Can I Have EMSELLA After Pregnancy or Childbirth?

Yes. EMSELLA can be considered for selected women after childbirth once they are beyond the early postpartum healing period and have been medically assessed as suitable.

The clinic’s three-month minimum after childbirth is a starting boundary, not automatic clearance to begin treatment. Caesarean delivery, pelvic surgery, complications, symptoms and healing can change the assessment. The clinician considers your recovery and the current device instructions before planning treatment.

Who May Not Be Suitable for EMSCULPT NEO or EMSELLA? · What Happens at a ¹EM Consultation? From Assessment to Treatment

At ¹EM, we do not perform EMSELLA:

After three months postpartum, Dr Emir can assess your recovery, symptoms, delivery history and relevant medical factors before determining whether EMSELLA is appropriate.

Pregnancy and childbirth place substantial demands on the pelvic floor, and some women experience symptoms including:

EMSELLA uses high-intensity focused electromagnetic technology to stimulate repeated pelvic floor contractions while you remain fully clothed.

For appropriately selected postpartum women, it can form part of a structured pelvic floor rehabilitation program.

The pelvic floor supports the:

It also contributes to:

During pregnancy, the pelvic floor carries additional load as the uterus and baby grow.

During vaginal childbirth, the muscles and connective tissues of the pelvic floor must also stretch considerably.

Pelvic floor changes can occur after both vaginal and Caesarean birth. Pregnancy itself can affect the pelvic floor, even when the baby is ultimately delivered by Caesarean section.

Healthdirect Australia identifies both pregnancy and childbirth as factors that can weaken the pelvic floor and notes that pelvic floor function often continues recovering during the first year after birth. [1]

Giving birth is followed by a period of genuine tissue healing and physiological recovery.

EMSELLA® produces repeated, powerful pelvic floor contractions.

That is very different from simply restarting gentle voluntary pelvic floor exercises.

A published health-technology assessment of EMSELLA identified:

as treatment exclusions. [2]

For that reason, ¹EM takes a conservative approach.

EMSELLA is not performed during the first three months after childbirth.

Once you are beyond that period, three months does not automatically mean you are ready.

It means treatment can begin to be considered.

Your individual recovery still matters.

Dr Emir assesses whether treatment is appropriate for you.

Relevant factors can include:

Some women may be suitable at around three months.

Others may benefit from more recovery time or another form of assessment first.

Yes. Pelvic floor strengthening is the central purpose of EMSELLA.

The chair produces repeated involuntary contractions using high-intensity focused electromagnetic stimulation.

Research has specifically evaluated electromagnetic pelvic floor treatment in postpartum women.

A study involving 95 postpartum women compared HIFEM treatment, electrical stimulation and a control group.

Women receiving HIFEM demonstrated significant improvements in pelvic floor muscle activity and endurance, along with improvements in pelvic floor symptom scores. [3]

This provides direct evidence that electromagnetic pelvic floor stimulation can improve measured pelvic floor function in postpartum women.

Yes.

A 2025 randomised controlled trial studied postpartum women with stress urinary incontinence who were at least three months beyond delivery.

Participants received either:

Both groups experienced improvements in urinary symptoms, leakage severity and pelvic floor strength.

However, measured pelvic floor muscle strength was significantly greater in the electromagnetic stimulation group.

The study found pelvic floor strength measurements of:

16.5 cmH2O with electromagnetic stimulation compared with 8.0 cmH2O with Kegel exercises.

Symptom improvement and treatment compliance were not significantly different between the groups. [4]

This distinction matters.

The study does not prove that electromagnetic treatment replaces traditional pelvic floor exercises.

It does support the ability of electromagnetic stimulation to produce meaningful pelvic floor strengthening in postpartum women.

Potentially, yes.

Urinary leakage after pregnancy and childbirth is common.

Typical stress-incontinence symptoms include leaking when:

Pelvic floor weakness can contribute because these muscles help support the bladder and urethra when abdominal pressure suddenly increases.

Postpartum pelvic floor rehabilitation has an established role in managing urinary incontinence, and electromagnetic stimulation has also been studied specifically in postpartum stress urinary incontinence. [4]

At ¹EM, we first establish what type of urinary symptoms you are experiencing rather than assuming every postpartum bladder symptom is caused by pelvic floor weakness.

Does EMSELLA help urinary incontinence? What the multicentre clinical study found

Tell us.

Urgency means suddenly needing to urinate and finding it difficult to postpone.

Pelvic floor dysfunction can contribute to urgency, but urgency can have other causes.

This is why Dr Emir reviews symptoms such as:

before deciding on treatment.

The goal is not simply to strengthen the pelvic floor.

It is to establish whether pelvic floor strengthening is actually the appropriate treatment for your presentation.

Yes, potentially, once you are at least three months postpartum and adequately healed.

Your assessment may consider whether you experienced:

A previous vaginal birth does not automatically make you suitable or unsuitable.

It helps explain what the pelvic floor has been through.

Potentially, yes.

A Caesarean delivery does not mean that your pelvic floor was unaffected by pregnancy.

Pregnancy itself increases the load placed on the pelvic floor for many months.

Some women who deliver by Caesarean section still develop:

However, Caesarean birth is abdominal surgery.

Your wound and underlying tissues therefore need appropriate time to heal.

At ¹EM, EMSELLA® would not be considered during the first three months postpartum, and your surgical recovery would form part of the suitability assessment after that point.

Tell us during your consultation.

An episiotomy, third- or fourth-degree tear or other significant birth injury deserves individual consideration.

EMSELLA does not repair an unhealed tear.

It stimulates pelvic floor muscles.

Those are different things.

If there is ongoing:

Dr Emir may recommend further assessment before deciding whether electromagnetic pelvic floor treatment is appropriate.

Symptoms such as:

should be discussed during your assessment.

Pelvic floor strengthening can play an important role in pelvic support, but significant pelvic organ prolapse is not something that should simply be treated by sitting on an EMSELLA chair without diagnosis.

The EMSELLA health-technology review identified significant pelvic organ prolapse, stage III or greater, as an exclusion criterion. [2]

If your symptoms suggest prolapse, the first step is appropriate assessment.

Not necessarily.

There does not need to be a competition between the two.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy can provide:

EMSELLA provides a different tool:

intensive non-invasive electromagnetic stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles while you remain seated.

For some patients, combining approaches may make clinical sense.

For others, one pathway may be more appropriate than another.

The treatment plan should follow the problem rather than forcing every postpartum patient through exactly the same program.

Pelvic floor exercises remain important.

Healthdirect advises women that pelvic floor exercises can be performed after childbirth and that strengthening the pelvic floor can support bladder control, sexual function and recovery after birth. [1]

EMSELLA® does not make voluntary pelvic floor exercises obsolete.

Instead, it can provide additional muscle stimulation for selected patients.

One practical issue after childbirth is that some women find it difficult to:

EMSELLA does not depend on you voluntarily producing every contraction during the treatment session.

Your six-week postpartum review can be an important part of recovery, but a six-week clearance is not the same as clearance for EMSELLA.

¹EM does not commence EMSELLA® during the first three months postpartum.

Even after three months, Dr Emir confirms treatment suitability based on your individual recovery and medical history.

Once you have been assessed as suitable, treatment is straightforward.

You remain:

You feel repeated contractions through the pelvic floor as the electromagnetic field stimulates the muscles.

Sessions are approximately 30 minutes.

There is:

Treatment intensity can be adjusted according to your tolerance and treatment plan.

EMSELLA treatment itself does not require an internal examination or internal treatment applicator.

Whether any separate pelvic examination is clinically indicated depends on your symptoms.

If your history suggests something requiring examination or specialist assessment, Dr Emir will explain the appropriate next step.

It may be particularly worth discussing if, more than three months after birth, you are experiencing:

You do not need to decide whether your pelvic floor is objectively weak before booking.

That is what assessment is for.

EMSELLA is not something every woman automatically needs after having a baby.

Your body naturally recovers substantially during the months following childbirth.

Healthdirect notes that pelvic floor muscle function often recovers during the first year after birth. [1]

If you have no symptoms and no particular pelvic floor concern, treatment should not simply be presented as mandatory postpartum maintenance.

At ¹EM, the purpose of consultation is to identify whether there is actually something worthwhile treating.

You can still have postpartum-related pelvic floor weakness long after the immediate postpartum period has passed.

Some women tolerate symptoms for years before seeking help because they assume leakage after childbirth is normal.

Common examples include:

Being several years postpartum does not make pelvic floor strengthening irrelevant.

If symptoms remain, they can still be assessed.

If you are currently pregnant or planning an imminent pregnancy, discuss this with the team before treatment.

Pregnancy itself is a contraindication to EMSELLA® treatment. [2]

A future pregnancy may also place new stresses on the pelvic floor, so treatment timing should make sense in the context of your plans.

Possible pregnancy needs to be discussed with the clinical team before treatment.

Tell the team immediately.

EMSELLA treatment should not continue during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding status should be disclosed as part of your postpartum medical assessment.

Research protocols vary in whether breastfeeding women have been included or excluded, so individual suitability needs clinical review.

Dr Emir will consider your postpartum stage, recovery and individual medical circumstances before treatment is approved.

Being more than three months postpartum does not automatically make someone suitable.

Important reasons treatment may need to be avoided or delayed include:

Who May Not Be Suitable for EMSCULPT NEO or EMSELLA?

We do not use a rule that says:

"You had a baby, therefore you need six sessions."

Instead, the process is:

Treatment is not performed during pregnancy or within the first three months postpartum.

We review relevant aspects of your:

We establish what has actually changed.

Relevant medical history and implanted devices are reviewed before treatment.

Not every postpartum symptom is caused by weakness.

If EMSELLA is appropriate, your treatment schedule is explained before you proceed.

The objective is improvement in the function or symptoms that brought you to treatment, not simply completing appointments.

At ¹EM, EMSELLA is not performed during the first 3 months postpartum.

After three months, Dr Emir assesses your healing, symptoms, birth history and overall suitability before approving treatment.

No. A routine six-week postpartum clearance does not automatically mean you are ready for EMSELLA®.

¹EM waits until at least three months postpartum before treatment is considered.

Yes, potentially.

Electromagnetic pelvic floor stimulation has been studied specifically in women with postpartum stress urinary incontinence, with improvements reported in pelvic floor strength and urinary symptoms.

Potentially, once you are at least three months postpartum, your surgical recovery is satisfactory and Dr Emir has confirmed treatment suitability.

Potentially, once you are beyond three months postpartum and appropriately healed.

Your birth history, symptoms and any tearing or complications are considered during assessment.

Possibly, after adequate healing.

Ongoing pain, wound problems or significant pelvic floor symptoms should be assessed before treatment.

No.

EMSELLA® stimulates pelvic floor muscles. It does not surgically repair tissue injuries, significant tears or anatomical abnormalities.

No.

Pelvic floor exercises remain valuable. EMSELLA® can provide additional intensive muscle stimulation for selected patients rather than making normal pelvic floor rehabilitation irrelevant.

You can still request an assessment.

Persistent urinary leakage or pelvic floor weakness does not become untreatable simply because childbirth happened years earlier.

No referral is required to request a consultation at ¹EM.

Pregnancy and childbirth can change pelvic floor function, but postpartum symptoms deserve more than being dismissed as something every mother simply has to live with.

If you are more than three months postpartum and experiencing leakage, weakness or changes in pelvic floor function, the next step is to understand what is happening and whether targeted pelvic floor treatment is appropriate.

At ¹EM, Dr Emir can review your birth history, recovery, symptoms and treatment suitability before recommending an individual plan.

CTA heading: Rebuild Pelvic Floor Strength After Birth

CTA description: If you are more than three months postpartum, book a complimentary consultation to discuss your symptoms and find out whether EMSELLA® is appropriate for your recovery.

CTA button: Book Your Complimentary Consultation

Internal links:

EMSELLA® at ¹EM:https://emsella.1em.com.au/

¹EM:https://1em.com.au/

Related article: Can EMSELLA® Help With Urinary Incontinence?

Related article: Who May Not Be Suitable for EMSCULPT NEO or EMSELLA?

1. Healthdirect Australia. Pelvic Floor Exercises.

Australian health guidance describing the role of the pelvic floor in bladder, bowel and sexual function, its relationship to pregnancy and childbirth, and postpartum pelvic floor recovery.

2. Department of Health Abu Dhabi. Health Technology Review: EMSELLA HIFEM.

The technology review lists pregnancy, planning pregnancy and being within three months postpartum among treatment exclusion criteria and describes EMSELLA® as electromagnetic stimulation for rehabilitation of weak pelvic floor muscles.

3. Silantyeva E, et al. Electromyographic Evaluation of the Pelvic Muscles Activity After High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic Procedure and Electrical Stimulation in Women With Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. Sexual Medicine. 2020. PMID: 32146133.

This study included 95 postpartum women and reported significant improvements in pelvic floor muscle activity, endurance and symptom scores following HIFEM treatment.

4. Improving Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength in Women With Postpartum Stress Urinary Incontinence Using Electromagnetic Stimulation Therapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. 2025. PMID: 40352220.

This randomised clinical trial enrolled postpartum women with stress urinary incontinence at least three months after delivery. Both electromagnetic stimulation and Kegel exercise groups improved, with significantly greater measured pelvic floor muscle strength in the electromagnetic stimulation group.

5. Continence Health Australia. Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Australian continence guidance describing pelvic floor changes following pregnancy and birth, postpartum urinary leakage and the importance of personalised professional advice during recovery.

This article provides general information and does not replace individual postpartum or pelvic health assessment. Recovery after childbirth varies considerably. EMSELLA® is not performed during pregnancy or within the first three months after birth at ¹EM. Suitability after that point depends on healing, symptoms, medical history and individual clinical assessment.