Aleks this is such a lovely piece on turning towards your postpartum body with kindness (even if full acceptance isn’t possible). For me, it was my body’s internal transformation that was most challenging (I have a genetic disorder with heart disease that was massively accelerated by pregnancy). So this need for kindness towards my body takes on another dimension. Love your invitation to stop and look and honour what your body has done for you and your babies ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing a part of your journey here, Ali. Gosh, that's something I haven't really covered, have I? As you said, many times we need to adapt not only to external but also internal changes (upheaval) our bodies went through postnatally, and that definitely poses additional challenges.
Your experience resonates with mine, as hard as the outward changes were, I was more concerned about my epilepsy, that got worse with pregnancy. Having to honor what my body needed afterwards (and still needs ten years later) has been crucial.
Yes, I was forever changed by having my daughter in so many ways, inside and outside, physical and mental. I hear you about needing to honour what your body needs so many years later (she's 11 now).
This is such a beautiful piece of writing... I’m actually lost for words - with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes 🥺 I think I have some work to do here..
This was beautiful! After giving birth to both of my daughters I actually had more appreciation for my body, not less. The fact that my daughters were nurtured inside my body and then grew healthy and strong because of my breast milk was an enormous source of pride. It was only more recently as I gained extra weight that I looked at my body with disgust. Yes, disgust. I was trying on a new bikini and wanted to cry. I said something like, “argh, look at this belly” out loud. My 13 year old daughter was standing beside me and told me off: “your body created me. I was once THERE, in that belly. You have the most beautiful body.” It was a serious reality check. I stopped with the abuse in that instant. Today, at 47 I am much kinder to my body. I am grateful for its strength and everything that it can do. Hope this helps..
Thank you for your kind words, Imola. And you have such a wise daughter! 🩷 This is exactly what I am trying to do (emphasis on 'trying'; it is hard work!): focusing on all the amazing things my body was able to do (pure miracles!), like growing, delivering, and nourishing my babies/toddlers, rather than imperfections.
This was such a kind & emotion provoking piece. There are so many layers to unpacking the changes our body go through during motherhood. I actually "fell out" with my body more because I felt it let me down. I had always seen myself as having a strong body but when natural births didn't happen twice for me I felt my body hadn't done what it needed! I came to peace with that and now am working on loving my body for how she looks now. Thank you.
Thank you very much for sharing your reflections and experiences Kara. Yes, that feeling of 'my body let me down' when we don't have the birth experience we wanted is something that requires gentle work to see things from a different perspective. I'm glad you're working on loving your body again 🩷
Thank you for your kind feedback Violet. It would be lovely to read your piece from a perspective of still-pregnant mum :) I hope your pregnancy is going well for you x
Thank you for writing about such a tender topic! This piece resonates so deeply with me as I’m almost 5 months postpartum with my second. And I’m grateful to say that I’m having a much different relationship with my body this go around.
I had a pretty traumatic birth experience with my first which resulted in Bell’s Palsy and an unexpected c-section. I never felt more disconnected to my body. She felt like a stranger. It took a few years for me to find acceptance. And it was Clarissa Pinkola Este’s book, The Joyous Body, that opened up a path to gratitude, love, nurture and kindness towards my body!
I love the exercise you included and I can’t wait to practice it!
Hi Steph. Thank you for sharing parts of your journey with us. I'm sorry to hear about your birth experiences and the aftermath for you and your baby. At the same time, I'm happy to hear that over the years, your body became less of a stranger and you started befriending her again. Thank you so much for the book recommendation (I'm a book addict!), I will definitely check that out! 🩷
Aleks this is such a lovely piece on turning towards your postpartum body with kindness (even if full acceptance isn’t possible). For me, it was my body’s internal transformation that was most challenging (I have a genetic disorder with heart disease that was massively accelerated by pregnancy). So this need for kindness towards my body takes on another dimension. Love your invitation to stop and look and honour what your body has done for you and your babies ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing a part of your journey here, Ali. Gosh, that's something I haven't really covered, have I? As you said, many times we need to adapt not only to external but also internal changes (upheaval) our bodies went through postnatally, and that definitely poses additional challenges.
Your experience resonates with mine, as hard as the outward changes were, I was more concerned about my epilepsy, that got worse with pregnancy. Having to honor what my body needed afterwards (and still needs ten years later) has been crucial.
Yes, I was forever changed by having my daughter in so many ways, inside and outside, physical and mental. I hear you about needing to honour what your body needs so many years later (she's 11 now).
This is such a beautiful piece of writing... I’m actually lost for words - with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes 🥺 I think I have some work to do here..
Aww thank you so much for your warm and kind feedback Eva ❤️
This was beautiful! After giving birth to both of my daughters I actually had more appreciation for my body, not less. The fact that my daughters were nurtured inside my body and then grew healthy and strong because of my breast milk was an enormous source of pride. It was only more recently as I gained extra weight that I looked at my body with disgust. Yes, disgust. I was trying on a new bikini and wanted to cry. I said something like, “argh, look at this belly” out loud. My 13 year old daughter was standing beside me and told me off: “your body created me. I was once THERE, in that belly. You have the most beautiful body.” It was a serious reality check. I stopped with the abuse in that instant. Today, at 47 I am much kinder to my body. I am grateful for its strength and everything that it can do. Hope this helps..
Thank you for your kind words, Imola. And you have such a wise daughter! 🩷 This is exactly what I am trying to do (emphasis on 'trying'; it is hard work!): focusing on all the amazing things my body was able to do (pure miracles!), like growing, delivering, and nourishing my babies/toddlers, rather than imperfections.
Yes! It’s work in progress. Some days we are kinder to ourselves, some days we forget… compassion!
This was such a kind & emotion provoking piece. There are so many layers to unpacking the changes our body go through during motherhood. I actually "fell out" with my body more because I felt it let me down. I had always seen myself as having a strong body but when natural births didn't happen twice for me I felt my body hadn't done what it needed! I came to peace with that and now am working on loving my body for how she looks now. Thank you.
Thank you very much for sharing your reflections and experiences Kara. Yes, that feeling of 'my body let me down' when we don't have the birth experience we wanted is something that requires gentle work to see things from a different perspective. I'm glad you're working on loving your body again 🩷
I’ve been thinking and writing about this a lot lately! It was lovely to read your thoughts about it 🩵💌 Sending love!
Thank you for your kind feedback Violet. It would be lovely to read your piece from a perspective of still-pregnant mum :) I hope your pregnancy is going well for you x
Such a beautiful reflection ❤️ thank you for including my poem! I’m so glad that it reached you at the right moment in your motherhood journey.
No worries Ashley. Thank YOU for the beautiful poem 🩷
Thank you for writing about such a tender topic! This piece resonates so deeply with me as I’m almost 5 months postpartum with my second. And I’m grateful to say that I’m having a much different relationship with my body this go around.
I had a pretty traumatic birth experience with my first which resulted in Bell’s Palsy and an unexpected c-section. I never felt more disconnected to my body. She felt like a stranger. It took a few years for me to find acceptance. And it was Clarissa Pinkola Este’s book, The Joyous Body, that opened up a path to gratitude, love, nurture and kindness towards my body!
I love the exercise you included and I can’t wait to practice it!
Hi Steph. Thank you for sharing parts of your journey with us. I'm sorry to hear about your birth experiences and the aftermath for you and your baby. At the same time, I'm happy to hear that over the years, your body became less of a stranger and you started befriending her again. Thank you so much for the book recommendation (I'm a book addict!), I will definitely check that out! 🩷
Gosh, the outie belly button gifted to me by my 5-year-old twins appreciates this post. Also, my friend Courtney co-wrote a book called Your Postpartum Body -- it was just released. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/715996/your-postpartum-body-by-ruth-e-macy-pt-dpt-and-courtney-naliboff/