Darcie Pervier, MSPT, PES Owner, Newburyport Wellness, LLC
How My Passion For Postpartum Wellness Developed My journey through pregnancy and postpartum recovery sparked a passion for helping other women understand how their body works to heal best from childbirth. During my pregnancy I was sidelined from my running regime due to severe pubic pain until I redefined my workouts and was able to resume what I love. Then post baby, I suffered from slow pelvic floor healing and my return to running was slow and not without pain. I was told that postpartum pain was normal and it would go away eventually. There were no pelvic PT's in my area and I had no time for big trips far away so I designed my own treatment program. Fast forward to baby #2 where I ran a 1/2 marathon to announce my pregnancy at 14 weeks and remained active through all of that pregnancy. Post baby I experienced another cautious return to exercise given diastasis recti was prominent (simply because my fascia was strained after having two kids). Two years later the arch of my right foot was totally collapsed from years of running when pregnant and nursing. LESSONS LEARNED: 1. THERE ARE SHORT AND LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES TO THE EXERCISE CHOICES WE MAKE WHEN PREGNANT OR NURSING. 2. ONCE POSTPARTUM ALWAYS POSTPARTUM
I eventually started teaching an exercise class for postpartum women and found many of them were suffering silently with symptoms they thought were normal. Things like pelvic pain, back pain and incontinence ran rampant in this group of women. That’s when I committed to helping women build their strength from within and more comprehensively heal from childbirth. I have become entrenched in understanding how pregnancy and labor can impact your body and psyche. Pregnancy can be hard on your body. The physical aspects of postnatal recovery process can take months — or even longer. And, re-adjusting to a child's routine is never ending! Recovery is not spontaneous. It takes self-awareness and lots of self care! While it is common to experience back pain, stress incontinence and pelvic pain, it is NOT normal! It is not they "way you have to live" just because you had a baby. The truth is, many of these issues stem from a dysfunctional inner core system.
Eventually, I realized that exercise was not enough. The body holds injury and trauma in altered motor patterns that affect the way you move. Your body can hold trauma and stay in a state of fight or flight and inhibit proper muscle activation. This is when I began my journey with coaching to enhance mind-body reconnection and empowerment so that my clients can achieve their goals! Quite simply, I’m committed to helping my clients live their best lives by addressing core dysfunction and the problems related to it.
More About Me I am a lifelong wellness and fitness enthusiast who received a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Connecticut. I have been devoted to healthy eating and for as long as I can recall. I literally started this passion for exercise around he age of 4. I love making vegetarian and vegan healthy meals in my spare time. I am committed to empowering my two daughters to connect with and honor their body's by eating balanced, exercise and listening to the cues their body gives them about what it needs.
I have had my fair share of medical mishaps that have lead me to practice holistically and invest in hearing my client's stories so that I can help guide them to success to the best of my capability. From knee pain at age 9 playing soccer to "career ending" elbow pain playing softball and chronic ankle sprains, sports related injuries have impacted my life. This was my introduction to the traditional world of medicine and rehab. Add to that debilitating periods as an early teen/young woman. My pain was totally dismissed by my mom and so I never bothered to mention it to my doctors. It was a terrible existence of pain, passing out and missing school. The pill managed my symptoms for years and it wasn't until I had kids that I heard of Endo and was able to see that the pain was not in my head after all. I am lucky because I no longer have debilitating pain, but my mission is to help others suffering in silence. My injuries symptoms were often minimized and I was told many times to toughen up. If I only knew then, that my loose ligaments meant my muscles needed to be stronger to hold me together. I wish I knew then that the hips I seemed to grow overnight caused me to lack the stability I used to feel with running and playing sports. If I only knew then that my body's ability to double down and work through pain was not a good plan during certain periods of my menstrual cycle. If I only knew then that listening to your body is the key to long term health and wellness. I believe in a holistic approach to wellness. Not just treating injuries or symptoms, but preventing them from happening in the first place. And that oftenstarts with the core.