Want the wider picture?
Simple words that keep you connected and out of coaching mode.
See Parent Play StylePostpartum Return to Playing Football With Your Child: A Gentle Way Back
Parent Play Style
You can keep the five minutes going without any of the running.
A postpartum return to playing football with your child can start as gentle, seated or standing passing, with no running, twisting or shooting. The NHS says that after a straightforward birth you can start gentle exercise as soon as you feel up to it (NHS). Anything high impact, such as running, waits for advice, and the NHS suggests raising it at your 6-week postnatal check. After a caesarean or a more complicated birth, talk to your midwife, health visitor or GP before anything strenuous. This is general information, not medical advice, and you never need to hurry back.
When my partner was recovering, I was the one in charge of the garden. I kept setting up a full kickabout because it was what we always did, until I noticed the best part of the five minutes was never the running.
Timing, as the NHS states it
Getting Back to Garden Football After Having a Baby: What the NHS Says
The NHS says that after a straightforward birth you can start gentle exercise as soon as you feel up to it, and gives walking, gentle stretches and pelvic floor exercises as its own examples. After a caesarean or a more complicated delivery, recovery takes longer, so have a word with your midwife, health visitor or GP before anything strenuous. For high-impact exercise such as aerobics or running, get advice at your 6-week postnatal check before you start. Read the NHS advice on keeping fit with a baby.
The postnatal check happens at around 6 to 8 weeks and is a good time to raise any physical problem, and you can ask a GP or health visitor for help at any time. Read the NHS page on your post-pregnancy body. The UK Chief Medical Officers add that after that check, depending on how you feel, more intense activities can gradually resume, building over at least 3 months. Read the UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines.
Nothing on this page is a start date. The NHS ties a return to how you feel, how your birth went and what your GP, midwife or health visitor says, and points to the 6-week postnatal check for advice before anything high impact. If you are unsure, ask first.
Twisting is first out of the game because the NHS says ligaments and joints are more supple for a few months after birth, so there is an increased risk of injury if you stretch or twist too much. Read the NHS advice on keeping fit with a baby. This is general advice for everyone after a birth. It is not football-specific, and it is not a check on your own recovery.
A ladder with gates, not a timetable
How to Gradually Return to Playing Football With Your Child Postpartum
A gentle football play ladder after childbirth has four rungs, plus a fifth row that lists what is not on the ladder yet. A rung is something you may play, not something you must reach, and staying on a rung is a perfectly good answer.
| Rung | The game | Check first | Leave out for now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rung 1: Manager's chair | You sit and run the game. Pick the target, count the passes, call the winner. | Nothing strenuous is involved, but after a caesarean or complicated birth mention it to your midwife, health visitor or GP if you are unsure. | All kicking. |
| Rung 2: Seated roll | Sit on a chair or step and roll a soft ball back and forth along the ground, close together. | You feel up to gentle activity after a straightforward birth. If not, ask first. | Stretching or twisting for a ball that has rolled wide. |
| Rung 3: Standing push-pass | Stand still a few steps apart, push the ball gently, and stop it with your foot or let it stop. | You are standing comfortably and none of the signs in the stop list below are showing. Mention anything that bothers you to your GP or health visitor. | Twisting, lunging, chasing a loose ball and close shots. |
| Rung 4: Slow walking pass | Walk at an ordinary pace and pass in straight lines. | Walking is comfortable. Ask at the 6-week check whether you are ready for more. | Sharp turns and hurrying. |
| Not on the ladder yet | Shooting, jogging, sprinting, quick changes of direction and tackling. | The NHS says to get advice at your 6-week check before high-impact exercise such as running. The Chief Medical Officers say more intense activity can resume gradually after the 6 to 8 week check, depending on how you feel, over at least 3 months. Agree the next step with your GP, midwife or health visitor first. | All of it, for now. |
If a game on any rung feels too easy or too hard for your child, the four dials guide shows how to move it without stopping.
Stay in the game without running in it
Playing Sport With Kids After a Birth: The Manager Role
I used to think a grown-up who could not run was out of the game, and it took me too long to see that a manager is in the game all the time. Playing sport with kids after a birth works best when the recovering grown-up has a real job.
"Shall we make you the manager today? You pick the game and the rules, and we'll do the running."
- 1
Pick the chair. Choose a sturdy chair or step with a clear view of the garden. The other grown-up sets it up before the game, with the ball and any targets within easy reach.
- 2
Give the manager three jobs. Choose the target, count the passes and call the winner. These are real jobs and not pretend ones.
- 3
Let your child run the ball. Your child fetches, sets targets and tells you the score, so the five minutes keeps its shape.
- 4
Keep the baby out of the ball's path. Whoever is minding the baby keeps them well away from the game, and the ball stays soft and low.
A manager does not need to know the rules, as the guide for a grown-up who does not know football explains. If you are the other grown-up, you can take the running for the day, and a gentle "Shall we swap jobs for a bit?" gives the manager a way to take a break whenever they need one.
Read this once, save it for later
Signs to Stop and Tell Someone: What the NHS Lists
The NHS says to tell your midwife, health visitor or GP straight away if you get any of these. Read the NHS list of symptoms to report after birth.
- Pain, swelling or redness in the calf muscle of one leg. Redness can be harder to see on brown and black skin.
- Pain in your chest or difficulty breathing.
- Sudden or very heavy blood loss from your vagina, possibly feeling faint, with a rapid heartbeat.
- A high temperature with a sore and tender tummy.
- A headache, changes in your vision or vomiting.
The NHS also says to ask a GP or health visitor for help at any time if a physical problem is bothering you. Read the NHS page on your post-pregnancy body.
- A leaky bladder.
- A heavy feeling between your vagina and anus.
- Back pain.
If you get chest pain, difficulty breathing, or sudden or very heavy blood loss, stop the game and call 999. For any other sign in the first list, stop the game and ring your midwife, health visitor or GP straight away, and call 111 if you cannot reach them. For anything in the second list, ask a GP or health visitor for help at any time. Nothing in a five-minute kickabout is worth ignoring it for. This is a list of signs the NHS names, not a full list of everything that can go wrong.
The evidence, kept honest
What Is Known and What Is Not
The UK Chief Medical Officers' guidance says that after the 6 to 8 week postnatal check, depending on how you feel, more intense activity can gradually resume over at least 3 months. Read the UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines. It is guidance for women generally, not an assessment of your recovery, and it says nothing about football.
A published FIFA decision aid for footballers returning after childbirth was validated with 32 respondents from 12 countries: 97 percent approved the decision aid and 100 percent approved its seven-stage training framework and communication form. Read the FIFA decision aid for football after childbirth. That is a small group testing a tool for players and clubs. The authors note limited evidence specific to postpartum football players, so it shows that a staged return exists rather than what is safe in one garden kickabout.
A narrative review on return to play after childbirth in footballers concludes that return should be individualised and progressive, with shared decision-making. Read a narrative review on postpartum return to football. It is about footballers, not about a child at home.
No study found measured a gentle garden kickabout with a child after a birth, so the ladder above borrows from NHS and Chief Medical Officers' wording and leaves the rest to your own clinician.
Quick answers
Common Questions About Football After a Birth
How do I gradually return to playing football with my child postpartum?
Start with the manager's chair, the first rung of the ladder, then move to a seated roll and standing push-passes when you feel up to it after a straightforward birth. After a caesarean or complicated birth, or if you are unsure, ask your GP, midwife or health visitor first, and ask at your 6-week check before moving past standing push-passes. The NHS says to get advice at your 6-week postnatal check before high-impact exercise.
When can I start gentle football play after childbirth?
The NHS says that after a straightforward birth you can start gentle exercise as soon as you feel up to it, and after a caesarean or complicated birth to talk to your midwife, health visitor or GP before anything strenuous.
What should I avoid when playing sport with kids after having a baby?
Running, shooting, twisting, lunging and quick changes of direction are on the check-first list. The NHS says ligaments and joints are more supple for a few months after birth, so stretching or twisting carries a higher risk of injury. Read the NHS advice on keeping fit with a baby.
Can I still be part of the game if I cannot run?
Yes. Take the manager's chair: pick the game, count the passes and call the winner while your child and the other grown-up do the running.
Who do I ask if something hurts or feels wrong?
Your GP, midwife or health visitor. The NHS says to tell them straight away about the symptoms in the stop list, and to ask a GP or health visitor for help at any time if a physical problem is bothering you. For chest pain, difficulty breathing or sudden or very heavy blood loss, call 999.
Keep going
Where to Go From Here
Three places to go next, depending on where you are.
Expecting rather than recovered?
Three swaps that keep the habit going during pregnancy.
See the pregnancy guideGame too hard or too easy today?
Four dials to make a game easier or harder without stopping.
See the four dialsTonight's five minutes
Take the manager's chair tonight.
Sit down, pick the game and let your child do the running. Five minutes still counts.