Leaking, Pelvic Pain, and "That's Just Mom Life"? Why You Deserve Better
Hey mama! Have you ever been told that leaking when you sneeze, painful intercourse, or that heavy feeling "down there" is just part of being a mom? Today I'm chatting with Dr. Victoria Adeeb, a pelvic floor therapist who's here to tell us the truth: you deserve so much better than just managing dysfunction. This conversation will challenge everything you've been told about "normal" postpartum life and remind you that caring for your body isn't selfish—it's sacred kingdom work.
🎧 Listen to the Episode
The Truth About Your Pelvic Floor (It's Not Just About Kegels!)
When Victoria and I started talking about the pelvic floor, I realized how many misconceptions are floating around on social media. The pelvic floor isn't some mysterious, complicated system—it's simply a group of muscles at the bottom of your pelvis that supports your bladder, uterus, and rectum.
But here's what shocked me: these muscles affect so much more than we realize. Victoria explained how pelvic floor dysfunction can show up as:
Tailbone or pubic bone pain
Constipation
Frequent UTIs
Poor breathing patterns
Difficulty moving around (like getting up from low chairs during pregnancy)
"A lot of times the advice we've been given is just 'do your kegels,'" Victoria shared. "For some people, that actually might be making their problems worse."
This hit home for me because I remember those early days with Daniel, lifting him out of the bassinet and feeling like something was just off. Once I started engaging my core properly before lifting, the difference was night and day.
Why "That's Just Mom Life" is a Lie You Don't Have to Believe
One of the most powerful parts of our conversation was when Victoria talked about how we've normalized dysfunction. You know those commercials where a new mom laughs and leaks, and the solution is just... wear pads? That's a band-aid approach that doesn't address the real issue.
"Women deserve better than that," Victoria said, and I couldn't agree more. "Better than to just put on a pad and say 'That's a part of being a mom. Congratulations,' because that's not true."
During pregnancy, you don't have to just "get through it" either. You can start healing your pelvic floor right now. You don't have to wait until after baby arrives to address pain, discomfort, or other symptoms.
Motherhood as Kingdom Work: A Perspective That Changes Everything
The heart of our conversation centered around something Victoria shared that just took my breath away: motherhood is kingdom work. This isn't just about changing diapers and managing schedules—this is about daily obedience to God's calling on our lives.
Victoria beautifully explained how being 35 weeks pregnant has taught her about surrender: "I feel that I have really had to surrender control in this last trimester of what I'm going to accomplish in a day, and trust and accept the fact that God has my plan in his hands."
We're not here to put on a performance of having the perfect sleep schedule or feeding routine. We're called to show up, be present, and love our children exactly as God made them.
Self-Care Isn't Selfish (It's About Making Your Cup Bigger)
Can we talk about mom guilt for a minute? I shared how I used to feel guilty about something as simple as getting my nails done, and Victoria's response was so freeing.
"It's about presence over performance," she explained. "And it's very hard to be present if you're trying to pour from an empty cup."
The goal isn't to eliminate self-care guilt by convincing ourselves we "deserve" it—it's about understanding that taking care of ourselves makes our cup bigger. When we're physically and emotionally well, we have more capacity to love our families, serve the Lord, and be present for what matters most.
Victoria shared a beautiful example of one of her clients whose goal was simply to walk to the end of her street without feeling winded. After working together, this mama could keep up with her three active kids and no longer had to say no to playing outside because she couldn't physically manage it.
Being a mom is an active job. We're chasing kids, lifting them constantly, and our bodies need to be able to function well to do this work joyfully.
What Your Body is Telling You (And Why You Should Listen)
One thing that struck me about Victoria's approach is how she emphasizes body awareness. Pregnancy and motherhood have taught her to listen to her body's cues about when to slow down, when to rest, and when to adapt her daily plans.
"Sometimes you need to slow down and your body is telling you to slow down, and it's hard to listen to that," she shared. But this awareness is exactly what we need to develop during pregnancy and postpartum.
If you're experiencing pain when lifting your baby, heaviness or pressure, positional discomfort during intercourse, or any of the other symptoms we discussed, your body is asking for help. The first step is always awareness—acknowledging that something isn't right instead of just pushing through.
Hope for Early Postpartum: Victoria's Gentle Approach
I'm so excited about Victoria's upcoming early postpartum program for weeks 0-6! What I love most is her emphasis on grace and flexibility. If you need to rest, rest. If you start the program and need to take a week off, that's okay—you're not falling behind.
"Even Jesus took time away from his followers to rest and be with the Lord and pray and reflect," Victoria reminded us. Sometimes in postpartum, that's exactly what our bodies and souls need most.
The program will include video resources, PDF guides, and follow-along exercises, but the heart of it is listening to your body and giving yourself permission to heal at your own pace.
📖 Scripture for Your Heart
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord." – Colossians 3:23
This verse completely reframes how we approach motherhood, doesn't it? When we see caring for our children—and ourselves—as sacred work, everything changes.
🙏 A Prayer for Your Birth Journey
Jesus, thank You for the incredible way You designed our bodies to carry, birth, and nurture life. Help us see that caring for these bodies isn't vanity or selfishness—it's stewardship of the vessel You've given us to do Your kingdom work. Give us wisdom to know when to rest and when to seek help. Remind us that we don't have to suffer in silence or accept dysfunction as "just part of motherhood." You have called us to abundant life, and that includes physical wholeness and strength. Help us pour from full cups so we can love our families and serve You with joy. In Jesus' name, Amen.
📎Resources & Links Mentioned
✨ Better Body Rehab - $50 discount on first visit when you mention this episode
✝️ The Jesus Storybook Bible - Add this incredible book to your registry
📚 Christian Mama Birth Prep Library - Free birth prep tools, worship playlist & more
💕 Work with Me 1:1 – Virtual Doula Support & Christian Childbirth Education
📣 Let’s Stay Connected
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Meet Your Host —
🔗 More You Might Love
📄 Full Episode Transcript
Natalie: Welcome back to the podcast. I'm so glad you're here with us today. Today I am thrilled to introduce you to someone really special, Dr. Victoria Adeeb. Victoria is a pelvic floor therapist and the founder of Better Body Rehab in Jacksonville Beach. She specializes in women's health and has such a heart for helping mamas feel confident in their bodies before, during, and after pregnancy. She's not only an incredible professional, but she's also a soon-to-be mama herself, and she brings such a unique blend of clinical wisdom, personal experience, and deep faith to the work that she does. Today we're talking about something that I believe every mom needs to hear—that motherhood is kingdom work. We're going to unpack how caring for your physical and spiritual health isn't selfish but sacred. I just know this conversation is going to leave you feeling seen, refreshed, and reminded that you too are worthy of care. Victoria, thank you so much for being here today.
Victoria: Natalie, thanks so much for having me. I'm so excited to talk about my personal experience with pregnancy, as well as drop some clinical knowledge for everyone.
Natalie: Yes, I love it. So let's dive right in. What is the pelvic floor and what are some signs of dysfunction? So many women don't even realize what their pelvic floor is, so give us the deep dive on that.
Victoria: Yeah, so I'm here to help demystify the pelvic floor. A lot of times it gets overcomplicated by social media and by our other providers, but really the pelvic floor is just a group of muscles that sits on the bottom of your pelvis. It helps support all of your pelvic organs, including your bladder, your uterus, and your rectum.
It also plays a huge role in core control and movement, and can also affect things like tailbone pain, pubic bone pain, constipation, leakage, and all of these other common pelvic floor complaints that we hear. It can even be attributed to frequent UTIs and poor breathing patterns. So even things that sometimes we don't realize are connected to our pelvic floor can really be stemming from a pelvic floor issue.
They can be both weak or overactive, and a lot of times the advice that we've been given is just "do your kegels." For some people, that actually might be making their problems worse. So I really love demystifying the pelvic floor for people and helping them know: How do I know if I need strength or lengthening? How do I know if I'm even doing a kegel properly? How do I know if I'm using my core properly? And that's really what you learn by coming into a session with me, either in person or virtually, is just kind of learning more about your body and how to use it.
Natalie: Yeah, it's so true. I even do a pelvic health assessment form with all of my new clients so that they can just get a sense of what is normal and what is a sign of dysfunction for the pelvic floor. I like to use it as a gauge for whether or not I need to really be informing them of pelvic floor therapists in the area because it is one of those things that, because it's common, people normalize dysfunction. And you'll even see the commercials where it's like a new mom holding her baby and she laughs or sneezes and she pees herself, and the commercial is to just wear some pads. And that is absolutely a band-aid approach, but that is not actually addressing the issue. Women deserve better than that—better than to just put on a pad and say "That's a part of being a mom. Congratulations," because that's not true.
Victoria: Absolutely, and I'm constantly advocating for my clients in that way and letting them know that you may hear that from a provider, unfortunately. You may hear that from an OB or a midwife that this is normal, and especially during pregnancy, a lot of people think that the cure for your pregnancy symptom is to just give birth. Your pain will go away after the baby comes. Your leakage will go away after the baby comes. Intercourse will get better after the baby comes. But pregnancy is not a time for us to just kind of get through it. You can really be thriving and feeling happy and healthy during pregnancy. Of course everyone has a different pregnancy experience, but you can absolutely start healing your pelvic floor during pregnancy. You do not have to wait until afterwards.
Some signs of dysfunction that people do tend to kind of brush off are those really common ones, like leakage or pelvic pain with intercourse. Especially, I hear a lot of "Oh yeah, well I've always had pain with intercourse" or "You know, I'm pregnant, so I don't expect intercourse to be enjoyable right now," when really that's your pelvic floor asking for help.
Some other kind of sneaky ones that people don't realize are related to the pelvic floor—it can be tailbone pain, pubic bone pain, constipation, or even difficulty moving around. So say, for example, you're pregnant and you're having a really hard time getting up out of a low chair. Part of that is because you're heavier and your center of gravity has now moved. Part of it is because you're not properly using your core and your pelvic floor, so you're just having a harder time moving. You don't have to just succumb to the pregnancy waddle. You can definitely address some of those things during pregnancy and have a much healthier and more painless pregnancy.
Natalie: Yeah, I love that you're giving that encouragement that although you might be experiencing things, you're not stuck in that and that there's hope for women—that there's a better outcome. And then something I actually am just curious about, because a lot of women do complain of pain during intercourse, but is it possible that at different times of your cycle or different times in general you can have pain or in different positions? And what's the gauge of normal? I get that question a lot, and because that's not my specialty, I don't really know how to respond to that. But what would you say to a mom who's like, "I don't have pain all the time, but just kind of intermittent, or it just seems like at different times in my cycle or just positional"?
Victoria: So I would say if their pain is positional, it's absolutely a pelvic floor issue. It can be either a tight pelvic floor, an overactive pelvic floor, or it can be pelvic organ prolapse that can cause positional discomfort with intercourse. And a lot of times women will kind of not really bring it up because they're like, "Well, I know what positions work for me and I know what don't work for me."
There's two different approaches. There's a compensatory approach, which is when we compensate for what we have. So a compensatory approach would be, "Hey, avoid this position and do this position because that's a compensation that works for you." The corrective approach is, "Well, why does this position not work for you? And let's now address what is causing that." So positional discomfort is absolutely a pelvic floor-related issue. There's typically not gonna be something that's not pelvic floor related unless there's—every once in a while I've met a mom who's had maybe a laceration or a stitch or something that's more of an obstetric issue instead of a pelvic floor issue—but 99% of the time, positional discomfort has to do with your pelvic floor.
As far as different times in your cycle and different times postpartum, our hormonal fluctuations can absolutely affect our ability to enjoy intercourse. They affect our cervical mucus and our cervical discharge, so it can affect your lubrication. I would say if you're having pain at certain times in your cycle, A) make sure you're using lubrication—no shame in it. We should all be using it. And B) if it is consistent or if you're postpartum, you're breastfeeding and you're noticing dryness, tissue changes down there, talk to your provider about potentially an estrogen supplement. There's oral and topical estrogens that can be used to help with our natural lubrication and just our tissue's ability to tolerate friction and intercourse. But yeah, both hormonal and positional discomfort can be treated by pelvic floor therapy.
Natalie: That's so cool. Yeah, I didn't know that. That's really fascinating. So now that you are a soon-to-be mama, have you noticed a lot of changes in your own body, and how has that informed the way that you're caring for mamas now that you're going through it yourself?
Victoria: Yes, there have been a lot of changes. You know, this is my first pregnancy, and it's been just really beautiful being able to walk alongside these moms through this phase of life. I'm 35 weeks pregnant now, so I'm definitely through the majority of it and have had all of the ups and downs that pregnancy can bring. And it's really just humbled me and allowed me to walk in their shoes. And prior to this, I've always told moms, you know, not speaking from my personal experience, but speaking from the experience of hundreds of women who I've gotten to help. And now I can say, speaking from my personal experience, and I think it just connects you in this sisterhood of being a mom. We've all walked through that together.
But it's really deepened my respect for what women's bodies can endure, what women's bodies can do during pregnancy, and also has deepened my respect for my body's ability to cue me in to what I need. And I think what we need to work on during pregnancy and postpartum is that awareness—to take your body's cues when you're receiving them. A lot of times it's difficult mentally to adapt to the changes that your body is going through. Sometimes you need to slow down and your body is telling you to slow down, and it's hard to listen to that. But I would say starting with awareness and acknowledging those types of cues and then adapting and adjusting what my day-to-day might look like has been very humbling, but has also really helped me relate to a lot of my clients and where they're coming from.
Natalie: It really is a totally different thing once you have actually gone through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. You really do join this group of women where I imagine it's like you go to war all together, and it just brings you closer together because you've all been through that struggle together. Not to say that all of it is a struggle and everyone struggles with it in the same way or something like that, but it is really sweet to experience it for yourself. Especially that first time where it's like, "Wow, how have so many other women done this and done this multiple times?" I remember when I was pregnant with Ellie the first time and just thinking, "How have they done this?" because I had a ton of pelvic pain—really, really bad pelvic pain—and it just hurt to exist. And so I was like, "How do people do this?"
So you shared in the intake form that you feel like motherhood is kingdom work, and I love that so much. Will you unpack that—what that means to you and how you've seen God working that out in your heart and your mind, especially as you're in this season of soon-to-be motherhood?
Victoria: Yes, oh my goodness. I feel like there are so many layers to that that have just—these layers have really been unfolding and coming to me through prayer during this entire pregnancy. Most recently, what I feel that motherhood being kingdom work means to me has been surrender. And you hear this a lot during labor. You hear this a lot during birth. I'm not there yet, have not gone through that yet. But even in this last trimester, like I said earlier, of just accepting your body's cues to slow down—I feel that I have really had to surrender control in this last trimester of what I'm going to accomplish in a day, and trust and accept the fact that God has my plan in his hands and that he's gonna get it all done.
I know that these last couple weeks for a lot of moms can feel very nerve-wracking. It can feel kind of frantic—"I need to get everything done before the baby gets here." The fact of the matter is, when your baby arrives, as long as you have a car seat to put them in to bring them home, you're gonna be fine. And that's what I've been accepting in these last couple weeks.
But the other thing that's really been present for me has also been just this daily obedience. And really listening to not only my body, but what my family needs from me. So when you have a baby, their schedule is very up and down. When you have a toddler, their schedule is very up and down, and we're not here to put on a performance of "Look at me and this awesome, amazing sleep schedule I have my baby on" or "Look at me and this awesome, amazing feeding schedule that I have my baby on." It's more about just being obedient, showing up, being present for your baby, and listening to their cues. And God put them together perfectly and made them exactly how he intended to make them. And so for us to try to change that—I feel that that's not being obedient to God's calling for us as mothers. I believe that his calling for us is to just love and accept this baby exactly how he made them and to show up and be present for them and really do it with all of your heart.
And in Colossians 3:23, it says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord." And sometimes as moms we're called to do it all—be the working mom, be the stay-at-home mom, be the great wife, be the great friend, and the hostess and the entertainer. But God blessed us with this child, so that needs to be something that you do with all your heart. And we do have to balance a lot of different things, but doing it with a heart for the Lord, I think really helps guide us and helps us know when do we need to step back? When do we need to say yes? When do we need to say no? And just surrendering to his plan for that.
Natalie: That is absolute wisdom, Victoria. It's spot on because we can become the mom we want to be—whatever label you said: the stay-at-home mom, the working mom, the whatever mom. Those labels that we put on ourselves are second-class at best to being the faithful mom that is serving our children as unto the Lord. And it takes a lot of intention to do that because you get really caught up in the day-to-day, the constant list of things, and it's all mental. Like, "Okay, now we just did breakfast and now we gotta get this, and now we gotta do that." It becomes really easy to forget why you're doing all those things.
I actually love when I get to read to Ellie before her bedtime—before nap and before bed at night—and we read the Jesus Storybook Bible, which if you've never heard of the Jesus Storybook Bible, please get that or put that on your registry. It is phenomenal and it gives us an opportunity to just refocus. At least for me, it helps me refocus on what I'm doing as a mom, and that is to disciple my children. And then we pray. And one thing that I've been praying over her every time I pray for her is I first thank the Lord for her. And I say, "Thank you Lord for Ellie Grace, and thank you that she is so beautiful and smart and kind and funny." And I just list all of these beautiful attributes about my daughter. And she gets to hear it. She gets to hear me delighting in her.
But yeah, so then for me, that's my refocus. I get that regrouping two times a day where I get to remember why I am doing all the things that I'm doing. And I'm praying for her salvation and I'm praying for her to know the Lord and all these things because that's the end goal to all of this. It's not to look back and think, "I got my kid to sleep perfectly today and that's what made us have a good day" or "We didn't have any tantrums today, so that's what made it a good day" or "We didn't have this happen, or we did have this happen." And I think we have to remind ourselves constantly of that because we do get lost. We lose the forest through the trees kind of thing. And so thank you for just that wisdom and just praying that the Lord keeps that close to mind for you as you walk through this new season of motherhood, and every moment you're caring for your child, which again is the Lord's work.
But you know, it can also swing to the other side of the pendulum where it becomes completely neglecting yourself and completely thinking that you only exist for taking care of your child and your husband and making time for friends and doing all the things. And again, those are wonderful things that the Lord has given you. But I myself personally, and I know a lot of other women, can swing to the other side, and we do not take care of ourselves and we feel guilty when we do. I shared on one of the podcast episodes for the mental health stuff where if I went to go get my nails done or something, I felt so guilty about that, and I'm like, "Why is it that I feel this way?" And I don't think—of course we can be self-indulgent in all the things, but I don't think doing little things for yourself like that is in and of itself selfish. Can you speak a little bit to that because I know you're passionate about that, of allowing women to understand that self-care isn't being selfish?
Victoria: Yeah, well, I think you touched on it—what you were just saying about praying each day, twice a day, recentering your heart on the Lord and not fixating on "Oh, well, we didn't have any tantrums today, so that's what made it a good day." It's about presence over performance, and it's very hard to be present if you're trying to pour from an empty cup and if you are just stressed out and at your wit's end and your nervous system is not regulated and you're just feeling fried. It's gonna be very hard to show up and be present.
And for a lot of us who are believers, sometimes our time with the Lord is one of the first things to fall to the wayside. Also, our care for ourselves is definitely one of the first things that falls to the wayside. And really what we're trying to do is make your cup bigger. So we're trying to make it to where you have more capacity to be able to care for your family, to be able to care for your little ones, and to be able to be present with the Lord and be present with the people who matter most to you. And if you're not taking care of yourself, that cup is gonna get smaller and smaller, and you are just not going to have the bandwidth or the tolerance to be able to show up in the way that you want to and in the way that you are needed.
And I hear so many moms feeling guilty for taking time for themselves, but then they also feel guilty when they snap at their children or when they snap at their husband. Or they feel guilty 'cause they're feeling disconnected from their husband 'cause they haven't had a date night in a long time. And these are all things that can be resolved through self-care. However, we need to get past that initial mom guilt that so many of us feel. But it looks different for everyone.
And that's where I try to make sure that everyone has options to be able to get taken care of. So when it comes to coming in to see me at Better Body, I make it as easy and accessible as possible. I've got times from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM and everywhere in between to make sure that works with your schedule. You can come in in person. A lot of people feel bad about leaving their kids, but they also at the end of the hour tell me, "This is the one hour that I've gotten a break and I've gotten to actually focus on this and I've gotten to actually be able to get something out of this." I do also offer telehealth for people who just can't get away from the house or really feel bad 'cause their little one doesn't have a schedule, and so they don't know if they're gonna be able to leave, if they're gonna be in an awake window, if they're gonna have to feed. So adding those options for people makes it as accessible as possible that way—okay, you've made the first step. You've initiated and said, "I want to come in for this care." Now let me make sure that I'm making myself fully available and holding space for you in whatever way you end up needing it in that moment.
But I think it's just really, really practical. And for some people, self-care can look like rest. And I'm coming out with an early postpartum program that's gonna be an online program for moms week zero to six. But the huge thing that I'm emphasizing at the beginning of this program is: if this is something you want to do, do it. If you need to lay in bed and rest, do it. And don't feel like you're falling behind because you didn't start your postpartum pelvic floor rehab immediately, day one in the hospital. It's not for everybody. And sometimes rest can be just as fulfilling and can be just as important as getting in to see a provider and getting that care started.
But yeah, it really does come from a place of being able to hold space for your loved ones. And you can't if you're not taking care of yourself. The other thing too is being able to keep up. As moms, especially when we have active kids, we wanna keep up and we wanna be there with them, and we want to live long, healthy lives with them. So you start talking about the toddler phase and the elementary school age and things like that. These kids are going to jump in parks, they have their sporting events, you're on your feet all day with them, you're chasing them, running around. Being a mom is an active job. You have to be able to keep up, and if you're not keeping yourself physically well and healthy, it can be very difficult to keep up.
I had a mom—her goal was to be able to walk to the end of her street and back without feeling winded. This mom had not exercised in 10 years and was very overweight. She was leaking at everything. She would sneeze, she would leak; she would laugh, she would leak. And although the leakage was technically the symptom that brought her in, it was really her longevity that was her bigger goal in being able to keep up with her children. And so we got her on a program and she did phenomenal. And she has taken that program above and beyond, and she's now lost a bunch of weight and she feels really, really great. And she's able to go on long walks with her kids, and she's got three kids and they're very active. So she's feeling like she can keep up with them better now, and so she's more present and she doesn't have to say no to her kids wanting to go play outside because she can't keep up. So there's the mental, emotional side of it, and then there's also just physically being able to do the things that you want to do.
Natalie: I remember a time when Daniel was a newborn—like days or a couple weeks old, something very, very new. And I had a vaginal delivery and definitely in those first couple days and weeks, your pelvic floor feels like "What in the world just happened to me?" And I remember because I'm trained in the Body Ready Method and so I have some of that pelvic floor knowledge, every time I would lift him up out of the bassinet in our room to nurse him in the night or whatever, especially in the night, I would have so much pain when I would lift him up. Just my pelvic floor, my core, all that just felt off. And I was like, "Natalie, you need to breathe out and engage the core, make sure everything is nice and engaged, and then pick him up." And then as soon as I did that, my back pain, my pelvic floor, my core, all that felt so supported. And every time I lifted him out of the bassinet, it was a world of difference. So even something as simple as just remembering to engage your core before you do some sort of lifting or whatever, even if it's your infant, it just goes a long way.
And I can imagine where women are just like, "Oh, well this is just the way it is. It just hurts when you lift up your baby or whatever." If you're a mom, like you're saying, you're chasing your kids around, you're picking them up, you're putting them on the potty, you're putting them in the crib. Although they're not crazy feats of strength, all throughout the day, the constant need for your body to be functioning properly—and again, we deserve it, but that is just us functioning. And so yeah, to have the opportunity to do a program like what you're describing in those very, very early postpartum weeks, that is incredible that you're doing that. And can you give a little bit more detail about that? Is that a program that you're gonna be running constantly or is it just self-paced, like you can purchase the program? 'Cause I know so many women probably are interested in taking something like that.
Victoria: Yes, so I'm really excited to release this program. Essentially, what I envision doing is going through the program myself when I'm zero to six weeks postpartum, talking about it and going through it in real time on social media so that people can see what all it entails. And then at the end of my six weeks, once I've completed the program, releasing that, and it's gonna be a self-paced program that you can purchase anytime. It's just an online course with video resources, it's gonna have PDF guides, follow-along videos for doing the exercises and things like that. That way it's a no-brainer because the reality is when you get home, you're active, you're doing stuff right away. And I try to encourage my moms: spend the first five days resting. Do not try to do too much, but you have two kids. And you know how it is, especially when you bring home that second one, your older one needs you. And you can't just not do anything. However, we do need to find that happy balance.
Even if you purchase that program, if you start doing things and things don't feel right and you're having pain, first step is awareness. Be aware that something is not right. If you are experiencing pain or you are experiencing heaviness or pressure, or you are experiencing excess bleeding, be aware and ask a provider if this is appropriate. This early phase is so important to know: Am I doing too much? Am I not doing enough? And that's the difficult part for most people.
The other thing that's really important, even if you purchase this program and you're really excited to get back to it and you wanna start connecting to your core again, it's a gentle program. It's early postpartum. But if you need the rest, rest. And even Jesus took time away from his followers to rest and be with the Lord and pray and reflect. And sometimes in postpartum it's really hard to do that. Your baby needs you and your husband is doing everything he can and your toddler needs you. But if you need the rest and you need to set that boundary, and you need to call in reinforcement—you need to call and ask for help, have a friend help, have your partner help—and take the rest when you need it. And even if you've started this program and you're on week two, if you need to rest for a week, pick back up on week three. It's okay, you're not falling behind. And just again, listen to those body cues. It starts with awareness. And then don't be afraid to seek out resources from there, whether it's calling a provider to ask your questions, whether it's an online resource like one of these programs, or even just a resource in your community and in your support system, and asking for that help there too.
Natalie: Definitely. And what I hear you saying is it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. And really that's my heart as a doula because so many moms have an expectation about what their pregnancy will be like, what their birth should be like, what the postpartum phase might be like, and just grace for yourself in that and understanding that things are probably not gonna go exactly the way that you expect them to. And that's to be expected. Like, expect the unexpected. And when things are not the way your sister did it, or your best friend had it, or whatever, that those things are okay. And even for me, pregnancy to pregnancy, the postpartum times from Ellie to Daniel were very different for me because I had Ellie to take care of in addition to Daniel when he was born. And so all of those challenges were different for me.
But yeah, I totally agree. I mean, obviously I am in this birth space, but especially like what you're saying in the postpartum time, to just have grace for yourself. If you need that rest, give yourself rest. And I generally will say in the first five days you wanna just be in bed, but that doesn't mean you can't be doing things to help your pelvic floor. And then the next five days you wanna be around the bed and then the next five days around the house. So you're slowly easing into your activity because your body not only went through just this physical feat, and so giving yourself grace and knowing that everything is in a season.
If we were to use a farming analogy, crops don't grow every single day. And we see our bodies as a factory sometimes where we think, "Oh, well I was able to do this yesterday so I should be able to do this now." And that's really toxic. Especially when we're trying to keep up with other women that seemingly look like they're doing all the things. Which that's obviously a whole other issue, but yeah, I just love your heart and your approach to this and just the ways that you're serving women. If there's anyone that wants to connect with you, possibly even work with you, and they have questions about their pelvic floor or seeking pelvic floor therapy, how can they get in contact with you?
Victoria: Yes, so I just first wanted to say that I work with all sorts of different women from all sorts of different backgrounds with all sorts of different symptoms, who have all sorts of different birth stories, and even a lot of women who haven't had children. So it's really important to realize that there is a place for you at Better Body Rehab. And if you're not sure if there's a place for you, I would love to just talk with you and just connect. And if there's a different provider who's a better fit for you, I'm happy to send you their way. So if you're unsure at all, if you think you might have a pelvic floor issue, the best way to get in contact with me is via my website, betterbodyrehab.com. There's an online inquiry form, or you can request a virtual discovery call, and that would be hosted by either myself or my other staff therapist, Carly. We both just love hearing women's stories and empowering them to receive the resources and the help that they need.
So if you do decide to schedule a discovery call, just let me know that you heard about me through this podcast episode, and I'd love to extend a $50 discount for your first visit. Or even if you just call and schedule, just mention that you heard me on the Faith Over Fear Podcast and I'd love to get you a discount on that first visit.
Natalie: I love it so much. Well, thank you so much, Victoria, for your time and your wisdom. This was such an incredible conversation, and I know it's going to bless so many other women.
Victoria: Thank you so much, Natalie.
