Why more and more new mums are booking into a postpartum retreat

There has been a growing sense for a while now that we are failing new mums. When a landmark study into birth trauma was published in May 2024, few mothers would have been surprised at the findings. During pregnancy, women are (rightfully) wrapped in cotton wool. Once their child is born, however, they are largely left to figure everything out on their own, with a cursory six-week check-up at the GP being all that is required.

For some women, their experiences of the fourth trimester prompted them to create something better for other new mums. “I gave birth in London five years ago, after a very easy pregnancy,” shares Hiba Siddiqui, the founder of a new postpartum retreat, Tenth Wellness. “I went into motherhood so overconfident and was completely knocked off my feet and found the whole period totally overwhelming. It really struck me that in the entire lead up to birth, women get so much care, attention and focus. But once you push the baby out, in Western culture, there seems to be zero support for women, and nobody cares about you anymore, and they only ask about you with regard to the baby.”

Coming from a Pakistani background, Siddiqui knew that there was an alternative. “In almost every Asian culture and tradition, there’s the concept of the first 40 days, when the mother lies in bed and stays home, resting and recovering,” shares Siddiqui. “The women in the family and wider community help ease women into motherhood, but we’ve lost that in the West.”

Postpartum retreats are already a well-established concept in South Korea, where 8 in 10 women attend one, and are growing in popularity in the US. Yet in the UK, the concept is still relatively new, with a clutch of them opening in the past five years. When women check in to a postpartum retreat, they typically stay for anywhere between 48 hours and 40 days (as per the “first 40 days” tradition). Often, they are given a private room, round-the-clock medical attention (including maternal mental health checks) and guidance on everything from breastfeeding to getting a baby to sleep. In short, they provide everything a new mum misses out on if they just leave the hospital a few days after birth.

Clio Wood started her postpartum retreats, & Breathe, almost a decade ago, and is pleased to see the conversation around postpartum care finally changing. “When we launched, there was definitely a sense of ‘why do you need this? Women have been giving birth for centuries,’” she shares. “It’s so nice to hear these conversations are finally happening now.”

Below, we round up some of the UK’s top postpartum retreats. Of course, as gratifying as it is to finally see postpartum health being taken seriously, wellness retreats aren’t always feasible or attainable for new parents. The NHS offers advice on how best to look after your body after a vaginal birth or for cesarean births, and for on new mothers needing mental health support.

The best postpartum retreats in the UK

& Breathe WellbeingClio Wood

& Breathe Wellbeing

Best postpartum retreat for body and soul