Postpartum Physical Therapy in Portland, ME
Six weeks and 'cleared for exercise' is not an assessment. We test what your body can actually load, then build you back to running, lifting and whatever else you'd stopped assuming was possible.
Seven Years of 'Nobody Told Me That'
Marbury opened on Congress Street in 2019 because postpartum care in this country effectively ends at a single six-week appointment where, very often, nothing is examined at all.
What happens next is predictable. People are told they're cleared, they go back to running or lifting, something leaks or hurts or feels wrong, and they quietly conclude this is simply what bodies are like afterwards. It isn't, and the gap between 'no longer injured' and 'able to load properly' is exactly where we work.
We are unusual in one respect: we are as interested in barbells and marathons as we are in pelvic floors. Getting someone back to their sport is a legitimate clinical goal, and treating it as an indulgence is how people get written off at thirty-four.
- ✓Assessment, not a six-week rubber stamp
- ✓Return to running and lifting as real goals
- ✓Babies welcome in every appointment
- ✓Saturday mornings and early starts
The Postpartum Briefing You Should Have Had
Six Weeks Isn't a Clearance
The six-week check confirms you're healing, not that your body can tolerate load. In much of the world postpartum physical therapy is routine at that point. Here it is something you have to ask for, and most people don't know to.
The Gap Matters Less Than the Tension
Almost everyone has some abdominal separation at term and it narrows on its own for months. What predicts function is whether the tissue between generates tension under load — which is trainable, and is what we test.
Leaking Is Common, Not Normal
Roughly a third of people leak in the first year postpartum, and a good number are still doing so years later because nobody said it was treatable. It usually is, and often quickly.
Running Has a Readiness Test
Walking pain-free for thirty minutes, single-leg calf raises, single-leg bridges, hopping and jogging on the spot — all without symptoms. Most people are ready between three and six months, and 'when you feel like it' is not a criterion.
Lifting Is Rehabilitation
Heavy, progressive resistance training is one of the best things for a postpartum body — bone, pelvic floor, mood and strength. Being told to stick to light weights indefinitely is advice that keeps people weak.
Scars Need Work
A C-section scar can stay numb, tight and tethered for years, and it affects how you brace and move. Mobilisation and desensitisation help substantially and it is never too late to start.
What Should Happen When
Nobody hands this out, so here it is.
Pregnancy — Any Trimester
Strength training that continues safely, pelvic girdle pain treated rather than endured, and birth preparation — positions, breathing and how to push without holding your breath, which reduces tearing and pelvic floor damage.
Weeks 0-6 — Gentle and Deliberate
Breathing, gentle activation, positioning, scar care once healed, and how to lift a car seat without bracing badly. Not exercise so much as not starting from zero at week six.
Weeks 6-12 — The Actual Assessment
The one you were told you'd had. Abdominal wall under load, pelvic floor function, hip and trunk strength, scar, and a plan with real progressions. This is the appointment that changes the next year.
Months 3-6 — Back to Load
Return-to-running criteria tested properly, resistance training progressed to genuine weight, and impact reintroduced in stages. Slower than most people want, faster than most are told.
Any Time After — Still Worth It
Five years, ten years, or after the third baby. Late is normal here and it is not too late. A great many of our patients are years out and had assumed the window had closed.
Assessment, Then Load
A Rack, a Pram in the Corner, and a Door That Closes
On Congress Street, up one flight — and yes, there's a lift.
Ninety Minutes, Baby Welcome
The Conversation
Birth, recovery, what you've been told, what you've stopped doing, and what you want back. Bring the baby — feeding, changing and settling mid-appointment is entirely normal here.
Assessment Under Load
Not lying still. We watch your abdominal wall and pelvic floor while you actually do things — bracing, lifting, hopping — because that's where the useful information is.
Internal Exam, If You Want One
It's the most direct way to assess pelvic floor function and it is entirely optional. Plenty of first visits skip it, and we can still help you if you decline it altogether.
A Plan With Numbers In It
What to do, how heavy, how often, and the criteria for the next stage. Written down, with video, and a realistic timeline to whatever you said in step one.
Seven Years of People Told They Were Fine
At my six-week appointment I was told I was 'cleared for exercise' and that was the entire conversation. Nobody looked at anything. Marbury actually assessed me, found I had almost no load tolerance yet, and built me up properly.
I'd been told my abdominal separation meant no planks, no lifting and no running, forever. Turns out the gap matters much less than what the tissue can do under load. I deadlift more now than I did before I was pregnant.
Three years after my son was born, still leaking on runs, and quietly assuming that was permanent. Twelve weeks of specific work and I ran the Beach to Beacon without thinking about it once.
My C-section scar was numb, tight and honestly a bit horrifying to me. She taught me to work on it, explained why it felt like that, and eight weeks later it's just a scar. That mattered more than I expected.
Babies, Booking and What It Costs
Bring the baby. Every room has a mat, a bouncer and somewhere to feed, and no appointment here has ever been derailed by a crying infant. Toddlers are fine too — there's a box of things in the corner.
Maine has direct access, so you don't need a referral. We're in-network with Anthem, Harvard Pilgrim, Aetna, Cigna and MaineCare, and we verify your benefits before your first visit. Self-pay is $180 for the ninety-minute assessment and $115 for follow-ups.
We're on Congress Street, up one flight, with a lift and room for a pram at the top. Saturday mornings exist specifically so partners can take a turn, and early starts exist because babies are up anyway.
- ✓Babies and toddlers genuinely welcome
- ✓No referral needed in Maine
- ✓In-network with the major Maine carriers and MaineCare
- ✓Lift access and room for a pram
What People Ask Us
How soon after birth can I come?
For gentle work, within the first couple of weeks — breathing, positioning, how to lift a car seat, and scar care once it's healed. For the full assessment under load, usually around six weeks, or later after a C-section. There's no rush and there's also no benefit to waiting a year.
My youngest is four. Is it too late?
No, and roughly half our patients are more than a year out. Pelvic floor function, abdominal wall strength and scar tissue all still respond. The commonest thing we hear is 'I assumed the window had closed', and it hadn't.
Do I have to have an internal exam?
No. It is the most direct way to assess pelvic floor function and we'll explain exactly what it involves, but it is entirely your choice and plenty of first visits skip it. We can build a useful plan either way and nothing about your treatment changes if you decline.
Can I bring my baby?
Please do. Every room has a mat and somewhere to feed, and appointments routinely pause for a feed or a change. It is genuinely not a problem, and the alternative is that you don't come.
When can I run again?
When you pass the criteria rather than when a date arrives — walking thirty minutes pain-free, single-leg calf raises and bridges, hopping and jogging on the spot, all without symptoms. Typically three to six months, and we test rather than guess.
Am I allowed to lift heavy?
Yes, and you probably should. Progressive heavy resistance training is one of the best things available for a postpartum body — bone density, pelvic floor, mood and strength. What matters is how you manage pressure and breath under that load, which is exactly what we teach.
Book the Assessment You Were Told You'd Had
Ninety minutes, babies welcome, and a plan with actual numbers in it.
Congress Street, Portland
Tell us roughly where you are and what you want back. That second answer shapes everything.