Before I had my children I was a personal trainer but took a short career break to have them. This is when my personal training career took a turn along the path of helping women before, during and after childbirth.
I became exposed to the difficulties women were facing in adjusting to the demands of parenthood and the changes that had occurred to their bodies.
Friends turned to me as a trainer to help get them back into shape and I soon realised the many considerations there are to navigate, from trying to get baby in an optimal position ready for labour, getting mum stronger and fitter in order to cope with labour, and then the rehabilitation of the post-natal body; weakened pelvic floor, separated abdominals (diastasis recti) and lower and upper back pain to name a few. Getting the right support during this confusing time is critical.
Once I became a mother, after two birth experiences that weren’t what I expected, I realised I wanted to change the narrative surrounding pregnancy, birth and the post-natal period. The cultural expectation that women should just ‘put up’ with things like urinary incontinence and abdominal separation just isn’t acceptable
