Healthy Mumma

The last post for this week on low back pain will hopefully help guide you to feel better and recognize what should be part of your rehab or prevention game plan!⁣
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✔️ If you’re looking to rehab current back pain, you should be working with someone who can help guide you according to your needs and goals. ⁣
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Prevention can be this easy. It really can! The most difficult part is being mindful of your body positions during your day. Watching the volume of flexion/bending/slouching especially with those prolonged sitting periods is 🔑. ⁣
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I hope this has been informative and helpful! Let me know if you try any of these tips or exercises!⁣
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#healthymumma #healthyspines⁣
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At least EIGHTY percent of us will experience lower back pain at some point. With that first episode typically occurring between age 30-50. And episodes tend to get worse and worse. 😬⁣
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But enough bad news! The good news is that most lower back pain can be PREVENTED with education and exercise.⁣
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I’ve always said that everyone should receive a spine prevention guide on their 25th birthday! 😆 We’d be a lot better off and likely save our government billions! Someday our governments will care more about prevention. Someday!⁣
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This week I’ll be on here with all kinds of lower back pain info, tips and tricks. Let’s start with some simple spine anatomy!⁣
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👉🏻 SWIPE your way to a healthier spine! And stay tuned this week. 💗⁣
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#healthymumma #fixyoself #lowbackpain #movementismedicine #adoseofprevention

HM SHOP 📣⁣
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Did you know HealthyMumma has a shop?!⁣
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I opened it when the pandemic started so the patients I was seeing (virtually) had a place to easily shop for great bands and balls and rollers and other things they needed to workout and take care of their body at home. ⁣
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It’s essentially all of my favourite body tools for workouts, as well as tools for pregnancy, and postpartum life. And some home life essentials too 😉⁣
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🇨🇦 All of the products are available via Well.ca, which is reason no. 1 why you should shop the HM Shop. Supporting Canadian companies (they are based in Guelph, ON) and buying local is the best thing you can do right now as a consumer. When you buy through the HM Shop you also support me and my small business as these are affiliate links.⁣
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With gyms now closed again, go grab yo self some bands (ON SALE!!) and balls to keep your body healthy over the next month! Go! ⁣
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👆🏻Link in bio!⁣
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#HMShoppe #supportlocal #shoplocal #shopcanada #bodytools

☝🏻 Think I’m visible enough? 😆 Goal: across the lake swim before the summer is done. Someday goal: swim the length of the lake. ⁣
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✌🏼OUT for a few weeks! I’m unplugging from SM for a few weeks to savour the end of summer with the fam (except you should stay tuned for details about the return of my PRENATAL WORKSHOP!) ⁣
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🤟🏽 May the force be with you in your decisions about the fall. Let’s remember that there is no one right decision here, only the one that is right for your family. #bekind⁣
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✋🏾 Sweat hard 5x a week. You can do it. 💪🏻 ⁣
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#healthymumma #peaceout

HOW DO YOU FIX #DIASTASIS? ⁣
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This is the biggest Q of them all mummas. ⁣
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Remember this:⁣
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✅ Let’s not call linea alba stretching during pregnancy and the fourth trimester diastasis. Let’s call this normal and necessary. 👏🏽 ⁣
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✅ Most stretched postpartum linea albas heal up on their own. 👏🏽 ⁣
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✅ PERSISTENT diastasis PP should be confirmed by a manual therapist. And a plan that looks at your WHOLE body should be established with YOUR goals in mind (for aesthetic and/or function).⁣
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✅ Work hard.⁣
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✅ Load more than you think.⁣
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✅ And be patient. ⁣
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👉🏼👉🏽👉🏿 SWIPE to read my 5 rules for working your way towards your belly goals.⁣
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#healthymumma #postpartum #diastasis #diastasisawareness ⁣
#postpartumbodylove #workhardtrainhard
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@ Ottawa, Ontario

A BIT of BAD NEWS 🧐⁣
As #diastasis research evolves one thing becomes more clear: preventing it is not really in your hands.⁣
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SWIPE👉🏼👉🏽👉🏿 to read more.⁣
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The good news is that not all women get it with pregnancy (although some studies will tell you all do, while others do not and I have certainly seen many women that do not) AND the majority of women who do have spontaneous “healing” in the first year postpartum, meaning their linea alba resumes normal width.⁣
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And for those that don’t, well there is A LOT you can do. But more on that tomorrow!⁣
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Tomorrow is all about helping to guide your healing of diastasis. ⁣
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#healthymumma #diastasis #diastasisrecti #diastasisawareness #postpartum
@ Ottawa, Ontario

Let’s talk about DOMING and #diastasis 📣⁣
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I hear this in clinic and in my prenatal class all the time:⁣
“I stopped doing ______ exercise because my belly domed”⁣
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Doming (in your belly during an exercise or a task) has gotten a really bad rap in the last few years. The thing is, there isn’t any great evidence to suggest it is BAD. There isn’t evidence to say that doming along your midline will cause diastasis.⁣
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So let’s talk about doming, what to look for and where it might be an issue.⁣
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SWIPE 👉🏼👉🏽👉🏿 to read more on doming. ⁣
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I’ll talk about managing doming tomorrow!⁣
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#healthymumma #diastasis #⁣Diastasisrecti #diastasisrectirepair #diastasisrectiexercises #postpartum @ Ottawa, Ontario

THE GAP is on deck for today’s Diastasis Recti Abdominis chit chat.⁣
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👉🏼👉🏽👉🏿 Swipe to read. ⁣
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And drop a Q in the comments or DM if you need more deets on this topic. ⁣
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#healthymumma #diastasisrectiawareness
#diastasisawareness #dispelthemyths #fitmom #postpartum #diastasis
#evidencebasedpractice @ Ottawa, Ontario

Diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) awareness month is coming to an end. There are still a lot of myths and fear mongering when it comes to DRA, so EVERY DAY THIS WEEK I’ll be sharing some facts (to dispel the fiction) about DRA and where our current understanding of it all is.⁣
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I’ve listened to wonderful interviews on the latest research and clinical opinions and practices over the last month on DRA from @physiodetective, @absolute.physio and @munirahudanipt. Much thanks to Tracy @pelvicguru1 for continuing to provide these webinars to the GPHAM members! Things are constantly evolving and I am thankful to have this network of folks to keep me current and evidence-based. ⁣
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Today’s #diastasis topic is pretty well recognized, but it’s a good one to start with and will lead the rest of the week’s topics. ⁣
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Swipe to read more. And drop a QUESTION in the comments or DM if you have one! ⁣
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And STAY TUNED tomorrow for more on Diastasis. 🖤⁣
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#healthymumma #diastasisawareness #diastasis #womenshealth #osteopathy #postpartum @ Ottawa, Ontario

Today and 4 months ago 👉🏻 I remember our last swing and park play on March 25th. I took the kids to the park in the morning, posted a photo in my stories and a friend in the GTA sent me a message asking if we were ALLOWED. 😦 What do you mean allowed?!? Things had already started shutting down, but our quiet little neighbourhood PARK?! C’mon!It was either that afternoon or the next day Ottawa shut ‘em down. I cried. Not for the parks being striped from our kids, but for the uncertainty that dominated that time. Remember those feelings? Every day something was being taken away from our normal. And while there is more certainty in our lives these days, and we are so grateful to be back in our parks and experiencing “normal” activities, I am keeping those feelings from March close. Let’s not forget where we’ve been and where so many countries are falling back to. We need to work. We need kids in school. We need our health. We need to not rewind. #washyourhands #wearyourmask #saturdaymood

IT’S COMING mummas!! 🥳 The province is (likely! probably! totally!) going to announce the reopening of our PARKS later today, which means PARK WORKOUTS! ☺️⁣
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Here’s a post from last year about how I put a workout together at the parks. And little Isla! 🥰😭⁣
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P A R K P L A N 📝 ⁣
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Park workouts are a fly by the seat of your pants kinda deal. Depending on the age of your wee ones, don’t go into it with a set routine.⁣
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I’ve done enough of them over the years to know what works. Here are my tips for a efficient park workout. ⁣
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🔑 Get your ❤️ rate up FiRST - do this and you’ll be more inclined to keep going!⁣
▪️Step-ups (swipe ➡️)⁣
▪️Toe taps ➡️⁣
▪️Mountain climbers ➡️⁣
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🔑 Alternate between an upper body exercise, a lower body exercise and a cardio exercise. ⁣
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🔑 Forget about counting reps! Just keep moving until you fatigue or your babe moves on to something new.🙅🏼‍♀️⁣
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At the swings try:⁣
▪️squats or squat jacks⁣
▪️reverse lunges⁣
▪️jack knifes (feet on swing)⁣
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At stairs with railings try:⁣
▪️knee ups (swipe ➡️).⁣
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At a step or bench try:⁣
▪️pushups (swipe ➡️)⁣
▪️triceps dips ➡️⁣
▪️rear foot elevated split squat⁣
▪️box jumps⁣
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At a springy thing try:⁣
▪️ planks, pushups or mountain climbers⁣
▪️if you can stand on it, do squats⁣
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At monkey bars try:⁣
▪️hangs⁣
▪️chin-ups, jump up and lower yourself if full chin-ups are too much⁣
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🔑 Get creative and have fun! ⁣And TAG me if you move at the park! ❤️⁣
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#healthymumma #fitmom #fitfam #parkworkout #strongasamother #ottawa #park #summatime

It’s Diastasis Awareness Month and while I hope to bring you some educational and evidence-based info over the next few weeks let’s get something straight first. ⁣
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When I see posts from reputable therapists and specialists (I’d add air quotes for some) with thousands of mom-followers using words like:⁣
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“A 1 cm diastasis”⁣
“A 1-finger width diastasis” ⁣
“A 2 cm diastasis”⁣
“A 1 cm gap”⁣
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I CRINGE and have a small tantrum.⁣
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Why does our language matter? Because you perpetuate the fear factor that women have this diagnosis (when indeed they do not) when you use inaccurate language like this. I see it all the time in my clinical practice. The believe they have it, they’ve been avoiding x, y and z core exercises because of it. They don’t have it. ⁣
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So please, learn your anatomy, do some reading and stop calling anything less than a 2 cm width a diastasis or a GAP (which is scary and suggests that things are broken 😢).⁣
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Linea alba widths vary (bodies vary😲) on nulliparous women (women who have not had a baby), but generally the LA is considered “normal” up to a width of:⁣
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1.5cm at the xiphoid (closest to your breast bone).⁣
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2.2 cm at the point 3 cm above the belly button.⁣
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1.6 cm at the point 2 cm below the belly button.⁣
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So while there is no international consensus on the defining factors of DRA, please keep these numbers in mind when you are writing and speaking about it as they are the most widely accepted.🤓⁣
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And unless you have pre-pregnancy measurements (ideally with an ultrasound) for your patients, consider that you have no idea what THEIR NORM is. Some normal widths have been found to be 3.5 cm wide.⁣
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✔️ So check your language and check it again. And let’s squash the DRA fear factor.⁣
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Beer GM, Schuster A, Seifert B, et al. The normal width of the linea alba in nulliparous women. Clinical Anatomy (New York, N.Y.). 2009 Sep;22(6):706-711. DOI: 10.1002/ca.20836.

#healthymumma #diastasisrecti #diastasisawareness #diastasisrectiawarenessmonth #postpartumbody #postpartum #postpartumhealth

Did you know that HALF of all women have observable pelvic organ prolapse? 🤯⁣
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June is Pelvic Organ Prolapse Awareness Month! (one more day of June!)⁣
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While I talk about reducing the risk of developing POP and work with women who have POP in clinic and in my workshops, I wanted an accessible article about POP on my website. It’s up! ⁣
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I hope it helps to educate and empower you to reduce your risk of developing POP or manage your POP if you are living with it.⁣
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👆🏻 LINK IN BIO ⁣
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I will share my story with POP soon. Stay tuned!⁣
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#healthymumma #pelvicorganprolapse #pop #pelvichealth #educatetoempower #postpartum #postpartumhealth #prolapse #pelvicorganprolapseawareness

Are there any expectant mummas out there who need this? THIS is the stuff that should be talked about, but rarely is (until you’re in it 😕).⁣
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DM me if you are pregnant and want me to run another virtual 2-week session. I am here for you!⁣
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All of the details about the workshop are on my website. ☝🏻⁣
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#healthymumma⁣
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WaHoo!! Starting next week I am resuming my clinical practice at Ottawa Osteopathy & Sports Therapy! Online booking is OPEN. Link in my bio my friends. 👆🏻
#backinaction #safetyfirst

IMMUNITY 🦾 Got some vitamin D and exercise this morning. ☀️ ⁣
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Considering the sick state we are in, I am not hearing much about prevention beyond hand washing, PPE and getting fresh air. Unfortunately our medical system is reactive, always playing catch up. Prevention is a word mostly lost to our allopathic, drug dominated, sick system. 😢😤⁣
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Keep in mind that while you cannot “boost” your immune system, you can support it.😉⁣
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✨You know these things. These are your best (evidence-based) immune supporters. Simple. Cheap.⁣
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✔️ SLEEP 💤 ⁣
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✔️ WEIGHT ⚖️⁣
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✔️ VITAMIN D ☀️ ⁣
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✔️ EXERCISE 🏃🏽‍♀️⁣
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✔️ WHOLE FOODS 🍎⁣
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✔️ REDUCED STRESS 🧠⁣
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Are you checking all your prevention boxes these days?⁣
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#healthymumma #preventionisthecure #pandemicprevention #covid19 #ottawa #covidincanada
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How do I get my 🍑 back after baby??⁣
(and how did it vanish so fast?!?)⁣
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YOU GOOGLE THIS! 🙋🏼‍♀️⁣
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I always find it a bit funny when I check my Google analytics and see that an article I wrote years ago on HealthyMumma.com about postpartum flatassery (defined as the worrisome, almost immediate loss of your buttocks after having baby) continues to be one of my top ranked articles.⁣
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I applaud your concerns. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 ⁣
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The glute muscles are SO important for a healthy body, and they are vitally important after baby. Not only are they prime stabilizers and postural dictators, but they are critically important for a healthy pelvic floor. I’ll say that again: your pelvic floor depends on your glutes.⁣
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Glutes. Glutes. Glutes. You need them in your life mumma. ⁣
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✨ I figured it’s time for an update.⁣
👆🏻 LINK IN BIO for 5 (MORE) OF MY FAVOURITE (AT HOME) GLUTE EXERCISES for the postpartum (and beyond) booty. ⁣
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#healthymumma #fitmom #glutesmatter #postpartum #postpartumexercise #builditback #homeworkout #gluteexercises

Happy International Day of the Midwife! I am so grateful that we were fortunate to have midwifery care for all three of my babies. And lucky to have the same incredible midwife catch (barely for no. 3!) all three. Midwifes will walk with you, empower you and let you direct your birth journey. These humans are incredible and today we say THANK YOU! #internationaldayofthemidwife #IDM2020 #Midwives2020 #ProudMidwife #birthwithoutfear #educatetoempower @ Ottawa, Ontario

It’s the eve of my last baby’s birthday and I’m a little 😢 for that belly. Those kicks. Those miraculous nine months of just us. No one knowing her rhythms but me. Her, safer than she’ll ever be. Me not knowing I’d be holding her in just a few hours. A HER! I’d do it a hundred times over to feel the high and supreme empowerment that comes with birthing your baby. There is no other feeling like it. I’d skip the sleepless nights that follow though. 😉 #oxytocinislove #birthwithoutfear #thirdbaby #babybelly @ Ottawa, Ontario

It CAN happen. ✨ We just tend to hear more of the negatives than the positives. Share one POSITIVE thing about your pregnancy or birth or postpartum below! 👇🏻 #spreadpositivity #focusonthepositive #positiveenergyonly #positivebirth #positivemindset #birth #pregnancy #birthwithoutfear #fearnot #goodnews #goodnewsmovement

He got lucky last night. 😉#mademework #luckyguy #osteopathy #athletictherapy

REGISTRATION is OPEN! 👏🏻 ⁣
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You asked, so here it is (you guys are always making me work! 🥰). I’ll be going live online with my popular Prenatal Workshop: PREVENT PREPARE REPAIR.⁣
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Join me for a TWO SESSION live online workshop on Tuesday April 28th and Tuesday May 5th, from 7-8:30PM. As always, this workshop may be covered by your extended health plan. ⁣
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Here’s what to expect (full details on my site):⁣
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Week 1:⁣
✔️ Alignment & CORE (for prevention & management of common pregnancy issues)⁣
✔️ Pelvic Health ⁣
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Week 2:⁣
✔️ Birth Prep⁣
✔️ Postpartum Healing and Rebuild (diastasis, pelvic health etc)⁣
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Each evening will be 1 hr of presentation and some movement, followed by 30minutes of open Q&A/discussion (always popular).⁣
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🙋🏻‍♀️ I will be limiting spots, so register today!⁣
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All of the details and registration are on my website. 💗⁣
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🙌🏼 Please SHARE or TAG a mumma who might like to join us!⁣
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#healthymumma #ottawamoms #ottawamidwives #ottawadoula⁣s #ottawaprenatalclass #ottawabirth #prenatalcare #thisisforyounotbaby
#preventionispossible #birthwithoutfear #educatetoempower
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