ABOUT THIS EPISODE
What happens when the body goes through birth, but tries not to connect with the baby? For pelvic health practitioners, this surrogate's story reveals an often-overlooked side of postpartum recovery – and why supporting the whole person matters just as much as addressing the physical symptoms.
Today’s episode offers pelvic health practitioners a deeper understanding of the physical and emotional experiences of surrogacy – and how those experiences can influence pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery. Through a candid conversation between Lynn Schulte, PT, and Kellyn Lesch, a mental health occupational therapist with a background in pelvic health, listeners explore the importance of body awareness, emotional connection, and individualized, trauma-informed care.
Kellyn describes her own experience as a surrogate, and together, Lynn and Kellyn explore how the emotional complexities of surrogacy, protective responses, and a difficult birth experience may intersect with postpartum symptoms – and why these clients need more than a standard rehabilitation approach.
If you're a pelvic health therapist looking to better understand the relationship between emotional experiences, birth, and postpartum recovery, this episode offers a perspective you won't want to miss.
In This Episode You'll Discover:
- Why surrogacy requires a unique approach to pelvic health care.
- How emotional experiences may show up in the body.
- Why connection during pregnancy matters.
- What trauma-informed care looks like in practice.
- How pelvic health practitioners can support body awareness and self-trust.
- How to support clients who feel pressure to manage their emotions during pregnancy.
- Why advocating for your client’s autonomy matters throughout birth and postpartum care.
Clinical Takeaway
Postpartum recovery is not always a straightforward process of restoring strength and function. For some clients, the emotional experience of pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum transition may be an important part of the clinical picture. This episode encourages pelvic health practitioners to look beyond physical symptoms, explore the client's experience with sensitivity, and recognize when additional trauma-informed support may be beneficial.
Why You Should Listen
Surrogacy is an often-overlooked area of pelvic health practice, and the unique needs of these clients may not be addressed in traditional rehabilitation education. Kellyn's story offers a rare, personal look at the complexities of carrying a baby for someone else – and how those experiences can continue to affect a person long after birth.
🎧 Tune in now to discover how understanding the emotional complexities of surrogacy may change the way you assess and support postpartum clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can surrogacy affect postpartum recovery and pelvic health?
Surrogacy can involve unique emotional experiences, including navigating connection with the baby, preparing for separation after birth, and managing the pressures of the surrogacy process. In this episode, Kellyn shares her experience of postpartum pelvic pain, difficulty breathing deeply, disconnection from her body, and anxiety about returning to exercise. Her story highlights the importance of considering each client's individual physical and emotional experience rather than assuming every postpartum journey will be the same.
How can pelvic health practitioners provide trauma-informed care for surrogate clients
Practitioners can create a supportive environment where clients feel heard, respected, and in control of their care. This includes asking about their preferences, respecting their autonomy, validating their feelings without judgment, and avoiding assumptions about how they should feel about the pregnancy or baby. Kellyn's experience illustrates the importance of individualized care and helping clients explore their own needs and boundaries.
How can surrogacy affect postpartum recovery and pelvic health?
Emotional connection is one part of a person's overall pregnancy and birth experience. For surrogates, connecting with the baby while preparing to hand over care after birth can feel especially complex. Kellyn describes how protecting herself from potential emotional pain influenced her sense of connection, and how postpartum sessions helped her explore that experience. For practitioners, this is a reminder to approach each client with curiosity and compassion, recognizing that emotional experiences may be relevant to postpartum concerns without assuming they are the cause of physical symptoms.
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About The Speaker:
Kellyn is the co-founder and owner of Illuminate. She is a licensed, registered Occupational Therapist and a Clinical Trauma Specialist with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of mental health and chronic pain conditions. She has specialized training in psychedelic medicine and is certified in Psychedelic Therapy and Integration (PTI) through Fluence. As an experienced occupational therapsist, Kellyn practices with an emphasis on somatic experiencing and trauma integration, while incorporating core concepts of occupational therapy practice, including sensory processing, nervous system modulation and regulation, and the use of meaningful occupations to maximize integration into daily life.
Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE
