Willow is on a mission to make your world better and in doing that, we’re partnering with experts like Origin so that you have access to the information, education and resources to make your life easier—from pumping to breastfeeding to pelvic floor health—moms deserve a better world.

We spent time chatting with Dr. Celestine Compton, PT, DPT, WCS a doctor of physical therapy with a board certified specialization in women's and pelvic health at Origin. Amongst other mind-blowing nuggets on womens’ health and motherhood, she walked us through breaking up with putting pressure on yourself to “snap” back, not caring for your body the way you did in pregnancy, and skipping those late night dooms scrolls.

Keep reading for more tips and permission to break up with not treating your pelvic floor and your postpartum health with extra TLC.

There are so many rules and restrictions when you’re pregnant (don’t eat this, don’t have that, be careful with this) — why aren’t we giving ourselves and our bodies that much consideration and care after the baby is born? Pregnant women give themselves so much permission to rest when they need to rest, eat nourishing foods to make them feel good and bend over backwards to support their growing bump. Those are all practices you will want to continue postpartum! Postpartum is an opportunity to keep at it: to care for yourself as though you have a baby inside you and to find a way to give yourself what you need, when you need it, because you deserve to be cared for, too.

The focus and conversation for new moms and their bodies needs to shift dramatically. You’ve given birth, you’ve brought human life into the world and you are now a different human being—it’s ok! Think about working with this new body and new self versus trying to “get back” to something that you were before. Physical therapy is a great way to make yourself feel better now and can even help lay the groundwork to feel physically better than before. Consider this mindshift: Focus on the new you. Break up with the idea that the “new” you is somehow less than what you were before.

The 3am doom scroll can turn into a rabbit hole. Yes, we are all guilty of this but my advice is to reach out to experts when you have a concern about your physical health. In the medical field, there's a saying that goes "if you hear hooves, think of horses before zebras." When we try to diagnose ourselves, we can tend to believe that, "with my luck," I'm probably dealing with the most awful, rare diagnosis, but more often than not, it's not the zebra, it's the horse. Lactation consultants, physical therapists and your OB are waiting and ready to help you—in-person or virtually with everything from painful sex to bladder control.

It’s really easy to feel isolated and alone as a new mom. Take it from the moms who gave birth during the pandemic —we get it. But there are so many things that happen to your body postpartum like peeing your pants, dealing with painful sex, hemorrhoids that won’t quit and … farting for no reason …that are actually the things that can build bridges and community among other moms too. All of these wild things happen to all of us (and they’re all super common!) and the more we speak up, the more we can normalize things like pelvic floor health and its importance.

Origin launched in 2020 after their two founders experienced the life-changing impact of pelvic floor physical therapy. Their mission is to make pelvic floor physical therapy the standard of postpartum care for all birthing individuals across the U.S. Get access to their resources by downloading our Willow Go app now.