Navigating miscarriage - What a pre- and postpartum specialist wishes she had known

Claire Falconer, a pre- and post-natal specialist, spent five years preparing her body for baby. 

So when two miscarriages happened in a row, she was left reeling. Her body, she felt at the time, had betrayed her. And she didn't know what to do next. 

So she contacted professionals. What she learned stunned her. 

Today Claire comes on our show to talk about loss, heartache, and eventually finding her way to her healthy baby boy. Here Claire shares everything she wishes she would have known -- and offers helpful advice for anyone navigating similar struggles. 

For more information on Claire, including access to her preconception, pregnancy and postpartum programs, visit instagram.com/coachedbyclaire 

Transcript

00:37.80
Claire
Thank you so much for having me. It's really nice to be here and chatting with you.

01:10.84
Claire
Wow. Okay, where to start um, do you want me to starting my own personal journey or um, like work journey. Um.

01:27.40
Claire
Okay, sure. So um, ah I think it was 2019 me my husband got married and basically and straight off the bat I was like okay, we're gonna start trying for pregnancy. Um. Being a health and nutrition coach and being in this sort of area for a long time prior to that I'd really prepped my body um for many many years. So I thought the whole fulling pregnancy thing and you know keeping a pregnancy would be quite easy for myself. Um, just because you know. That's what I know that's that's what I've helped women do for years and years. Um, so yes I was very fortunate in the fact that I fell pregnant very soon. Um, and it was the start of 2020 um was actually living in Dubai me my husband decided to move back to australia where I'm from and I had just found out I was pregnant and it was New Year's eve actually when we found out I was pregnant and we were so excited like it was just There was not even a thought in my mind that anything wrong would happen. Um, and then unfortunately when I was about 8 weeks pregnant I started to have a little bit of a bleed in which obviously raised alarms I went to the doctors. Um my heart sunk in. Immediately like I knew something was wrong and everybody says oh bleeding during pregnancy can be normal all this sort of stuff so here I was trying to hold on to some hope but you know you just know and unfortunately I found out that there was no baby. Um, no heartbeat. Um, and yeah, it took ah about 3 to four weeks for me to finally let go of that baby? Um I went down the natural route. Um, which in hindsight wasn't a great option for myself. Um, and then yeah, so. That was very traumatic both um both emotionally and physically and I think the biggest surprise to me was how physical the whole process was um, you, you know you always hear about everybody talking about the emotional side effects of miscarriage but I don't think you really understand how physical it is. So yeah, that was miscarriage number 1 and then about straight off the bat I was like okay so we had to have a dnc at about week thirteen because I had retained um placenta in my uterus still so we had the dnc and then I just was like okay, let's move on.

04:12.58
Claire
Let's try for number 2 so I waited until I had my first normal period which was about 2 weeks after the dnc um, and then we started trying again and again I fell pregnant very soon. Um, and unfortunately we lost our second 1 as well. It wasn't as traumatic as the first pregnancy because I had zero investment in this pregnancy I was just mentally I think numb um, and I wasn't excited I wasn't it was just like okay yep I'm pregnant. Let's see what happens so when I lost it obviously it was gut wrenching. And it was an ultimate betrayal for my body but it wasn't as traumatizing as the first 1 so then from then on me and my husband decided let's just give it a rest. Um for a little bit I will seek help. Um, and I think that was a big thing for me because. As I said I'd I'd worked so closely with so many women over the past to help them overcome miscarriages to help them fall pregnant to help them keep pregnancy. Um so accepting help from somebody was something that I was like why do I need to do that because I already know it all and I know that sounds really arrogant. But it's sort of just. Like it was just me coming to the realization that maybe I need to find somebody that can just offer me support. Um, so yeah, that was by the third time. Um I reached out to a fertility specialist and we did a load of tests. And we actually found out that I had a clotting gene. Um, which again I would have never have known because that's not something I would test for um, myself with my clients. It's it's not nutritional based it's it's something that completely is I'm born with. Um, so the doctor said this could potentially be 1 of the causes of my consistent miscarriages. Um, so it was recommended that I go on the route of having a blood thinning and injection regularly when I fell pregnant next and. So yeah, we then started trying again and we fell pregnant actually in our first time trying which was really again exciting I didn't know what to expect because I was just completely I guess betrayed by my body. So I had no trust in what was happening I had no intuition on the fact that I would the I keep this or anything so we just went with it and I started feeling morning sickness which was a really good sign for me I started you know getting all the feels and.

06:59.92
Claire
Yeah, so it was I mean it was a beautiful slash complicated. Such messy time. Um, but I kept my pregnancy all the way through till week forty 1 and at week forty 1 I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy. So it was. Ah, very long in messy process. But we got there in the end and I guess that's the really short version of it. All.

07:47.50
Claire
Cho show. Yeah.

00:01.20
danaemercer
Oclaire. Thank you so much for talking us through that journey I want to pull you back. You said no 1 ever talks about the physical side of miscarriage if you're comfortable, it'd be wonderful if you could chat us through that.

00:13.77
Claire
Yeah, so I think like what we always see online and what our doctors sort of refer to us as that. Yes, it's going to be a really emotional time like you're going to. Ah, you're going to be invested you you know you've you've lost. Something you've lost a dream. You know you've lost what you thought was going to happen. But what was the biggest shock for me was that the physical side effect of it and even when I went into my doctor appointment. Um, my doctor gave me the option so in Australia we had the option to Miscarry. Naturally the pill. Um, that helps you miscarry or the dnc. So the operation. Um and you know being this, you know, natural sort of warrior that I thought that I was I was like I want to go through it naturally I don't want to take anything artificially I want to feel everything. But had my doctor sort of given me the full awareness of what was actually going to happen I would have maybe made a different decision but she never did she sort of was like yeah okay, cool. You can totally do this naturally and here I am just thinking that it's going to be a painful period. Um. And so I think that was the biggest shock for me so it wasn't even awareness from my doctor. It wasn't awareness online like we never sort of hear that or see that it's always as I said just the the emotional side effect and yes, don't get me wrong the emotional side effect was huge for me. But. I think because it was for me. It wasn't know so much of mourning a life because it was somebody that I was a baby that I'd never actually met. This is just my own personal experience for me. It was more that I was mourning a dream I had I had planned the next 20 years you know I had I had fallen pregnant and I was like. Wow! So this is my next 20 years um you know you envision everything with that baby? Um, so that's that part of it was a process to deal with but the physical I was I was bedridden you know I couldn't move I lost a lot of blood like it. The actual miscarriage was far more painful than my labor with my baby now. Um, and I lost a lot more blood in my miscarriage than I did in my labor as well and even with that you know I went to hospital. And they said oh yeah, you're not bleeding through a pad in an hour so you're okay, this is just a miscarriage and and that's what everyone just kept saying oh this is just a miscarriage. You're 1 in 3 or you're 1 in 4 you know they'll just throw around that stat. Oh. It's normal. It's common. Um.

03:01.46
Claire
And it's obviously you don't want to hear that right now you don't want to be normal or common like this is not what you want? Um, you want to be supported and and that's how I didn't feel supported unfortunately and I was so thankful that I was at my mom's house when it happened because I just ah. Was bedridden for a week after I was dizzy I was I couldn't move. Basically.

03:27.60
danaemercer
Wow and just to clarify claire mentions. She was thankful she was in the house because claire has spent the last 2 years in ah in a sort of renovated van traveling australia so I mean it's it's really interesting to hear. You say like how the how it was presented to you as something really normal I think for me that was 1 of the things I struggled with is like I you know the the doctors the medical staff who have been Beyond incredible here. They've actually been ah a real blessing.

03:50.86
Claire
Oh.

04:05.84
danaemercer
But all of them were like oh it'll just be like a painful period and I'm so lucky that I have this online community and I did have some people kind of message just being like hey heads up heads up. It can be it. It can be a lot worse than a period if that's happening.

04:07.50
Claire
Yeah.

04:17.41
Claire
Yeah.

04:23.77
Claire
Oh.

04:24.82
danaemercer
You know it's It's okay and I know for me I I hit a point in the procedure which I did I did the pills in a hospital environment which was again a huge comfort because it's so scary and there is a point where the pain.

04:34.10
Claire
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

04:42.74
danaemercer
Yeah, and the pain got so bad I I was just I was like I can't do this like I cannot and I remember you know calling in the in the doctors to be like what else can I take to make this stop. It is never I've never hurt this way before and they were kind of like well.

04:47.00
Claire
I had.

04:57.45
Claire
Yeah.

05:01.68
danaemercer
Yeah, if you've never had incredibly bad surgery that would make sense I was like I was like wait so we we know that this pain is coming and and and no 1 warns us like why is that? Why do we kind of brush it under the rug kind of hide it and and and almost normalize it right? like it's.

05:18.28
Claire
Then tackle.

05:19.43
danaemercer
You'll be fine. It's okay, you're fine I'm like if I broke my arm. You wouldn't just be like well don't worry the pain's not going to kill you just just deal with it. But but it's expected.

05:23.22
Claire
No, at 1 hand and and that's what's crazy exactly and that's what dumbfounded me about it and it was the after effect. It was like you know what wasn't spoken about was that after that miscarriage as Well. Like. I am and you are. We're postpartum like we fell pregnant. Our pregnancy hormones are ah through the roof all that sort of stuff so we are Postpartum. We need to treat ourselves Postpartum. You know when you're postpartum when you give birth to your baby. You need that rest and recovery and um restorative you need to replenish your body but you're never told that you're like yeah yeah, it'll just be a painful period. And yeah, you can crack on with life and you're like Wow like that was the biggest shock and what another would I never. Was aware of as well is you actually have to you have to pass that you know I Whatever I I still refer to it as a baby but you know the doctors will refer to it as cells. Whatever you want to refer to it. You have to pass it.

06:17.48
danaemercer
Um, yeah.

06:29.80
danaemercer
Yeah, and that that was I guess like the mentally and physically traumatic side too is is to look I I for me I don't know if if this were to happen again I don't know if I would do the pills again or if I would just do.

06:37.18
Claire
Yeah.

06:47.91
danaemercer
The other option you have which you mentioned is the surgery and that I think my natural mind is like no I want to I want to be a bit more natural. But for me I I needed I wanted it to happen immediately and in the controlled environment. Um, but it just the oh it's it's.

06:49.45
Claire
Over.

07:01.44
Claire
Yeah.

07:07.66
danaemercer
You know it's something I Really wish there was more transparency around and it's it's got me thinking a lot about female like reproductive concerns and even things like you know the the coil that they put inside you I can't think of what it's called right now. But the.

07:16.51
Claire
1

07:23.65
Claire
Well this Marina there's there's many different ones? Yeah I u d.

07:26.40
danaemercer
Ah, coil that they put in. So yes, as as birth control Iud Ied and they they do that without any pain killers. They're just like it and it is It is supposed to be incredibly painful, but it's just another thing that women are expected to just deal with. You know we don't do that with headaches. Why Why are we doing that with what's happening in our in our ovaries. Ah why? But I ah go ahead.

07:50.97
Claire
But it it just? yeah I mean that just happens time and time again you know women present with Pelvic pain which is also common and they just dismiss her yet a male would come to a doctor with pelvic pain and they would be straight onto this. Ct Scans and everything it is just the patriarchal society that we live in I mean and I see it time and time again with my clients and my work and it's It's just crazy.

08:09.99
danaemercer
Yeah.

08:15.88
danaemercer
I I would love to pull you back to you mentioned? No 1 talks about how you are postpartum and you need to treat your body in that way. So when you talk to me a bit about what you did in your you know with your your first miscarriage even your second if you'd you'd like to talk about that to find your. Physical and mental balance again.

08:36.74
Claire
Yeah, so I mean in that regard I was super thankful that I from all my knowledge and you know sort of education in that side of things. Um, and how to support a postpartum woman because. I was able to replenish my body and to really give myself the rest and recovery that I needed but I mean something that I think doctors as well as tell women is okay, yeah, you're going to Miscarry um, and then you can get straight back on it. So I want you to start fulling you know start trying immediately. Um and they sort of don't. Take into consideration any of that. But what we need to know is that our pregnancy hormones have just gone from you know through the roof we're pregnant and now all of a sudden we're Matt we're not pregnant anymore. Um, so that time we really need to rest and recover. And rejuvenate the body. So what I did was I basically just spent the whole week 2 weeks in bed. Um, again I was super fortunate I was at my mom's house so she just prepared meals for me. Um I treated it as if I was had just given birth. Um, and and that's. What I did just to allow that recovery I didn't go straight back into exercise I I just allowed my body and my mind to fully recover and replenish my iron stores as well because I lost quite a lot of blood so it was really important to eat nourishing foods warming foods. You know Iron -rich Foods so I really put an emphasis on that which I do think helped me a lot mentally and physically.

10:14.30
danaemercer
Will you give an example of like what would be a healing meal.

10:20.13
Claire
And so your healing meal I would say would be a really easy to digest meal so you want to allow your digestive system to not be trying to you know. Break apart all these sort of raw foods so you want to steer away from cold foods. You want to steer away from salads. You want to steer away from smoothies and you want to move into easily digested foods. So food. That's already been. Um, you know most of the part really cooked. And digested well so we're talking about like slow cookers so put on a hot curry for all day um meats that are really broken apart so you're getting that. Um you know iron-rich source of food and glycine. Um. And really healing collagen from the meats that you're getting but as well just like I mean the good old chicken soup like I know that's such an old remedy but it's a remedy for a reason because it is full of nutrients and it is super healing for your body. So those are the sort of foods that you'd sort of step into and step away from the coldness. Um that your body is going to have a really hard time digesting.

11:36.35
danaemercer
How long would you say did it take you until you felt like yourself again.

11:42.22
Claire
To be honest, it took for the first 1 it took me a while like I was fatigued for a long time. Um, and I think that was obviously a combination of physical and and emotional. But also I think it was just it took me. Ah, while to get back onto my feet because I felt so the betrayal I don't know if you feel the same but I just I felt so Betrayed. Um that I just it took me a while to get over that so I don't think I fully got over that for a good few months to be honest and I do think that's. The contributing factor as to why I miscarried for the second as well because I wasn't fully over it.

12:25.56
danaemercer
Yeah, that's will you talk a bit about what what do you mean? when you say betrayal.

12:34.34
Claire
I had worked so hard. Um, you know as I said like I've been in the health and fitness space for 14 years now so I've been working full time with women from all walks of life all over the world. To help them get their bodies and and minds into the best possible shapes that they can to prepare themselves for you know pregnancy. Um and postpartum and I too was doing that so I had really knew that I wanted to get pregnant and I was probably parent preer. But. Preparing for pregnancy for about 5 years prior so I think it was just that I thought that I was going to be okay, if that makes it I think everybody does everybody thinks that you're going to be okay, right? You never think that you're going to lose the baby. Do you? but. I think it was just that I had done everything that I possibly could and I still lost I still lost it and I was just looking around me and I got bitter and that's what was awful as well because I was seeing these people around me have babies and fall pregnant and I was like. But you were so unhealthy like what are you doing you know and and that's also got me and I didn't like the person that I was becoming because I was hearing pregnancy announcements and I was almost like not happy for people and and that was a horrible place to be because. I literally couldn't even be happy for other people because I was I felt so betrayed from my own body.

14:11.93
danaemercer
Do you think searching out this this fertility expert who did all the tests did that help you feel more empowered again and and find that trust in your body again.

14:22.95
Claire
Yeah I think definitely because I I'm you know the type typical type a personality where I think I you know can just control it all and have everything done by myself. So I think just relinquishing control. Was a huge step for me and even though the doctor would sort of like yeah, you've got that covered you've got that covered you've got that covered but it was good just to be like just tell me what to do even though I know do you know? what? I mean and and that was really like just relinquishing that control was huge and um when he found that. Um, blood clotting gene it was like oh wow like I've never even known about that. Um, so it was sort of another thing that sort of was like okay I did this for a good reason and it was really nice and unfortunately as well when we did all the testing with him. He actually found out that I had. Ah, low egg reserve as well. So that was ah a big downer. Um on the journey because I just had 2 miscarriages then I saw him and then he found out that I had a low egg reserve my mom went into Menopause early and so did my grandma so I guess it's a recurring of thing that. Goes on in our family but I was just like then I was completely like I'm never going to have a baby It's just not goingnna happen so it was a it was a rollercoaster of emotions that's for sure.

15:50.48
danaemercer
And then you have all the hormones and the tests and everything and when when you got pregnant with bows that semi pronouncing it right? be? Yeah, it's like just the cutest little baby.

15:59.35
Claire
Yeah, yeah.

16:05.93
danaemercer
And when you got pregnant with him. How did you feel.

16:08.85
Claire
Oh my god so it was it was really tough like um, initially like I was just trying not to be excited I was actually we had decided then to like travel australia and just let my hair down and just relax. Um. So we were traveling australia we were on a boat in the wit Sundays I'm yeah know not sure if anyone's familiar with that. But it's like the most beautiful islands in australia on the great barrier reef and I had I was spotting and I was like I've I've never spotted in my whole period before. So. I thought okay I'm going to take a test because this is really strange and you know of course me being me I had a test on board with me and I found out and immediately my heart sunk because I'm like we are in the middle of the ocean in the great barrier reef and I am pregnant. So it was just like wow so we quickly got to land and then I had to start taking my medication so I needed to get um daily injections um of klexane which is a blood thinning injection um into my stomach and as well I got supported with progesterone pesores. Um. And so we started that and basically every day I would go to the toilet and I would check any little you know, sort of wetness or anything I would just be like up there I am I'm bleeding so it was honestly the first thirteen weeks was awful. But every single week I was like oh my god I'm 1 more week pregnant like okay I'm 1 more week pregnant and I went for the 6 ix-week scan I expected to see nothing and I saw a heartbeat and I was like oh my god and then on the thirteen week scan I expected to see nothing and I saw my baby. So it was sort of like I constantly kept getting you know these beautiful reminders that I was pregnant and but it wasn't mentally I just completely detached and I um, yeah, it's just like a held on hope. But I just had no excitement if that makes sense at all. Um, and then it. It's just like I was protecting myself I think um.

18:16.23
danaemercer
It does it does? yeah.

18:25.27
Claire
And then at week thirteen they found that I had a subcarranic chemotoma which basically means a bleed in my uterus. Um, so that was really scary because there's more chances of you miscarriaging with that as well. Um. So from week thirteen to week twenty basically I didn't know if that had gone but by week twenty we had my scan and it was had ah edited gone the subcarran and chemotoma and Bob was looking good and it was about week twenty that I finally said all right I'm pregnant and. I was like okay, it's time now we're just going to embrace it I need to forget about the past and I need to you just fully embody this pregnancy and and basically that's what I did from week twenty onwards so from week twenty to week forty 1 I loved absolutely every single. Moment.

19:20.85
danaemercer
Know that's that just warms my heart because I'm just picturing you know I've you've you've shared really openly the pregnancy and your journey with the bump and then you were such.. You're such a a. Kind of petite woman and Beau is a giant baby.. It's a lot of baby there. So It's just it's just the cutest thing. Um, how would you mind talking a bit about how.

19:40.63
Claire
Yeah I know who.

19:52.74
danaemercer
Did you navigate the dynamic with your partner through all of this I I get a lot of messages with women that are kind of struggling with unsupportive partners or partners who don't understand and if you feel comfortable with you would you like to talk about that a bit.

20:04.94
Claire
Yeah I mean in regards to um, his like through the miscarriage. Do you mean the support or through the pregnancy. Yep yeah I mean I'm so fortunate like.

20:13.49
danaemercer
Yes, yeah, both both.

20:22.48
Claire
Luke my husband was just incredible like I think through the miscarriages he he found it hard because he could see all that I was going through but he couldn't do anything like I mean and that's what men want to do right? They want to. They want to stop things from happening and they want to change things but he couldn't he just had to be there and he had to carry me when I needed to be carried and and that was all that he could do. So I think I think that was really and also. He's mourning as well. You know so and that's something I think that we need to recognize as well is that our husbands are also going through loss. Um, because you know he was just so he was so excited about us having a baby. So I think it was it was a huge thing for him as well. Um, and then during the pregnancy as well like he was going through all the motions he was super hesitant at first we didn't actually tell any of our family or anything um whereas the first 2 pregnancies. We told our family straight away. Um, so we left it. We held off and then by about week fourteen we started to. Talk about it. Um, and it he was the same. It took him to about week twenty and then he was finally excited and I think that was a really nice journey to go through together and as I said I was just so lucky because he was he was really really supportive on every single. Front. So yeah, it was. It was pretty amazing.

21:54.40
danaemercer
That's that's beautiful to hear because I know not everyone has had that experience and I think miscarriage and loss can be 1 of those things that pulls you closer or does create a bit of a divide I I would love to switch the topic just a little bit and um.

22:04.33
Claire
Um, yeah, and the show.

22:10.62
danaemercer
And ask you about your your body image like how did your body image or your awareness of kind of your physical self. How did it change if it did change throughout this journey.

22:20.55
Claire
Yeah, so I mean as I touched on previously I think initially with the miscarriages. Um I've never felt more portrayed by my body. Um, because as I said I'd done everything to. Make sure that I was in the best shape physically and mentally emotionally to give life. So I think that's an initially I I hated my body I was like why like I just didn't understand so it was the first time that I'd really. Really not been happy in the body that I was and and that was something really hard to digest I think um, but as as my third pregnancy as it got along, um, it completely switched oh my god it. I was literally just like I am the happiest I've ever been I felt the sexiest I've ever felt. Um I was growing bigger everywhere. My you know my stretch marks and my bum were getting bigger. My cellulite was getting more but my boobs were getting bigger and my belly was growing and I was just like. Never in my life have I felt so sexy that I did when I was pregnant like I would keep my pregnant body all the time like I I seriously do miss it because it was like creating life I don't know it just gave me a whole different. Um. Like appreciation of my body and and what it's actually for and it was just incredible. So yeah, it just it didn't matter about bikinis or what I looked and like that anymore it was just all about the actual reason why I have this body and why I'm a woman is to give life. And I don't know I just I loved it. I thought it was just the most beautiful experience.

24:17.12
danaemercer
And what about your your postpartum body because I I know a lot of women really struggle with the physical changes. The stretch marks the things that maybe are a little looser or shifted during pregnancy. How did you navigate that.

24:33.50
Claire
Yeah I think for the same exactly the same things as I said with the pregnant body I've um, I've been really happy with my postpartum body as Well. Um, it's just I don't know I can't get over the fact that I made a life. So. That's all why I see my body as now it's just the most I mean I think all women's bodies are just so Incredible. So I don't really care what it looks like I don't care that I have extra stretch mons. It literally has not even occurred to me to be honest, um because it's like I literally I I produced a life and that's. I Just look at my baby and I I can't believe I did that like so for me personally that's I think and maybe because I'm still in the early-ish stages of having a baby I've just not even occurred to me that maybe I'm unhappy. But um, no I'm I'm really yeah. I Just I'm in awe of my body.

25:36.60
danaemercer
That's that's beautiful and fitness I know plays a big role in in your life I know you you have these wonderful like second and third trimester wellness and fitness programs. So what what role do you think fitness should play in pregnancy and what advice do you have. For for our community.

25:54.84
Claire
Oh wow. Okay so this is like could be potentially a very long conversation. But um, let's make it short. So I mean I think fitness and health and wellbeing should play a huge ah part in your pregnancy and postpartum journey. Um I think fitness often gets a bad rep because you often think of you know fitness being really excruciating or really grueling. But I think that what we need to you know? re. Put the narrative in this way is that you're supporting and you're nourishing your body. Um, and you're honouring what's happening and honoring the changes. So I think pregnancy you 1 hundred percent should be moving because the health benefits not only for you but also your baby are undeniable. Um, if you actually move during pregnancy. But it's about stepping more into a supportive movement something that you're going to, um, you know, really honor your body and honor the changes that are going so you don't want to be doing I mean for some women they might be able to but let's just say. General population. You don't want to be doing um 1 ah hundred burpees every day when you're pregnant. It's about moving more into helping Bob get into a really good birthing position which you can do that for a movement helping open up and relax your pelvic. Floor which you can do through Movement. It's about helping reduce stress. It's helping you know, release all those endorphins to make you feel good to make you feel sexy to really help you embrace the pregnancy as well as to help support you through your postpartum period um I mean yeah. And I could go on about all the benefits. But basically you just want to be doing supportive and nourishing movements. Um, rather than anything ruling and to be honest, that goes for your preconception as well like you want to in your preconception phase. So when you're looking to fall pregnant. I work with a lot of women and it's about stepping into your monthly cycle and honoring the changes that are going on in that monthly cycle and working with your ebbs and flows and um, really taking down time when you need it and when you're feeling more. Energetic like your ovulation time then maybe you want to hit it a little bit harder.

28:18.70
danaemercer
So would you give an example of someone in the preconception phase who is honoring or who wants to be honoring their kind of natural rhythm talk us through what you would tell a client.

28:30.61
Claire
Yeah, oh wow. Okay, so um, basically I mean again, this is a really long topic but I'll try to condense it a little bit. So um, what to do with a lot of women is um so we work on a twenty eight day cycle. Ah. Give or take obviously some women might be more of a 32 d cycle some women might be you know 29 but let's say 28 for the sake of twenty eight. Okay, um, men work on a twenty four hour cycle so hormonally men change. Exactly who they are every single 24 hours whereas us. We are a different person every single day for 28 days so we really need to honor that within our work within our movement within our um social engagements so within movement and exercise what I like to do is sort of. In the first half of your cycle. So when you're in the menstruation phase you want to be really doing slow and restorative and type movements. So you maybe might be doing more like yoga or um, you know, something's more supportive in that or a low impact body weight workout. And then as we move into your second half into the ovulation phase you want to you know when you're feeling more sexy you're feeling more vibrant you want to maybe ramp things up and start getting more into that energetic type movement. Um, and this where you're honoring not only your body's cycle. But you're also helping support. The ebb and flows of your hormones so you're not overburdinging. You're not um, allowing those cortisol your stress hormones to be shooting through the roof and you can do this as well by nourishing. Um, you know that sorry you can do this by. Um, nourishing your body as well through food so not calorie counting. Not ah you know deprivation allowing your body to really just fuel and become the best possible person you can.

30:35.79
danaemercer
It's so interesting and it's something I think only in my thirty s did I really start to become aware of my cycle and the whole process around that and I think it is so it is so empowering to be in tune with kind of the natural. Female body as it ovulates and as it the hormones fluctuate claire I'm aware of time and I was saying yeah I am I'm aware of time and I would love you to sort of share a piece of advice or something that you you wish you would have known about about your body about.

30:54.25
Claire
Oh yeah, it is.

31:11.44
danaemercer
Pregnancy about any of this like what? what's something you really want the community to know.

31:16.90
Claire
Um, I think the best possible thing I could say is knowledge is power. Um, and I think that goes for everything in life is that seek out advice seek out support seek out Education. Um. Empower yourself with knowledge on how you you are as a person how your body is how you react as well as the science of things. Um, because I think by empowering yourself with knowledge you have choices and decisions to make and and that is. Ah, think the most important thing when you're dealing with your body and preconception and pregnancy is about preparation. It's about giving yourself the empowerment through knowledge.

32:04.12
danaemercer
Wonderful. Where can people find you if they want to want to know more or want to speak with you directly.

32:11.28
Claire
Um, so you can find me on Instagram at coach by claire. Um, and yeah, that's probably the best place to find me and I have a website on there as well. Which I have my tremester 2 and tremester 3 programs on there. So yeah.

32:27.17
danaemercer
And also claire You do personalized coaching you help women with their own Journeys correct.

32:33.67
Claire
yeah hundred percent so yeah I work 1 on 1 with a load of women to help through the preconception pregnancy and postpartum periods as well as all walks of life to be honest, um, and but they're my sort of main focus at the moment and yeah I've created. Ah, few different programs as well to have supporting on those journeys.

32:57.73
danaemercer
Fantastic. Well thank you? So so much claire for joining us. It was a really informative and powerful episode and I know I for 1 have already gained so much insight and I I feel better with my own Journey. So I Really appreciate that. And I just want to thank all of you for tuning in make sure you are subscribed to hear the rest of season 3 I'll talk to you next time. Okay, we're gonna stop through recording here. We go.

33:22.11
Claire
Ah, thank you so much.