Dr. Sagar Parikh is board certified in Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He’s spent years designing recovery plans for joint replacements, back pain, and neurological rehab—where outcomes depend on structured, sequenced, functional care. Then he became a father.

His perspective on postpartum recovery—both as a doctor and a new parent—shaped how Phia thinks about the body and mind after birth. We sat down to talk about what’s missing in the first 120 days, and why postpartum care would look radically different if we treated it with the same respect we give to knees, backs, and broken bones.

Q: You come from physical medicine and rehab. What was it like seeing postpartum care up close for the first time?

A: It honestly blew my mind. If a patient had a knee replacement, we’d build a 12-week recovery roadmap, with milestones, follow-ups, PT, pain protocols, and functional goals. There’s a whole care plan—because we expect recovery to be gradual and guided.

But my wife gave birth, and suddenly there was… nothing. No structure. No coordinated care. It was like the system said: “Good luck.” The difference was staggering. She had surgical incisions, pelvic trauma, major hormonal shifts, musculoskeletal pain, and sleep deprivation—and yet no one followed up. Not until six weeks, and even then, only if you asked the right questions.

Q: What would postpartum care look like if it followed the principles of rehab medicine?

A: It would be predictable. Phased. Personalized. You’d track healing over time, not just check in once. You’d have proactive follow-up and structured care pathways for common complications—pelvic floor dysfunction, pain, sleep disturbance, feeding issues.

You wouldn’t wait for people to crash to intervene. You’d expect deconditioning. You’d plan for mental strain. You’d offer early PT, mental health check-ins, nutrition guidance, and help with functional goals like lifting, carrying, and rest. We do that for a shoulder. Why not for childbirth?

Q: How did that experience shape your vision for Phia?

A: I saw a massive clinical blind spot. Postpartum recovery isn’t vague—it’s just ignored. The tools exist. The evidence is there. But the system hasn’t adapted. It’s still built for office visits and silos.

Phia is our attempt to design a recovery model that respects the complexity of this period. We built it like a functional care plan: blood pressure surveillance, symptom monitoring, live visits, asynchronous follow-up, risk alerts. We treat mental health, pain, lactation, and rehab as part of a single continuum.

The entire idea is that recovery isn’t a one-off—it’s a system.

Q: You’re not an OB. Why does your specialty matter here?

A: Because postpartum recovery isn’t just OB. It’s physical, neurological, psychological, and musculoskeletal. That’s rehab. That’s my lane.

Pain and function don’t live in silos. If you can’t sit, sleep, feed your baby, or control your mood, your whole system breaks down. A pelvic floor issue becomes a pain issue becomes a mental health issue. That’s how real-world recovery works. It’s interconnected.

So we brought that systems thinking into how Phia delivers care: integrated, continuous, responsive. Not just specialist referrals and hope.

Q: What do you think most parents don’t hear enough in those early weeks?

A: That it’s okay to not bounce back. That pain is common but shouldn’t be dismissed. That you deserve a recovery plan. That you’re not lazy, weak, or broken—you’re healing from one of the most complex physical events a body can go through.

And you shouldn’t have to chase that care yourself. It should come to you. Just like we would do after any other procedure.

Q: What happens after the 120-day window? What’s still needed?

A: A lot. The early stage is about stability—bleeding, BP, depression, feeding. But then comes rebuilding. Your identity, your strength, your relationships.

This is when PT becomes more important. When long-term mood patterns emerge. When babies hit developmental delays. When parents return to work and things start falling apart quietly.

Phia doesn’t walk away at day 121. We continue support through mental health, pelvic floor therapy, diet, pediatric referrals. Because real recovery lasts longer—and it deserves a structure.

Final note from the team:

Dr. Parikh’s insight helped shape Phia’s core design: treat postpartum recovery like the complex, multi-system healing process it is. When we stop winging it—and start structuring it—outcomes improve, lives stabilize, and the whole family moves forward stronger.