Copenhagen will help over 1,000 women with post-birth issues every year

Copenhagen Municipality is now expanding its existing rehabilitation services for women with physical complications after childbirth. The expansion comes just a few months after the service opened in the spring, and the demand has proven to be significant. Therefore, the municipality has decided to allocate an additional 13 million Danish krone to the initiative.

The particularity of the expansion is that it will now be possible for women who gave birth more than a year and a half ago to receive help. Previously, access was limited to women who had given birth within 1.5 years. Once the expansion is fully implemented, the municipality will be able to assist more than 1,000 women per year.

Health and Care Mayor (Sundheds- og omsorgsborgmester) Sisse Marie Welling (SF) emphasizes the need:
-“This service is the first and only of its kind in the country, and already after a few months, we could see that the demand is high – and that there is a large group of women who have simply been left behind in our healthcare system and have not received the help they need.”

The expansion is taking place in several stages. By 2025, there is capacity for 350 treatments, of which 304 are currently underway. With the new allocation, an additional 450 women will be able to receive help in 2026, and a total of 800 treatments could be carried out that year. From 2027 through 2028, the service will be able to accommodate 1,040 women annually. As part of the initiative, funds are also allocated for an analysis of the target group to ensure that the service meets the actual needs.

Sisse Marie Welling says:
-“Now we will investigate how many women are dealing with physical issues years after childbirth and how we can tailor our service to them. For me, this is about more than birth injuries. It’s a confrontation with a healthcare system that has ignored the discomforts and complications that many women face after childbirth for far too long.”

With the budget agreement for 2026, nearly 13 million Danish krone has been allocated over four years for the expansion and development of the post-birth service. This amount is in addition to the nearly 6 million previously allocated. The funds will go towards analysis, development, communication, and the establishment of new examination rooms.

The post-birth service in Copenhagen Municipality is aimed at women with physical issues such as incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic and lower abdominal pain, as well as pain after a caesarean section. Previously, access was limited by a time limit of one and a half years, but in the future, all women – following a gradual phase-in – will be able to seek help. At the rehabilitation center in Vanløse, examinations, treatments, and supervised individual or group-based training are offered.