Sara Rausch (38 - she/her), with her children Emili Jean (22 - she/her), Isabella (3), Ava (2), and her grandchildren Grayson (3), and Charlotte (1)
Davenport, IA
How has parenthood impacted your body image?
I have always been super concerned about my weight and looks. From a very young age, I was very controlling of my food intake and exercise in an attempt to stay very thin. After going to chiropractic school, becoming a serious yogi, becoming involved with BIRTHFIT, and then getting pregnant with my second baby, I began to embrace that food and movement were not just a form of punishment. As I began to move and eat more intentionally (eating what and when felt good, moving when and how it felt good) I started feeling better in my body mentally and physically. After 34 years of hating my body and punishing it for not being perfect, it feels so great to now honor it for it's strength and abilities (like growing 3 beautiful, strong daughters).
What was your postpartum experience?
The biggest impact my postpartum journeys have had on me was learning that we do not support women even a fraction of what we should in the postpartum and it is now my life's work and passion to change that for women in the Quad Cities (and the world)! My first baby was born when I was 15 years old and no one mentioned one thing about how I should care for myself after having her. I left the hospital with a 2 day old baby, a squirt bottle for the stitches from an nonconsensual episiotomy, diastasis recti (I had no clue about this until 18 years later), and a small bladder prolapse (I also didn't learn about this until 20 years later).
My second baby was delivered via (a very unwanted) emergency cesarean section due to being footling breech with cord prolapse. I was released from the hospital after 42 hours with zero mention of rehabbing my core after having my abdominal wall cut open. My third baby was a perfect unmedicated VBAC and everything went exactly as I had planned and wanted but I ended up having a super tough time postpartum and still feel as though things are not back to normal after 2 years.
When I realized that things were not going ideally, I reached out to my midwife and primary care physician, and was pretty much shrugged off. There are so many aspects of my three postpartum experiences that still completely shock me!! I can not believe that it is not standard of care to check EVERY woman for things like diastasis recti, prolapse, thyroid dysfunction, and perinatal mental health troubles at regular intervals throughout the postpartum period and have providers know where they should refer to get help! I can't believe that women continue to think that urine leakage or low back pain or hair loss or apathy or chronic fatigue are all normal and just something we have to deal with because we chose to grow a human! I am disappointed that we have lost our villages and so many moms go so unsupported through life and motherhood, feeling like they can't or shouldn't ask for help so instead they suffer in silence. I am saddened that many of our concerns after having a baby are about how fast we can "bounce back" or get our "prebaby bodies" back or return to our regular activities like work and exercise!
What is your truth?
We frickin' matter!!! Healthy babies are totally awesome but healthy, happy mothers are just as important!
Why did you choose to participate in this movement and share your story?
I love everything about supporting, celebrating and connecting with women through motherhood, especially in the postpartum!