By Sucheta Pal : Women’s Health Speaker
Chief Mom Officer, Mom.Bod.Strong
Ministry WCD Awardee
A 2015 study compared labor to be as taxing on the body( if not more) as running a marathon. While a woman’s body endures the most physically challenging activity known to humankind during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, we as a society are instead bombarding her with “lose weight to fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans” narratives.
So it is time to know what superhuman changes happen within our body (not just on the outside) to change the bounce-back narrative forever:
- Did you know that as women, abdominal muscles stretch 115% during pregnancy and pelvic floor muscles by 250% during labor?
- Our body produces more estrogen during pregnancy than during our entire lifetime.
- And our heart is working at 40% more than resting state capacity by 2 nd trimester and our uterus is the size of a watermelon from a pear by the 3 rd trimester.
The way I looked at my body completely changed after knowing these. I hope it changed for you too. Pure respect for women in motherhood!
And that is just a few of the hundreds of changes a woman undergoes while creating, growing, and birthing a mini-universe.
So now that you know, let’s first do something you should have done long before. Close your eyes, put your palm gently on the belly, breathe, and say THANKYOU.
How do you feel? Does the “bounce back post-baby” societal pressure matter anymore?
All that matters now is, healing the body from the inside out. Preserving it, Thriving in it.
So before you fall prey to the 10-day lose your belly fat challenges, it is time to build strong body foundations.
As a women’s health coach specializing in pre-postnatal here is how I train my clients from my 6-week Postpartum fitness program Mom.Bod.Strong
- Focus on learning foundation postpartum breathwork to reconnect with your pelvic floor & deep abdominals most affected during pregnancy.
- Work on Core Rehab and Posture correction for pain-free motherhood
- And then begin functional strength training with progressive overload for an active real life or gym life.
Weight loss or the reduction in belly bulge is a side effect.
Note: Always begin after you get the green signal from your doctor if a new mom
Society does not care if you have an unhealed Diastasis Recti resulting in a slip disc/umbilical hernia after 5 years post delivery.
The society does not care that you leak every time you sneeze, laugh, or do a jumping jack.
Society does not care if you feel back pain or pelvic bulge every time you lift your toddler in your arms or do a burpee.
So it is time to say “bye-bye bounce back culture“ and rethink how we want to show up for ourselves and our little ones in motherhood Working out not just for appearance but for performance.
Preparing for the hardest role in life. A mother!
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