Written by: Jen Landry, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
For so many women it can be hard to navigate back into the world after having a baby, but it can be even more difficult to navigate into a world with new physical, mental, and emotional demands. All of this is without the right information and lack of proper support.
Just reading how little support and proper information women have can make a person angry, especially the mom involved. Imagine being a woman with a full-time job, trying to keep a house in order, and maintaining a wonderful partnership. That is hard for anyone. Now, take another look. This busy, successful woman just had a baby that is one hundred percent reliant on her for life and happiness. It is no easy feat. Pregnancy and Labor/Birth will change a woman’s body drastically. There is shifting, stretching, opening, and compression all happening at once to make room. These changes can create leaking when you cough or sneeze. It can create hip or back pain and it will cause a diastasis recti that might need help to become functional again. For any one person, that is an incredible load to bear. The mental load of work, house, relationship, and the new baby’s needs paired with the physical changes and struggles can be incredibly maddening. It is time to change the narrative. It is time to use that anger to drive change and success again. Society tells women all the time that they should return to the look they had pre-baby, that they should fit into all their old clothing, and that the world as they knew it shouldn’t change an ounce. However, reality disagrees. Moms can never look the way they did before, even if their old clothes still fit because they are not the way they used to be. For a mom, everything changes after having a baby. Both men and women need to start showing more gratitude for the roles we play and for the things female bodies are capable of. We need to be more supportive and create more of a support system for women. Women should feel free to take time off work, ask for help, and not feel pressured to do it all. The best thing we can do for new moms is change. But how? Start with one small step at a time. The best first step is going to be teaching both men and women just how much change (physically) a women’s body goes through and the challenges skeletally as well as muscularly it can cause. Then maybe we can appreciate it a little bit more.
Education is key. If more people understood what causes leaking, what causes pain, and what causes a diastasis recti, then maybe more people would understand why women need more rest, recovery, and help in the first few weeks and months postpartum.
Then understanding that it is going to take more than 6 weeks to fully recover and be ready for everything life has to offer again. Six weeks isn’t this magic number for all women, and for some, it could be much much longer.
All moms should be seeing an OBGYN as well as a pelvic floor PT and a corrective exercise specialist during those first 6 weeks and beyond. Dads and men should be included in the education and understanding of just what a female body goes through so that maybe, just maybe, the right changes can be made.
Let’s stop being angry at the lack of support, knowledge, and load. Instead, let’s start making changes, educating ourselves and others, and start finding light!
Jen Landry, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jen Landry is a leader in functional fitness. She specializes in pregnant, postpartum, and everyday women. As a mother of two little girls and two pregnancies that left Jen feeling weak, broken, and in need of answers, she discovered the Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Certification. Obtaining this certification changed the way Jen looked at pregnancy and postpartum fitness as well as female health in general. It ignited a fire to help as many women as possible, so they could avoid what Jen experienced. She is the CEO and Owner of Moms Fit Life. Her Mission: Teach Moms they can trust their bodies again and rock mom life with confidence!
