Episode 30 | George

In this episode, George shares her experience of becoming a mum to her son Teddy and navigating a postpartum season that looked very different from what she had imagined.

After an unexpected pregnancy, George spent a lot of time preparing for the low-intervention vaginal birth she hoped to have. When her labour instead ended in an unplanned caesarean, she found herself struggling with guilt, shame and self-blame. She reflects on meeting Teddy for the first time without experiencing the immediate rush of emotion she had expected, and the weeks it took to begin processing her birth experience.

Alongside recovering physically from her caesarean, George was confronted by another part of postpartum she felt completely unprepared for - her changing body. Having predominantly seen images of women appearing to “bounce back” after birth, she questioned whether her own body, including her stretch marks, caesarean incision and changed stomach, was normal.

After another connecting with another mother who shared similar feelings, George decided to begin showing her own postpartum body online. Her content quickly connected with thousands of women, many of whom told her that seeing a body like theirs represented had helped them feel seen and validated. We talk about why showing different versions of normal postpartum bodies matters, without suggesting there is any one way a body should look after having a baby.

Now around six months postpartum, George reflects on how her relationship with her body has changed. While she still has difficult days, she describes feeling in awe of what her body has done and reaching a point where she genuinely feels comfortable and confident in herself again.

We also talk about navigating postpartum without family close by, the time it took to find other mums she truly connected with, sleep deprivation, asking for help, and learning to surrender to postpartum rather than expecting it to follow a particular plan.

Despite the challenges of those early weeks, George describes motherhood as the first time in her life she no longer feels like she is chasing something. She shares the joy of watching Teddy’s personality emerge, finding a community of women who see her in this new version of herself, and feeling deeply settled in being his mum.

You can find George on Instagram at @georgina.raynerrr.

A huge thank you to ergoPouch for sponsoring this week’s episode.

You can find out more about ergoPouch at @ergopouch, and you can browse their range at www.ergopouch.com.au.