Rebuilding Trust With Your Body After Birth
Listen to the Podcast Episode Below
Rebuilding Trust With Your Body After Birth
Feeling Like a Stranger in Your Postpartum Body?
If your postpartum recovery has left you feeling defeated, this one is for you, mama.
Maybe you had a traumatic birth, an unplanned C-section, postpartum complications, or diastasis recti. Maybe you just look down at your body some days and don't recognize it. Not necessarily the way it looks, but also the way it feels. Wobbly. Weak. Unpredictable. Foreign.
One of my clients recently sent me a message that stopped me in my tracks:
"I feel so much stronger since starting, and it gives me HOPE that I can fully recover from another future pregnancy."
I love that she's feeling hopeful. But what she's really building goes so much deeper than hope. She's learning to trust her body, and herself, to recover. And in this week's episode of the podcast, I'm breaking down exactly what that process looks like.
When It Felt Like My Body Failed Me
I've had to rebuild trust with my body after each of my three C-section deliveries. But my first birth was the most life-altering, and it's the one I share in this episode.
After about 30 hours of labor, my induction failed to progress. My baby's heart rate started to rise, I developed an infection, and things were not going well. Before I knew it, I was being whisked away to the OR for an unplanned C-section.
The moment they told me my induction had failed, one thought took over: my body failed me. I had trained for this. I was a fitness professional. Why was this happening?
In the days, weeks, and months that followed, my body felt like it never had before:
My core felt empty, like mush.
I didn't feel stable standing in the shower on a slippery floor.
My pelvic floor just wouldn't fire.
If any of that sounds familiar, I want you to know you're not broken, and you're not alone. C-section recovery is a real recovery from major surgery, and feeling disconnected from your body afterward is more common than anyone talks about.
Rebuilding Trust Is a Process, Not a Finish Line
Here's what I've learned, both from my own recoveries and from years of coaching postpartum moms: rebuilding trust with your body after birth doesn't come from the end result.
It doesn't come from fitting back into your jeans. It doesn't come from a number on the scale or a "before and after" photo.
It comes from the process. From being willing to start over as almost a complete beginner, then gradually layering in more over time. For many moms, that means reconnecting with their deep core and pelvic floor, relearning how to breathe and brace, and building strength from the ground up before jumping back into intense workouts.
That process can feel slow. But every step of it is teaching your body, and your brain, that you are capable of recovering.
Small Wins and Consistent (Not Perfect) Action
Trust gets built in the small moments, and those moments are easy to miss if you're only looking at the big picture. Small wins look like:
Getting up off the floor without support or pain
Holding a plank without doming or coning through your abs
Feeling steady and confident carrying your baby up the stairs
These wins don't just show up on their own. They come from proving to yourself, again and again, that you'll show up and be a problem solver for your body.
Take the client I mentioned earlier. She works out 2 to 4 times per week for about 30 minutes. Some weeks are better than others (she has a one-year-old, after all). But she has committed to showing up for herself for the past 12 months. That's not perfect action. That's steady, consistent action, and it's exactly what builds lasting strength and confidence after baby.
So the trust starts with committing to small actions. Let those actions compound into wins. And soon enough, you won't even recognize where you started.
Listen to the Full Episode
In the full episode, I go deeper into my first C-section recovery, what those early months really felt like, and how I started rebuilding trust with my body one small step at a time. If you're navigating C-section recovery, diastasis recti, or just feeling stuck in your postpartum recovery, I think you'll walk away feeling a lot less alone and a lot more hopeful.
🎧 Listen Below or on Apple or Spotify
Not Sure Where to Start?
If you're reading this and thinking, that's me, I'd love to help you take that first small step. Book a free Rebuild Clarity Call. In 30 minutes, we'll talk through where you are right now, what's been holding you back, and you'll walk away with a clear starting point.
You don't need a perfect plan. You just need to show up.
Want More?
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Listen to the Full Episode:
I’m Nicole, Pre/Postnatal Fitness Coach and founder of Strong Mama Wellness. I take the confusion out of exercising in pregnancy and postpartum and help women strengthen their body for pregnancy, delivery, and recovery. You deserve to have a thriving, healthy pregnancy and postpartum journey!
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