Brittany Aäe is not only an ultra-athlete, she’s a new mom. As such, she knows firsthand what it’s like to watch your midsection expand with pregnancy and not be entirely sure what you’re going to be left with once baby’s been born.
That being said, she’s had a remarkable postpartum experience, and now hopes to encourage other moms-to-be out there by sharing her story.
Before conceiving, Brittany (whom you can read loads more from at Magnetic North) excelled at a variety of outdoor sports. Not only did she run right on through her nine months of pregnancy, she’s well-versed in snowmobile-accessed backcountry skiing, high-level rock climbing, and running mountain ultras alone. She’s as fit as fit can get — and thus an interesting case to consider when it comes to pregnancy.
Take a brief moment now to look at some of Instagram/@ __magneticnorth__/‘s pre, pregnancy, and post-birth pics:
__magneticnorth__ don’t want to give up the heights, your favorite lumps of granite, long distances alone, or slashing pow just because you’re pregnant? then start preparing before the embryo takes up residence. first part of new series on the topic up on my blog: magneticnorth.us/journal
here I am at twenty-three weeks pregnant whipping my favorite @stevenspass avalanche dog, Nason, into shape on one of many low-country hot laps. #pregnantathlete#thisispregnancy
pregnant ultra running tip #1: there is no way to soothe Braxton Hicks and exercise does not cause them. run through them - while minding posture and hydration. #pregnantathlete #pregnantultrarunning
skis are hung up for the weekend, snowmobile is in the garage for the season, and I took the morning for a kettlebell and home wall workout. the time I put in at the gym this winter has allowed me to keep climbing my regular problems - stoked. #pregnantathlete #thirdtrimester
six miles of hills at 7:30 pace to round out my sixth day straight of training. not bad for the #thirdtrimester. #pregnantathlete #pregnantultrarunning
on this splitter Wednesday Nason and I celebrated the baby's eighth month of incubation with lonely backcountry corn laps after @theolivetreesandthemoon's eloquent post a couple days ago I've been thinking about how much I miss having my period. it has been eight months since I bled which makes me feel disconnected from the cycles of the moon. it feels like some deep, primal timekeeping mechanism is broken, like spring came unbidden. it is wrong that three seasons will not be broken into an even three by the moons in my body. #pregnantathlete #thirdtrimester
#pregnant and looking for some advice on the outdoor gear you need (or don't) for pregnancy? hit the link in my profile for some practical words on the crap the outdoor industry tries to sell preggos and the affordable items you really need to keep skiing, climbing, and running for all forty weeks. now go cruise some of that plentiful alpine corn! #pregnantathlete #thirdtrimester
one thing I love about living here are quick afternoon sessions on a hump of obscure rock snuck in after the duties of the day are complete. last night in particular a redtail vibrated sawwing ponderosa rafters while we followed the seam upward. my seventh day on real rock since the spring melt! #pregnantathlete #thirdtrimester
I'm not training for birth, I'm training for something much more difficult: climbing season. #pregnantathlete
this should be a non-lesson as all rock climbers should already move with awareness of their dai mai, Mūla Bandha, pelvic floor, transverse abdominus, psoas, whatever you want to call it - all of those deep, subtle, injury-preventative core faculties. however, as a non-pregnant climber, it is possible to use other muscles to compensate for a weak or unaware core.
we are all capable of developing an intimate awareness of the muscles that make me feel like I am soaring on the wall at 38 weeks pregnant. go check out my blog for the full post - link in my profile. #pregnantathlete #noexcuses
7:15 pace around Greenlake and all I have to show for it is this jacked up belly button. #thirtynineweeks
Rumi Wren arrived on our bedroom floor on Tuesday evening to tears and jubilation. she has already made our world brighter. #fourdayspostpartum #RumiWren
and on the fifth day I took lead falls and a run. #fivedayspostpartum
when we celebrated my first Mother's Day last month, Rumi was not yet born. now, as we ring in an extra auspicious solstice Father's Day full moon I took a pause to recognize this man with whom I brought Rumi earth side three weeks ago.
Ryan is the consummate renaissance man: he harvests from the land in the most ethical fashion, devotes gratitude to every alpine climb, served me as a most capable doula, and most weeks he surprises me by revealing proclivity in yet another artistic discipline. he can use YouTube and his able mind to teach himself to do anything.
Ryan is a feminist of the highest integrity and a stable force in my life. when I got pregnant so soon into our relationship I knew I could trust this man to be a brilliant parent - and he is. here's to the parenting of a man who will always ruin our selfies - especially the epic ones on romantic freezing cold walks out from some strange crag in J-Tree at dusk.
today #RumiWren and I were sending. #seventeendayspostpartum
dedication to my practice: this mountain runner did the good work on hot pavement this morning. #thirteendayspostpartum
in this image these two women are at about the same stage in their pregnancies - 39 weeks. that is the gorgeous @tessholliday looking boss on the left and me with the defined abs on the right.
she is a voluptuous model and I am a sinewy mountain athlete. both of us are shamed for our size - she for her roundness and me for my smallness. both of us are having or had healthy pregnancies as validated by our healthcare providers. both of us are making empowered choices about our personal health.
why does our society shame women whose bodies do not adhere to some narrow notion of false normalcy?
throughout pregnancy I was so scared of how my body would look and feel after pregnancy. as a mind-body athlete, my body is my sacred vehicle for gnostic movement, my only home, my treasure. I couldn't bear the thought of ringing in my big 3-0 (two weeks from now!) in a body that didn't feel like home.
so, after overthinking it too much this is me two weeks before pregnancy, twenty weeks pregnant, thirty nine weeks pregnant (and actually in labor), and one week postpartum. when I was at the gym each day taking these photos I did the same workout: ten pitches in the 5.10-5.11 range followed by a run. happy to report that, in that last image, I felt STRONGER than in the first image.
***quote continues in the post***
#pregnantathlete
Rumi's first time to the crag! we survived the forty five minute drive and are fueling up streamside before hiking in. cross your fingers she'll be just as content at the crag as she's been so far at the climbing gym. big ups to @aaronvrourke for enabling this climbing session #tendayspostpartum #normalizebreastfeeding #RumiWren
thanks to my family at @verticalworldclimbing! ten years ago this is where I first whipped my uncoordinated ass into shape during good-vibe 6am sessions with a band of hard climbing ladies. one month ago I went into labor while climbing these walls.
five days postpartum this is where I took my first joyful lead falls after pregnancy. now, more middays than not, this is where you'll find the three of us. thank you for the beautiful family portrait @aaronvrourke!
In looking through Brittany’s photos, this particular part of one image’s caption caught my eye. In the four-part shot of her pre- to post-pregnancy body she writes:
“I am sharing not to brag, to make others feel bad about their own unique journeys, or to put any ‘should’s out there. I share to dispel fear other pregnant athletes might hold about their own post-pregnancy bodies. please allow these images to broaden your idea of what a ‘normal’ pregnant and postpartum body looks like. once again I feel at home in my body – except this body just got done blood doping for ten months while wearing a progressive weight vest. I’m coming for you, Bust tha Move!”
Interesting, don’t you think, to be encouraged to expand our idea of what is normal?
A sampling of quotes from Brittany’s journal on her postpartum recovery:
“As an athlete I consistently hold unrealistically high expectations for myself. I am often guilty of goading myself, not feeling good enough, or chiming the word ‘failure’ into my own ears. After the experience of birthing Rumi at home and recovery ridiculously fast I can for once say my body has exceeded my expectations.
“Near the end of my pregnancy I expected my recovery to be fast and to leave me stronger than I was before pregnancy. What I did not expect was for that process to take place in a span of less than a week.”
– After the birth: After laboring for twenty-two hours and pushing for three and a half, one might expect that I experienced tearing or needed stitches. None of the sort! My tissues were entirely intact thanks to my excellent partnership with my midwife team, level of hydration, and general good health.
– Recovery snack: Yet another plus to giving birth at home was the gin and tonic Ryan brought me in bed after showering. After I’d downed that, he brought me my first placenta smoothie. Yum!
– Placental processing: Knowing all the benefits of ingesting one’s placenta, I learned how to process my own placenta and for months looked forward to it as a closing ceremony to the rites of pregnancy and birth. A day after Rumi was born I set a ritual tone to my kitchen, examined, cleaned, trimmed, steamed, dehydrated, ground, and encapsulated my/our placenta. I’ve enjoyed putting to use the organ that I worked so hard to create – seems silly to throw it away.
– Postpartum box: In the weeks before birth I did everything I could to make myself feel cared for knowing that charging up my tank of yin would aid in an efficient recovery. To that end, I prepared a postpartum box for myself. In a beautiful round tin I placed my favorite lace underwear, arnica gel, postpartum spray, my favorite menstrual pads (screw those crappy generic brand ones that come with birthing kits!), a fortifying smoky quartz wand, my favorite trail mix, rose face lotion, nipple butter, and a dose of immediate postpartum supplements to kick off the healing process. In the first few days postpartum I adapted the contents of this box to contain all the items I need to keep my busybody self in one place for a few hours (journal, snacks, breast pad, pump parts, headphones, lip balm).
– The practice of rest: As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not only an expert at movement I also spend a lot of time and energy developing the crucial skills of rest. Intentional rest skills are super handy in the postpartum period. Among them are meditation, yoga, and everything else discussed here.
The morning after Rumi’s birth Brittany and her new family of three went on their first walk. It lasted 10 minutes before the new mom was tired.
Two days after that walk, Brittany went on her first run on the treadmill. The next day she went outside, and the following on the trails, each time being mindful of how her body felt.
At three days old Rumi went to the climbing gym. Brittany writes that by “one week postpartum I felt like a fraud calling my experiences ‘postpartum’ anymore – I felt totally normal again and my midwives agreed I’d already managed a full recovery. Thanks be to hard, consistent work, self knowledge, and attention to meaningful rest!”
Incredible, right?
Via email, Brittany was kind enough to answer a few questions I had. Here’s what she had to tell BabyCenter:
How much did your weight change throughout pregnancy to today?
Brittany: “It is about the same today as it was before pregnancy – which I didn’t and still don’t track closely.”
What was the deal with the body-shamers you posted about?
“Their fear of their own bodies or of pregnancy came my direction in the form of condescending unsolicited advice and fearful disparaging comments about my athleticism. I realised that dealing with them one on one was ineffectual and decided to address the topic more publicly.”
How do you feel now about deciding to publicly address the situation?
“The response to my posts has been overwhelming. Proud to say that since things went viral the photo has been viewed tens of thousands of times and received a total of two troll-y comments. People are ready to expand the way they conceive of a healthy pregnant body and the positive response has been beautiful. I’m glad to have contributed to the conversation.”
Now that you’re two months postpartum, are there any lasting body changes you’re experiencing?
“Yes. My anaerobic threshold prior to pregnancy was 176 – MHR is 204. Postpartum my new anaerobic threshold is 186. My VO2 max has concordantly increased. As a result of training hard through pregnancy I’ve retained a good deal of extra muscle mass which helps with power on the uphill portions of my runs and joint protection on the steep downs. My hematocrit increased 6% – as if I’d been sleeping in an altitude tent for the last year. My vascularity has increased.
“Prior to pregnancy I’d tended toward hyperthyroidism and that has resolved itself. As during pregnancy, I continue to receive the benefits of increased blood volume (I didn’t lose much during labor) and enhanced stem cell activity: reduced recovery time, increased pump volume of my heart, better ability to adjust to altitude, and reduced respiratory rate at work. This is all not to mention the mitochondrial adaptations my daughter, Rumi, received as a result of my endurance athleticism.”
What message do you have for female athletes out there who may be worried about becoming moms and losing the fitness they currently have?
“I hope that by sharing my experience I convey the message that this is possible for any athlete who truly commits to her practice. I am not a natural athlete, I have just worked really hard for a decade. Luck has nothing to do with a healthy, functional pregnancy in which the athlete continues to progress on her path.
“Also, compromise, sacrifice and the like are not necessary parts of pregnancy and motherhood. A woman sets an excellent example for her children when she sends the shit out of her rock project, runs hundred milers on the regular, and shreds the backcountry pow.”
Brittany went on to tell us she feels pregnancy “is not a symptomatic experience if the athlete can forget the gloom and doom society and Western medicine have fed her.”
Although I’m extremely nowhere near the ultra athlete level, I have had the opportunity to spend time annually with both male and female fitness buffs. Their enthusiasm and dedication is both inspiring and slightly intimidating — but on the whole I love having my eyes opened to what the human body is capable of.
Many thanks to Brittany for sharing her family’s story with us. Be sure to connect with her at Magnetic North and on Instagram.
What did you think your postpartum experience would be like? In what ways were you wrong, and in what ways were you correct?
Share with usAll photos shared with permission from Brittany Aäe
