Growing up from childhood, I loved math. Why? Because there was never more than one answer. You either had the correct answer, or you didn’t. There was a specific process to get there, and although there could have been different methods, the answer would never change. When I got to college, classes like philosophy, critical thinking, and ethics became…much more frustrating as you may have guessed.
I’m sure you, like me, have thought to yourself at least once…”Why can’t things be more black and white? Why can’t I get a straight answer on what to do without all these different situations, exceptions, and considerations?” With varying opinions and ideas surrounding birth labor, feeding, sleeping, newborn healthcare, or how/when to meet certain milestones, I’ve ran into those thoughts time and time again as my due date quickly approaches.
To keep my sanity, I think the crux of the matter becomes, what works best for our family? What is functional, doable, and the most beneficial for us personally? Oftentimes, when something works really well for us, we think that will apply to everyone else. In both personal and professional life, I’ve had to humbly come to the realization that that is not always the case. Even in researching images or ideas for this article, I always get something along the lines of “this is good, this is bad”, “this is okay for baby, but this is better”. There’s very little understanding of context, lifestyle, support situations, or job considerations involved in these blanket assumptions.
When babies are concerned, nothing usually goes as planned. The more that parents surrender that area of control and respond well to the present, I believe a weight lifts. Mom guilt is certainly a thing, and I don’t even have my baby in my arms yet. The best thing we can do is take it day by day, knowing our own values and principles based on our own needs.
How do we see this thinking affect our healthcare goals?
Many times, patients will ask me what caused the issue that has brought them in to see me. We wonder why our hips are misaligned, why our back or neck is tight, or what made our pelvic floor so restricted that we can no longer wait more than an hour between bathroom breaks? Although there are general things we can point to, like posture, birth, or surgery complications, there usually isn’t always just one answer.
In the same way a pacifier may not be used by one mom, but might work for another mom, the same is true for healing. One client may have a very negative experience with an epidural, whereas the next may have had a calm delivery because of it. A surgery could change one patients life, but the next may have to deal with prolonged restrictions and a hard, lengthy recovery.
The clients who are able to listen and respond (not react) to their ever-changing bodies, rather than only try to diagnose and fix their bodies, are the ones who notice healing change faster. Some patients find great emotional healing in accepting their bodies as broken before they can begin healing, while others can start the healing process with the mindset of “never giving up even for a moment”. We as practitioners can say what generally works for most people, but that never means it will work for every person. We try our best to work with you, not just for you, personalizing your health exactly at the pace and technique that is in your best interest.
Blessings,
Kaylen and Your Moment of Truth Team
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