Why Tom has been thinking about pregnancy & babies so much lately…
Why Tom Has Been Thinking About Pregnancy & Babies So Much Lately…
Okay so this is round 3 of Tom writing long form content and there is something on my mind all the time at the moment… BABIES AND PREGNANCY.
My sister (who lives in the UK) recently had her first baby, Caitlin our lovely receptionist finished up at work on Thursday (hello maternity leave) and my wife Danielle, is 25 weeks pregnant. Not only this, but so many pregnant mums and postpartum mums have been visiting us in the clinic for care. It’s been really exciting and it feels like babies and pregnancy are everywhere at the moment! I’ve always loved kids and little bubbys, so it’s something that brings me a lot of joy. More recently I’ve started to get a lot of joy seeing first time Mums and Dads going through the magical time.
Funnily enough as well, I spoke to my Grandma a few weeks ago (Granny is 94 years old and firing on all cylinders) about how pregnancy was back in her day. She would miss that time of the month, get symptoms, get a bigger belly and then go into labour. She didn’t have any appointments throughout her five pregnancies – she didn’t even see her GP! How times have changed hey.
I think it’s amazing the education that exists for women around pregnancy, post-partum care, safe return to exercise and all things in between. It must of felt very isolating and there would have been so many unanswered questions! Although, I think the popularity of social media/MumTok has added a loooooot of pressure parents and parental figures so I guess we need to find a balance moving forward, right?
… Oh I semi-glossed over the fact that Danielle is pregnant! I am an open book with our fertility struggles and having done IVF three times, had our two beautiful girls (and thinking .. we were happy with two kids) you can imagine the shock when we found out we were having another baby! It has honestly been so special to experience this together without the immense pressure that came with IVF and what Danielle went through .. no words.
People have asked me so many times in the clinic why they think after 7 years of trying we got pregnant out of nowhere. The answer is … I. HAVE. NO. IDEA. I don’t think anyone does. It’s just one of those miraculous things that can happen and I’m going to claim that being sober for so long played a major part (haha). For those who don’t know I stopped drinking almost 3 years ago and its by far one of the best things I’ve ever done for my mental and physical health, and maybe just maybe – this is the ultimate positive that came from it?
Danielle has been struggling with a lot of hip pain during this pregnancy. This links back to Granny – imagine experiencing pain during your pregnancy and literally having no one to go and see about it. It’s hard to fathom in this day and age. I think all women should see a womens health physio if they are trying for kids, are pregnant, and are post-partum. This is not to add added pressure onto women – it’s an empowering process you can embark on because it’s centred on you. While womens health physio for pregnancy can be to treat particular problems, so often it’s preventive. Preventative care by its very nature is empowering and when a big focused is on exercise care, what a combination!
We are really proud to offer womens health physio at Next-Gen Physio and also proud of Kelsey and how bloody good she is. Reach out if you have any questions (I’ll probably pass them onto Kels – lets be honest) or comments.
Im still enjoying writing these and people re still reading them! How good.
