If there was one little pearl of wisdom I could set in the lap of every single momma, mother-to-be, and the family and friends that surround her, I think this might be it: the role of relaxin in the birthing and breastfeeding years.
This hormone plays a really crucial job in the physical transformation that is essential for birth to take place. In order for momma’s pelvis to expand and make space for baby to come down and through, the joints, ligaments, and muscles need to be able to relax, stretch, adjust, and expand to accommodate this process. This is the major role of relaxin hormone. Relaxin also helps her heart to adapt to her increased blood volume, acting as a vasodilator that relaxes the vessels, as well as supporting the blood flow to the kidneys to account for the extra work they’re doing processing a higher volume of fluids.
So, why is this so important to know?
When we treat our bodies well in our birthing and early motherhood years, we set ourselves up for healing and recovery that mends past injuries, ailments, and discomforts. Relaxin also has the ability to reduce inflammation in the body and give love to old scar tissue. When we use this to our advantage, we can make major strides towards better health post-birth than we had pre-pregnancy.
However, when we over work, try to “bounce back”, or prove our “strength” when truly we should be moving at a slower pace and lifting much lighter loads, a lot of damage can be done.
Relaxin = relaxed joints, ligaments, and muscles.
Which means that if we don’t heed our design to succumb to the need for gentler, more mindful movement, exercise, and lifting, then we are at risk for overstretching and creating damage to our body that is challenging to reverse.
Another piece to all of this that is oftentimes completely overlooked is the simple fact that the transition from maidenhood to motherhood is a stretching of self unlike any other. We are meant to expand into someone completely new in this process. And in the transformation, we must learn to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and supported in ways that we may not have needed at any other time in our lives up to this point.
It is the world’s greatest conundrum: in our vulnerability, we find strength like we’ve never experienced before.
This one piece of our physiologic blueprint is so beautiful for so many reasons. The obvious being that without it, our body wouldn’t stretch in the same ways that is needed to bring our baby through, but if we pause and consider this a little deeper — the role of relaxin also offers us key information as to how to move through motherhood well.
It’s as if this hormone comes with the message, “Allow your people to support you in the ways that you have supported them. You’re not meant to do this all alone. In doing this, you will find healing beyond your expectations. Ignoring the need for community and connection destroys wellbeing at all levels.”
We don’t prove our strength by endless productivity that curates our own destruction.
That tempting premise of “this won’t slow me down” — because the external world is trying to sell you on the idea that rest = failure.
Truly sustainable strength that supports our longevity requires us to live in flow with our design.
And our design tells us that rest = necessary restoration in order for us to continue to rise.
There again, whether we’re talking about birthing babies, making meals, or supporting our children through the hard lessons of life — we are meant to have people in our circle that fill the gaps, rise to the occasion, and bring insights we couldn’t possibly offer.
How beautiful, yeah?
Right here, flowing in our bloodstream, we’re given this priceless pearl of wisdom to help all of us thrive.
One more thing that is key to be aware of is that relaxin production generally is also still at play while we are breastfeeding. Which means that if we are breastfeeding for the first six months, first year, or even two years and beyond — we’d be wise to be mindful that heavy lifting is not our gig at this time if we want to support the longevity of our physical self.
Not to mention that the energy stores it takes to produce milk in itself warrants us to go at a much more mindful pace. It is the unseen work that builds the foundational health of the next generation, but it generally doesn’t come with trophies and awards. It is the quiet victory of a mother’s heart, to provide nourishment that is fully alive and custom catered to exactly what her infant needs, even if it’s not recognized for it’s full worth within her community. But maybe that should be a conversation all in itself.
So dear ones,
be willing to take care of yourself,
for in doing this, your entire community benefits —
they learn how to fill your shoes for a little while,
so that you may rise into your strength in fresh ways
and then return with the new wisdom
you gained in the process of expansion,
that will continue to sustain you all for generations.
When we skip this part, everyone misses out.
<3