Journeying through Pregnancy, Labour, Birth & Post Partum brings immeasurable growth & change. This process of ongoing transformation affects women’s mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Recognising and feeling comfortable with your changed & changing body can be a big adjustment for many women. Particularly so if you have a history of struggling with your body image or perhaps have never seen your body change so much.

On top of this challenge, women are dealing with significant exhaustion, sleep deprivation, fluctuating hormonal changes, pressure internally and externally and the day to day caregiving responsibilities. Add to the mix, a woman’s own individual past history with a myriad of experiences.

It’s no wonder, post partum body acceptance can become an overwhelming consideration. The culture we exist within seldom honours or respects the post partum body so this journey can go under-ground within a woman’s psyche & become a silent struggle of shame & upset.

My body changed significantly through pregnancy. Prior to pregnancy I felt pretty familiar with my body. I knew what to expect from it, I knew my size for ease of buying clothes, I knew my sense of style and how I liked to Samba in a way that suited my frame.

As I became pregnant my body began to rapidly change before my eyes. It was both awe-inspiring and some weeks, completely overwhelming. I absolutely loved the appearance of my giant baby bump as it brought a new experience & fun clothing choices to my day. But that happiness simultaneously existed alongside crying one morning when I woke up overnight and had formed deep crimson red stretch marks across my hips. One of many instances where I was overwhelmed by the sudden & rapid change in my body.

That’s motherhood 101. All feelings existing at once. Truth encompassing the elation we can feel with our bodies and the worry.
By the time I had given birth, I was absolutely exhausted from the 28 extra kilos I was carrying and what had gotten me through mentally was the thought that post baby I would return somewhat to a body that I recognised & felt comfortable in.

8.5 almost 9 months later and I can certainly say this wasn’t the case at all. For days & weeks, my tummy was huge, deflated, saggy and squishy. Any post partum woman knows how weird your tummy area feels.

My body had indescribable aches and pains, plus the recovery of an urgent c-section post long and painful labour. Then the discovery of significant foot injuries that I had sustained from pregnancy hormones like relaxin.

8.5-9 months later my body has shifted again.
My squishy, saggy, tummy has become more hard but still protrudes like my pregnant belly did. My arms, chest, legs, every aspect of my body really has changed.

These changes are important to realise as perfectly valid reasons for not feeling connected to yourself. How familiar we feel with our bodies has the potential to affect our daily life.

From having comfortable clothes that fit us each morning as we reach for something to throw on while the baby wants to be on our hip - to knowing what size we now are when we have a moment to put through an online shopping order for new clothes that we need - to understanding how our body wants to be moved at this stage of the process.

Place on top of that, your own template examples of what a changed post partum body looks like alongside a long scrolling dose of daily social media imagery.

Women and Mothers have a very difficult discourse to navigate in the process of reconnecting to their bodies post partum.

I am still very much in the process of my own journey in body reconnection so I share this piece more in solidarity and in recognition of the silent experience that almost all mothers are moving through.

Here are some bits & pieces that have helped me:

Completely abandon your expectations and your template of what a post partum body looks like INCLUDING your family members so you can exist at peace with YOUR bodies process.
Your body is having it’s own experience. Just like pregnancy, labour and birth. Your body is nature, we are witnessing ourselves moving through the process of transformation. There is no right or wrong, there is no sense of beautiful or not beautiful, in nature - it just is.
Listen To The Beyond The Bump Podcast Episode 231 with a Fashion Stylist Liz Brown from Rattle Style
This episode was SO healing to listen to other women share their struggles with adjusting to their new bodies AND come out of the episode with some tools on how to approach dressing & styling my new and changing body!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-do-i-find-my-style-again-as-a-mum-with-stylist-liv-brown/id1484930949?i=1000651109295
Take some time daily to appreciate/marvel at how your baby interacts with your body and your children
While I’m feeding my baby she grabs onto my back rolls and my side rolls, and places her hands on my tummy. I can feel how comforted she feels on my body and I’m thankful that I have all of this extra cushion for her to nestle into.
Make time for any experience that gives you the space to connect with you body.
Whether it’s attending a breathwork or meditation event, a women’s circle, a gentle yoga class or dance class. Devoting your time and energy to sitting in a space that has a focused intention of connecting to your body, adds to your inner resources.
Find Inspiration Through Samba
Stepping onto the beach in Rio, you will find people of all shapes and sizes, all skin colours and diverse backgrounds. It’s such a beautiful thing to see so much variation and a real beauty in the way people are just enjoying themselves. Observing Samba in Brazil and how AMAZING everyone looks. You will see a huge variety of different body types, ages, sexual orientation and ethnic backgrounds dancing Samba. Let this be inspiration to watch more Samba and to introduce yourself to how beautiful the body is in all shapes & sizes.

“I am willing to see myself through renewed eyes and to see my Beauty”

Aloha,
Em

Reconnecting To Your Body Post Partum

Connecting to the Ground