Every element of the ProPartum service is grounded in peer-reviewed clinical evidence and UK workforce data. The findings below shape our methodology and inform the business case we present to every employer we partner with.
Clinical Evidence
These are not cherry-picked positives. They are the studies that shaped our methodology and that we cite in every employer conversation.
Every study cited here is peer-reviewed, published in an indexed journal, and available on request. We never cite press releases, proprietary data, or unpublished findings as clinical evidence. If a claim cannot be sourced to a named study, it does not appear on this page.
Study 01
Key Finding
of companies measuring the ROI of corporate wellness programmes see positive returns. Wellhub’s 2024 Return on Wellbeing Report surveyed over 2,000 HR directors, managers, VPs and C-level leaders across the US, UK, and seven other countries. It found that 95% of companies measuring wellness ROI see positive returns (up from 90% in 2023), 91% reported healthcare benefit costs decreased as a result of their wellness programme, and 99% said wellness programmes increased productivity.
Wellhub 2024 Return on Wellbeing Report (n = 2,000+ HR leaders across nine countries).The impact of physical activity intervention on perinatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders (peer-reviewed), 2022-2024.
Signals that corporate wellness ROI is now a mainstream, empirically demonstrated concept — not an aspirational claim. Frames ProPartum’s proposition as aligned with what leading employers are already measuring.
Study 02
Key Finding
of UK workers say wellbeing is as important as salary. Employee expectations around wellbeing support have shifted dramatically. Recent research indicates 88% of UK workers now say wellbeing is as important as salary in their employment decisions. Organisations with strong wellbeing programmes gain significant recruitment advantages alongside their retention benefits.
Multiple 2024 UK workforce surveys reported through CIPD and Deloitte channels.
Reframes wellbeing investment as a talent-attraction strategy as much as a retention one. Corporate buyers competing for female talent in professional services will see ProPartum as a differentiator in their employer brand.
Study 03
Key Finding
affects 60% of women at six weeks postpartum and remains present in one-third at 12 months. A widely cited systematic review with meta-analysis published in an American Physical Therapy Association journal established the prevalence of diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) at 60% six weeks postpartum and 32.5% at 12 months. Without appropriate rehabilitation, DRA can persist throughout life, worsening with subsequent pregnancies.
Sperstad et al. and subsequent meta-analyses reported in peer-reviewed physiotherapy literature; confirmed in multiple 2024 systematic reviews (PubMed / PMC).Wellhub 2024 Return on Wellbeing Report (n = 2,000+ HR leaders across nine countries).The impact of physical activity intervention on perinatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders (peer-reviewed), 2022-2024.
This is the single most important clinical statistic on the Evidence page for a corporate buyer. Diastasis recti is not rare, not cosmetic, and not self-resolving. Without expert intervention, more than half of women returning from maternity leave carry a diagnosable condition that affects their physical function at work.
Study 04
Key Finding
significantly improves diastasis recti in postpartum women. A 2025 network meta-analysis of 27 randomised controlled trials involving 1,340 postpartum women confirmed that structured physical therapy interventions significantly reduce inter-recti distance. Isotonic abdominal exercise combined with additional interventions produced the strongest effects.
An evidence-based comparison of rehabilitation strategies for diastasis recti abdominis in postpartum women: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Scientific Reports (Nature), 2025.
This is the direct clinical foundation for the ProPartum methodology. Structured, specialist-supervised corrective exercise is the intervention with the strongest published evidence base for postpartum abdominal wall recovery.
Study 05
Key Finding
of 12 or more weeks lower postpartum depression risk. A systematic review of 35 studies including 5,084 women found that in the general postpartum population, the risk of postpartum depression was significantly lower in the physical activity group when the intervention was sustained for at least 12 weeks at moderate intensity (≥450 metabolic equivalent-minutes per week).
The impact of physical activity intervention on perinatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders (peer-reviewed), 2022-2024.
This finding directly supports the ProPartum programme structure. Our minimum programme length of 12 weeks is not arbitrary — it matches the evidence-based threshold at which measurable mental health benefits are seen.
Study 06
Key Finding
of all women feel confident returning to work after maternity leave. A survey of over 1,000 UK women — 72% at management level or above — found that fewer than one in five (18%) felt happy and confident returning to work after having a baby. More than one third (37%) considered handing in their notice due to feeling unsupported and isolated, and 90% were not offered any formal returner programme by their employer.
MMB Magazine survey, reported by CIPD People Management.
Directly demonstrates the confidence and support gap that ProPartum fills. The buyer’s own employees are almost certainly in this 82% who do not feel confident — and the 90% whose employers offer nothing formal.
Study 07
Key Finding
of UK mothers face barriers returning to work after maternity leave. A 2023 study by the Fawcett Society and Totaljobs surveyed over 4,000 UK working parents (including 3,000 working parents and 500 HR leaders). It found that 84% of mothers report facing obstacles when returning to work, and 30% report receiving no employer support at all during their return.
Fawcett Society and Totaljobs. The Motherhood Penalty at Work, 2023.
The scale of the unmet need is not small or niche. The overwhelming majority of UK mothers face significant barriers, and nearly one in three receive nothing from their employer. This is the market ProPartum addresses.
Study 08
Key Finding
of women in senior positions leave their organisation within 2 years of returning from maternity leave. The 2023 Careers After Babies report analysed the return-to-work journey of UK women in senior positions. Even among the 71% who took less than six months’ maternity leave in an effort to protect their jobs, 57% ended up leaving their organisation within two years. The research also identified a 32% reduction in women in managerial roles after starting a family.
Heagren, J. Careers After Babies Report, 2023.
This is the specific statistic that reframes maternity support from a wellness perk to a retention imperative. Employers are not losing women during maternity leave itself — they are losing them within two years of return. That is the window in which ProPartum’s support is designed to make the biggest difference.
Study 09
Key Finding
of UK women return to and remain in full-time work three years after birth. A UK Government (GOV.UK) analysis of employment pathways found that among women working full-time prior to childbirth, only 44% returned to and remained in full-time work three years after birth, falling to just 31% at five years. Full-time transitions after that point are rare — only 4% of women who returned part-time subsequently moved back into full-time roles.
UK Government. Employment Pathways and Occupational Change After Childbirth, main report published on GOV.UK.
The long-term career impact of unsupported maternity transitions is measurable and significant. For any employer serious about senior female leadership pipelines, structured return-to-work support is not optional.
Study 10
Key Finding
Women who feel valued by managers and colleagues during re-entry report measurably higher work productivity and better work-family balance.
Franzoi et al., Archives of Women’s Mental Health. 2024 systematic literature review. 52 studies included.
Perceived employer support not just physical recovery is itself a measurable driver of performance post-leave. The employer’s visible investment in a returning mother shapes her output on day one back.
Exercise interventions significantly reduce depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, with strongest effects observed during pregnancy itself.
of women have diastasis recti abdominis at six weeks postpartum. One-third still have it at 12 months without intervention.
confirm that structured physical therapy — including corrective exercise — significantly improves postpartum diastasis recti in the immediate postnatal window.
Workforce Economics
The economic case for employer investment in returning mothers is unarguable — and increasingly urgent. UK-specific data from the Office for National Statistics, the CIPD, the Fawcett Society, and independent workforce research all converge on the same conclusion: unsupported maternity transitions are quietly costing UK employers their most valuable people.
average cost of replacing one UK professional employee earning £25,000 or more, including recruitment, cover, and productivity loss.
Oxford Economics, corroborated by CIPD 2024 workforce cost analysis.
of UK mothers report facing significant barriers when returning to work after maternity leave. 30% receive no employer support at all.
Fawcett Society and Totaljobs, The Motherhood Penalty at Work, 2023. Survey of over 4,000 UK working parents.
of women in senior positions leave their organisation within two years of returning from maternity leave — even when they take less than six months’ leave.
Careers After Babies Report, 2023.
only 18% of UK women feel happy and confident about returning to work after maternity leave. 90% are not offered any formal returner programme by their employer.
MMB Magazine survey, reported by CIPD People Management.
Returns
Employers who invest in structured wellbeing support are not making a soft, values-driven choice. They are making a financial decision with one of the strongest evidence bases available in modern HR economics.
average return for every £1 invested in workplace mental health and wellbeing initiatives. Universal programmes return £6.30 per £1.
Deloitte, 2024 analysis of 26 UK studies on workplace mental health investment.
of companies measuring their wellness programme ROI report positive returns — up from 90% the previous year.
Wellhub 2024 Return on Wellbeing Report. Survey of over 2,000 HR leaders across nine countries including the UK.
Regulatory Context
Progressive employers are no longer asking whether to invest in return-to-work support. The regulatory environment has shifted the question. The question now is how to do it well — and how to demonstrate that investment.
The two Acts below represent a material shift in employer obligations and risk exposure around the maternity transition. Understanding them is the first step. Building a policy response is the second.
“The question is no longer whether to invest in return-to-work support. The question is how to do it well.”
Effective April 2024
Extends priority redundancy protection to pregnant employees and those returning from maternity, shared parental, or adoption leave — up to 18 months from the child’s birth. This significantly extends the protected period beyond what most employer policies currently account for.
Employers with outdated redundancy policies now face materially higher legal risk during the return-to-work window.
2025 to 2026
Extends further protections and obligations around parental leave and return-to-work arrangements. The Bill introduces additional rights for flexible working, strengthens protections against dismissal during pregnancy, and increases employer accountability for return-to-work planning.
Forward-looking employers are treating this as an opportunity to build policy frameworks that exceed minimum requirements and convert compliance into employer brand.
Our Methodology
The studies on this page are not cited for credibility. They are the operational foundation of what we build for each employee.
All programmes are designed within ACOG and UK NICE postnatal exercise guidelines. Our specialist is trained to identify contraindications — diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, postural complications — and adjust programming accordingly. The Angliss RCT informs our depression-risk screening at every assessment.
Because the JOSPT meta-analysis links cardiorespiratory fitness to cognitive and work performance, every ProPartum programme measures progress in physical markers — not just subjective wellbeing. The Return-to-Work Readiness Report translates those markers into language HR teams and line managers can use.
The Franzoi finding — that perceived employer support drives productivity more than physical recovery alone — is why ProPartum is built around a named, consistent specialist who the employer has visibly funded. The investment itself is the signal. We help you make that signal impossible to miss.
Next Step
Book a discovery call and we will walk you through exactly how the research above shapes what your employees would experience — and what your HR team would measure.
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