Life After Birth. It is a mysterious land that many equate to a heroine journey, as the new mother
embarks on a time of dismantling all that she thought she was and pieces herself back together in the
months after giving birth. It is a raw, wild, and emotionally vulnerable time. Yet in the U.S. (and in
many industrialized nations), we neglect to hold space and reverence for the powerful transition that is
unfolding within the new mother. Instead, in our 21 st century Life After Birth (more commonly known
as the Postpartum period) has been come to be understood as a time of fear, isolation, anxiety,
depression and loneliness.

But this wasn’t always the case. Throughout history, the time for becoming a mother (anthropologically
known as the Matrescene process), was considered a time of sacred unfolding where the woman was
allowed space as her new identity as mother/mama/mom was also being birthed. This meant she was
nourished with nutrient dense food, community (all hands on deck!), daily massages (lucky ladies!) and
room to BECOME.

So what does it look like become a mother in our currently reality? Well, here’s my story….

I am 7 years out from my first becoming but it often feels like it was just yesterday. My name is Sarah
Lax, and I am a mother of two beautiful daughters, Cora and Lucy, ages 5 and 7. I am also a midwife,
and after spending over a decade caring for pregnant families and attending births, I was caught off
guard by the number of physical and emotional struggles I experienced as a new mother. I had a tear
that wasn’t healing well, felt like my pelvic floor was falling apart and couldn’t walk without pain for
months. Beyond that I was experiencing intense insomnia, sleeping an average 2-3 hours a night. Being
told to sleep when the baby sleeps was useless advice at 2am when I couldn’t shut my brain off, and
instead I was screaming at the unfairness of life into a pillow, alone in the dark with such rage that I
had never known existed in me. I felt like the walking dead most days, just putting one foot in front of
the other.

It wasn’t until well over a year after my first daughter was born that I started to experience a glimmer of
light at the end of the tunnel and through various support measures started to recover my health. With
my body and mind coming back online, I began to experience an emotion that was new to me- I was
starting to feel love for my baby. And when I realized it had taken me a year to love my baby, this
innocent creature who was pure joy and perfection, that I said to myself. No More. This has to stop.

What my first year after birth journey had taught me was that, while many resources for birth recovery
and postpartum support do exist, they are often fragmented and unable to address the whole person that
is emerging after birth. We as a society have left our mothers isolated to fend for themselves during a
time when they too are newly born, innocent to what this new life as a parent holds, and in need of
guidance, education, and community.

What my journey ultimately lead to was a birthing of its own, of Born Together, an online postpartum
support and birth recovery program. I am so proud and honored to offer women unique programs of
care, focused solely on the well being and unfolding of the mother in her Life After Birth.

What are we all about? Well, we put the recovering mama front and center and bring everything her
postpartum self needs under one roof. No more surfing the internet, unsure what tips to try or where to
start. Instead of spending time and money bouncing from one provider to the next, we aim to be an
affordable landing place for all her postpartum needs. Sleep support (check). Lactation support and
nutrition education (check check). Postpartum fitness, heart opening yoga, and pelvic floor care classes
(check, check check). AND SO MUCH MORE.

If you’re looking to support your physical, emotional and spiritual self that is deserving of attention and
care, to move out of anxiety, exhaustion, and overwhelm and bring more joy, strength, and confidence
into your parenting experience, we welcome you to join us at any time in your journey.

Allow yourself to be held Mama. This is your birth right. You deserve more. We all deserve more.

By: Sarah Lax
Founder + Support Facilitator
Born Together

IG: @weareborntogether
FB: https://www.facebook.com/weareborntogether/
Website: www.weareborntogether.com
Email: support@weareborntogether.com
#weareborntogether
#onebabytwobirths

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