of: reflexes drive the movements → movements provide vestibular and proprioceptive input → that input helps integrate the reflexes
- What it means when that loop doesn't complete
- The second layer nobody talks about: traction during extraction, and the tension patterns it can leave through the cervical spine and cranial base
- What all of this can look like in your baby: arching, tone dysregulation, retained Moro, feeding and oral motor difficulties, vestibular sensitivity, unsettled periods (AKA colic)
- Why I always ask about the birth story... and why it's clinical information, not a formality
Timestamps
- 00:00 – Welcome + my last batch week before the kids come home from camp
- 02:30 – Why this episode exists (and the Janelle Fontaine episode you should hear first)
- 03:15 – A C-section is major abdominal surgery: what actually happened to your body
- 04:30 – Diastasis recti and why it matters so much in C-section recovery
- 06:15 – Intra-abdominal pressure: your core is a canister, not a six-pack
- 07:45 – The OT piece nobody talks about: energy conservation and pacing
- 09:30 – Positioning, splinting, compression, scar mobilization
- 10:45 – The truth about the 6-week timeline
- 11:30 – Flipping it: your baby was on the other side of that same incision
- 12:30 – Proprioception and the head-to-toe squeeze of the birth canal
- 13:15 – The vestibular system: the master regulator of every other sense
- 15:15 – The 8 cardinal movements of labor and the reflex integration loop
- 17:45 – What it looks like when that loop doesn't complete
- 19:45 – The second layer: traction, forceps, vacuum, and cranial base tension
- 22:45 – Pulling it all together: what you might actually be seeing in your baby
- 25:15 – If you're feeling guilt or grief or anger right now, hear me
- 26:30 – What you can actually do about all of this
Key Takeaways
- Your recovery has a timeline nobody told you about. 6 weeks is medical clearance, not healing. Tissue healing takes months. Connective tissue remodeling takes closer to a year. You're not behind... you were given the wrong map.
- The birth canal isn't just a passageway. It's a precisely sequenced vestibular and proprioceptive experience that helps begin integrating your baby's primitive reflexes. When that sequence is bypassed, the nervous system is still looking for input it was designed to receive.
- Your baby isn't being difficult. The tension, the arching, the sensitivity, the difficulty settling... that's a nervous system asking for something. Once you know what it's asking for, you can start giving it.
Resources Mentioned
- Ep.75 with Janelle Fontaine of Nurturing the Mother: The C-section recovery conversation for mamas... rest, compression, scar tissue management. The perfect companion to this episode. → Check that out here
- Baby Bodywork at Home course ($47): Gentle, practical techniques you can start using right now at home to support your baby's body. → Grab the course here
- Virtual consults: If you want the full picture of what's going on with your specific baby, connecting the dots between the birth story and what you're seeing now. I see families across Canada, the US, and internationally. → kailiets.com
Let's Connect
If this episode gave you language for something you've been sensing, share it with a C-section mama who needs it... and leave a review on your favorite listening app to help the show grow.
Tag me on socials @theholisticbabyguru and tell me what clicked for you.
Your baby went through something significant the day they were born. Your body did too. You're both still finding your way into ease, and you're doing it together. That's the whole point.
Warm hugs, Kaili 💜
