We listen first
A 60 to 90 minute first session with the time to be properly heard: history, medications, sleep, digestion, energy, mood, and cycle. Pulse and tongue diagnosis follow, and you leave with a TCM working diagnosis you understand.
Concern
Postpartum Recovery in Marylebone
The 'fourth trimester' deserves more than a six-week check and a goodbye. Postpartum recovery care in Marylebone: acupuncture, MLD, nutritional therapy, and herbal medicine across the postnatal year, supporting your physical, hormonal, and emotional recovery after birth.
Overview
Understanding postpartum recovery
Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long tradition of structured postpartum care, built on the view that the early weeks after birth deserve dedicated attention in their own right. Body Perfected adapts that tradition to modern UK practice, around the postnatal pathway your midwife and GP already run.
Common postpartum presentations we support include:
- Slow recovery from a caesarean or perineal repair, and persistent abdominal swelling.
- Breastfeeding-related shoulder and neck tension, low energy, and sleep disruption.
- Postnatal hair loss, mood changes, and the steady return of the menstrual cycle.
Every postpartum plan is individual, and none of it replaces the care of your midwife, GP, or perinatal mental-health team. Support draws on acupuncture, manual lymphatic drainage, and nutrition, and where birth involved surgery it overlaps with our post-surgical recovery care.
Excellent
From 4 five-star Google reviews
Source: Google
Claudia provides the best lymphatic drainage massage in London. She can scan your body like no one else. I almost fell asleep during my 90-minute session — the time flew by. Thank you Claudia!
Claudia is a true healer! I arrived very tense after a long flight and she was able to help calm and reset my nervous system. I highly recommend the 1-hour lymphatic massage.
I had a great lymphatic drainage session with Claudia. After having sinus surgery to remove polyps and dealing with congestion, I felt so much better after the session. Highly recommend!
Claudia is wonderful. Her treatments are incredibly relaxing. She is attentive and asks questions ahead of time to be more targeted during the sessions. Her treatment rooms promote a sense of calm. I would highly recommend her!
Postpartum recovery care can help to:
Restore your energy and sleep
Acupuncture for energy, sleep, and mood can start once you feel ready: many women come in from week 2. Sessions are one of the few hours in the postnatal calendar that belong entirely to you, and resting through them is part of the point.
Support caesarean and scar recovery
The abdominal wall heals over 6 to 12 months after a caesarean, and dedicated care helps that window go well. MLD over the scar starts only after surgical clearance, usually 4 to 6 weeks post-delivery, with acupuncture and nutrition supporting the deeper healing.
Ease the aches of feeding and carrying
Neck, shoulder, wrist, and upper-back patterns from feeding posture respond well to acupuncture and hands-on work. We treat the pattern and adjust the plan as feeding changes, so comfort keeps pace with what each stage of the postnatal year asks of you.
Settle postnatal swelling
Manual lymphatic drainage clears the fluid retention that can linger beyond the early weeks: particularly useful for persistent ankle and leg swelling, or after pre-eclampsia. The technique is light and rhythmic, and clients describe the treatments as incredibly relaxing.
Rebuild what pregnancy drew on
Postpartum nutrition targets the reserves pregnancy and birth drew down: iron, vitamin D, B12, omega-3, and protein adequacy, which also supports the hair-loss window most women see at 3 to 6 months. Where the picture is unusual, we recommend the right GP testing.
Support the return of your cycle
Periods often return once feeding frequency drops, sometimes 6 to 18 months after delivery, and we support that return as part of the wider plan. We never recommend stopping breastfeeding to drive it, and we flag anything that deserves a GP review.
Why it happens
What causes postpartum recovery?
-
Physical demands of labour and birth, and any operative or instrumental delivery
-
Caesarean section recovery: abdominal-wall and fascial healing over 6 to 12 months
-
Pelvic-floor strain or trauma: affects continence, intimacy, and posture
-
Hormonal cliff after delivery: oestrogen, progesterone, and (with weaning) prolactin all shift
-
Sleep deprivation: sustained over months in some cases
-
Breastfeeding posture and load: neck, shoulder, wrist, and back patterns
-
Nutritional depletion if appetite, hydration, or intake is suboptimal
At your first appointment there is time to be properly heard
Your history, your cycle, your energy, and what matters to you. The first session runs 60 to 90 minutes depending on the service: medical history, current medications, sleep, digestion, energy, mood, and your menstrual cycle where relevant. Pulse and tongue diagnosis follow, and from this we arrive at a TCM working diagnosis you understand.
You leave with a written summary of what was done, why, and the plan for your next session.
Integrative care that treats the cause of your symptoms. Rooted in 2,000 years of Chinese medicine, delivered for modern life, from Marylebone since 2010.
- You see the same practitioner at every visit, so your TCM diagnosis (pulse, tongue, history) carries forward and treatment evolves as the picture shifts.
- Over 20 years of clinical practice across 4 integrative pillars: acupuncture, nutritional therapy, Chinese herbal medicine, and manual lymphatic drainage.
- Rated 4.8 on Google from 68 reviews, at 1 Orchard Street: 3 minutes from Bond Street and Marble Arch tube stations.
- We work alongside conventional medicine: with your consent, treatment notes are shared with your GP, fertility clinic, or surgeon.
Fees and booking
Book by WhatsApp or phone on +44 7455 005 334. We agree a clear plan at your first session and reassess it at every visit, so you always know what your care involves and why.
- First consultations run 60 to 90 minutes depending on the service; follow-ups are 60 to 75 minutes
- Fertility acupuncture from £125 for the initial 90-minute consultation, with follow-ups at £85
- Lymphatic drainage from £130 for 60 minutes, or £160 for 90 minutes
- Programme, herbal, and block fees are confirmed at your first consultation
Your journey
with Body Perfected
Every plan starts with being properly heard. We find what is driving your picture, treat it with the right combination of pillars, and evolve the plan with you as your body responds.
Treatment, tailored to you
Acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, tuina, manual lymphatic drainage, herbal formula: chosen for your TCM diagnosis, not by default. Sessions run 60 to 75 minutes, and you leave each one with a written summary of what was done and why.
We evolve with you
Pulse, tongue, and current symptoms are reassessed at every visit, and the toolkit and herbal formula adjust as the picture shifts. Plans are agreed in 6-week or 12-week blocks, so you always know where you are in the arc.
Care that lasts
As things settle, treatment moves to a maintenance frequency: keeping your cycle, energy, and recovery steady. Where you have a GP, fertility clinic, or surgeon involved, we coordinate with them throughout.
Fertility, acupuncture and lymphatic drainage
- Fertility acupuncture, timed to the phase of your cycle
- IVF, ICSI, IUI, and frozen-transfer support, including the Paulus Protocol
- The 12 Weeks Fertility Reset Protocol
- Traditional acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and tuina
- Chinese herbal medicine
- Nutritional therapy for fertility and women's health
- Manual lymphatic drainage for post-op recovery, lipoedema, and postpartum swelling
- Miscarriage and postpartum recovery care
Treatment approach
How do we treat postpartum recovery?
Post-Op Recovery
From £130For women recovering from caesarean section: the four-pillar post-op protocol (MLD, acupuncture, nutrition, herbs) is well-suited to the abdominal-wall and fascial-healing window.
See treatment detail →Lymphatic Drainage (MLD)
From £130For postnatal swelling and fluid retention beyond the early-postpartum window. Particularly useful for women with persistent ankle/leg swelling or who had pre-eclampsia.
See treatment detail →Acupuncture
Price on enquiryPostpartum acupuncture supports energy, sleep, mood, return-of-cycle, and (under shared care) the physical complaints of breastfeeding life: neck, shoulder, and wrist tension.
See treatment detail →FAQ
Frequently asked
questions
How early after birth can I start treatment?
Acupuncture for sleep, energy, or mood can start once you feel ready: many women come in from week 2 onwards. MLD over a caesarean or perineal repair starts only after surgical clearance, usually 4 to 6 weeks post-delivery and never over an open or infected wound. Anyone with red-flag postnatal symptoms (heavy bleeding, severe headache, leg pain/swelling, severe mood disturbance) should see their GP or the postnatal pathway first.
Is acupuncture safe while breastfeeding?
Acupuncture is generally considered safe while breastfeeding, and the herbal element is adapted to avoid herbs that pass into breast milk in concerning concentrations. We confirm the breastfeeding picture at intake and review the plan at every session if your feeding pattern changes.
What can be done about postpartum hair loss?
Postpartum hair loss (telogen effluvium) is a hormonal phenomenon that resolves over 6 to 12 months in most women. We support it nutritionally: iron, vitamin D, B12, omega-3, protein adequacy, and rule out other causes (postnatal thyroiditis, severe iron deficiency) by recommending appropriate GP testing where the picture is unusual.
My periods have not returned: should I be worried?
Not usually if you are exclusively breastfeeding: periods often return once feeding frequency drops, sometimes 6 to 18 months after delivery. If you are formula-feeding or breastfeeding less and your cycle has not returned by 6 months, that is worth a GP review. We support cycle return as part of the wider postpartum care plan; we never recommend stopping breastfeeding to drive it.
Get Started
Ready to begin?
Book today.
Body Perfected • 1 Orchard Street, London W1H 6HJ
BookAppointments typically available within 1–2 weeks