From the moment of conception you transition into the world of motherhood. This is an unknown world until you experience first hand the feelings of conception, carrying your baby through each trimester, birth, and those magical moments of finally meeting your baby. In many of these time frames we try to anticipate what the next step might entail for our body and mind and one thing I have realized as both a mother and Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist is that as mothers, we have all come from amazing women who we identify as our own mothers! Our own relationships with our moms, whether it be biological or adoptive, shape our actions and coping mechanisms on our own motherhood journey. There are times we need this woman in our lives to help guide us through this major life transition and understanding how their own experience can impact yours is powerful.
I am a Physiotherapist who has a passion for treating pelvic health concerns. During appointments I find it crucial to ask my female patients about their own mother’s birth, gynecological, and menopausal history as I know the important role it can play in my clients health and how this history can give us a look into what may be expected in future months. My own experience is part of the reason I feel drawn to connecting the dots between mother’s and daughters and the Perinatal period. For myself, I had a very supportive partner and didn’t really want my mom around as much. My mother was not often open about her health history and my only knowledge was she had Cesareans, my sister was a big baby, and my mom carried too much fluid. My mom blamed those situations for her abdominal muscles looking and feeling different not understanding other factors that may contribute to that outcome. All I knew as her daughter was her stomach muscles “looked different” and it wasn’t until I became a Physiotherapist when I acknowledged her diagnosis as Diastasis Recti. Where I feel this has the biggest impact is following my own deliveries of healthy sized babies and regular fluid levels, I too experienced Diastasis Recti. This allowed me to see the genetic connection between us because although our pregnancy and birth stories differed, we shared a common situation.
I am now moving into Perimenopause (anytime after age 35!) and see the value in learning more about my mother’s own experience including her age when she first started experiencing symptoms, which symptoms she experienced, what helped, when menopause occurred, and more. I understand that her own experience may be a blueprint for my own. Unfortunately, when having my babies I did not need her as much and now that I want to connect her health makes it difficult to do so. I wanted to share this story with you to encourage you to reach out to your own mothers and discuss your “shared” health experience. Some amazing questions to discuss include:
How did you deliver your babies?
How many pregnancies did you experience?
Any tearing vaginally?
Any feelings of heaviness or prolapse after your babies?
Any leaks (urines, feces, gas)?
How your periods were before and after babies.
How long did it take for her to feel strong and healthy after the birth of her babies?
These are questions I may ask you during a consultation to help me get a better picture of your own health. Many of these questions are closely related between first degree relatives showing how heritable conditions may be. I hope that when you come into Adventure Physio for your own maternal health (I highly recommend this to every woman), you can share with me your own mother’s journey as well as your own.
Tori Smith, Physiotherapist & Mom
Adventure Physiotherapy
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