My postpartum journey was confusing, lonely, embarrassing, magical...and complicated. On the one hand, I was in awe of what my body had done – and I still am – on the other, I felt embarrassed about my piles, my prolapse, my stitches. It’s hard to feel confident, empowered and the best version of yourself when you’re scared your body will let you down, especially in public or during an intimate moment. There’s nothing scarier than the thought of having sex again when you don’t even know if your stitches have healed. There’s that fear that you’ll never feel ‘normal’ again. 

It’s time to talk about HEAVY periods, or menorrhagia...a condition that’s not uncommon, that’s hard to pronounce and that’s probably not talked about as often as it should be. We’ve chatted to three women who suffer (every single month) to find out what it’s really like, how it affects their lives and what, if anything, they can do about it. But first, what IS menorrhagia? 

After a traumatic birth, Shani Chantel suffered (in silence) with incontinence after giving birth. She shares her story of not ‘bouncing back’ after baby and coming to terms with her new body.  How would I describe my postpartum journey? Unpredictable, scary, confusing and liberating. I was really naïve and it was unlike anything I’d been told my postpartum life...and body...would be.