Pregnancy changed everything for me. 

I was already a Pelvic Physiotherapist when I became pregnant with my son. I knew all the muscles in the pelvic floor. The best positions for birthing. How to push effectively. I thought I would have the healthiest and most natural birth possible. 

Never did I expect to have an urgent C-section at 34 weeks—when preeclampsia was shutting down my liver and kidneys. Nor did I expect almost anything else that followed…

• C-section scar ruptured internally (while my premie baby was still in the NICU), but the nurse dismissed it as  

            just the normal return of my cycle.

• I had postpartum depression that wasn’t diagnosed for an entire year (but it was probably a good clue when I

                asked my mother if I could “send him back” when my son was just 8 weeks old). 

•  When I became pregnant a second time, I prepped with hypnobirthing, a doula, acupuncture, the works…only

             to end up with a second C-section.

•  This time the C-section was a last resort after compromised blood flow to the baby followed by 43 hours of

                unsuccessful induction with pitocin.

•  I ended up pulling out my own stitches from both of my C-section scars—because the doctors didn’t believe me      

                 when I said the scars weren’t closing. They wouldn’t even look. 

•   I experienced Prolapse. Leakage. Painful Sex. You name it.   

To top it all off, breastfeeding was impossible. So I pumped for a combined total of 31 months between both of my kids. 

Why am I telling this story? 

It’s not to get sympathy. 

It’s because I am now able to jump on a trampoline, run after my kids, be intimate with my husband, and do everything I want to do—without pain or leakage. 

And the key to getting back my life after all that my body went through? It was seeking help. I sought help from doctors, counsellors, and (even though I’m a pelvic PT myself) pelvic physiotherapy.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from my own experience was that our system is designed to meet immediate and life-threatening issues—but not much beyond that. 

• Women feel dismissed. 

• We are told everything is fine. 

• We’re not educated on what is normal. 
  

• We are never taught how to care for our own pelvic health. 

After experiencing the birthing system for myself, I knew that I needed to dig in and do everything within my power to support other women through the transitions of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. 

So, I pursued extensive training in prenatal and postpartum conditions such as diastasis recti (abdominal separation), pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, pelvic pain, hip pain, back pain, and disorders affecting the bladder and rectum. I am one of a select few physiotherapists in Canada to receive advanced training in labour support as a “Physio Doula” so that I can use musculoskeletal knowledge and biomechanics to help support faster and smoother birth and recovery.

Seeing other women recover their sense of self and feel amazing in their bodies—even after having babies—is what lights me up. It makes me want to celebrate every time. 

I hope I’ll be celebrating with you soon.