the role of the steam therapist in pregnancy, birth, and the early mothering years

In pregnancy we have midwives, obstetricians, chiropractors, massage therapists, doulas, and if we’re fortunate, a well woven circle of gals who know how to support us through all that this is we’re walking through. But… who is checking in beyond the first six weeks postpartum to make sure that we’re recovering fully?

Once the weeks of the fourth trimester have come and gone, after the birth dust has settled and the newness of life as we know it starts to find the ground, this is where the ball generally gets dropped. Albeit, not intentionally. But the fact is that even the best, most connected and loving midwives only have the ability to do what they can. It is not their role to continue care throughout the entirety of the first year, even though it is so needed.

So who, then?

When we’re in the thick of the forest of early mothering, who can help us identify what is normal, and what is not? When modern gyn has such a vast generalization of what is “normal” post-birth, who are we to talk to about the things that so often get shrugged under the rug, underemphasized, or ignored altogether?

Who is there for us to talk to about a comfortable return to sex?

When is it healthy for us to begin bleeding again? When is too soon? Or too late?

Is it normal for a uterus to feel like it’s falling out? Or the joke about peeing when we sneeze… Is that for real? Do we really have to live with that as “normal’?

What if we’re still bleeding after six weeks? Do we have options outside of medical intervention?

This is where the role of the steam therapist truly shines and follows through as the continuity of care that ought to be available for all postpartum mommas. Postpartum recovery is not (and should not be considered) complete until she has a painless return to her mentstrual cycle, intimacy, and complete recovery and function of her reproductive organs — the timeline for this can vary anywhere between 1 ½ to 2 years post-birth, but for many women, is never fully achieved.

How many women do you know off hand that are into their later mothering years, still struggling with pain during sex, maybe even aversion to sex altogether, organ prolapse. bladder incontinence, painful periods, excessive bleeding, or are going through a completely debilitating menopause transition? These are all signs of incomplete recovery after childbirth.

We can do better.

If mothers are the soil from which all of humanity grows, how the hell can we rise into this role when it’s not even comfortable to sit? Or our vulva feels like it’s being tugged from old scar tissue not healed correctly? How are we to be our best and stay in our creativity when our whole pelvic bowl (our physical creative center) feels completely off-kilter and everyone else has said, “There’s nothing more to do aside from surgery”?

This is the conversation that’s been missing from the scene of postpartum care.

When a woman is witnessed to heal completely after birth, she is saved a lifetime of unneccesary struggle. As a steam therapist, my ideal working relationship with postpartum mommas spans from pregnancy, birth, early postpartum and on into their mothering journey, seeing them all the way through to a true complete recovery.

This carries physical, emotional, and spiritual components simply because they are one in the same — one cannot be without the others. Our physical being is directly responsive to our emotional self, and vice versa. Our spirit woven throughout.

So for the mothers who are feeling this, who resonate with the need for this, I am here and would love to support you in the ways that I can. Do reach out, I promise you are not alone.

Let’s start the conversation and see where it leads.

Let’s create the narrative of what true recovery is, and not settle for imbalance when our body is yearning for better.