[NEW] Race and Representation in Perinatal Fitness with Inemesit Graham

We’ve all done it. Compared our body to someone else’s.

And then subsequently felt like trash about it.

You meet another mom at the park, or you’re scrolling through Instagram and come across an advertisement for the latest, greatest #fitmom workout program featuring all white women, in smaller, lean bodies.

You find yourself wondering…

Why does my body look like this and theirs looks like that?! What’s wrong with me? Why can’t my belly/arms/legs be shaped like that?

Sigh.

This week on the To Birth and Beyond podcast we welcome Inemesit Graham (she/her), owner and fitness coach at Mummy Fitness.

Inemesit is a fitness coach, mother to three young sons, wife, sister, daughter, friend.⁣

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On this episode we talk about how Inemesit’s interest in fitness grew out of her own struggles with understanding her body since childhood. ⁣

She was born with a large umbilical & para-umbilical hernia, a condition which was never explained to her and that she never understood until she was in her thirties. ⁣

After having her second child she discovered she had diastasis recti.⁣

“At the time I saw it as another weird thing about my body and I hated it all the more.⁣

But in my desperation to break free of my overwhelming self-loathing, which affected everything from my confidence to my happiness, I searched for answers. ⁣

I found answers in exercise.”

As Inemesit began trying to learn more about the diastasis recti she started understanding her body better.⁣

In the episode we also talk about:

1. The work that she does with postpartum people and mothers in fitness⁣
2. The harms of centering whiteness in fitness and how this shapes what we ALL think about our postpartum bodies
3. The need to see a much larger variety of bodies represented in exercise so we can see that so-called ‘fit’ bodies are shaped in many ways
4. What her relationship to her body and her belly is like today, and what her thoughts are about having surgery for her diastasis recti.⁣

Inemesit is doing incredibly important work in pregnancy and postpartum exercise, supporting people as they go through transitions in their bodies that can feel deeply uncomfortable.⁣

You can now listen to my conversation with Inemesit – linked above.

Jess

Ps. Need further support and guidance in your prenatal or postpartum workouts? 

Work with me directly in To Pregnancy and Beyond for progressive, monthly exercise plans that are specific to your trimester of pregnancy, postpartum re-strengthening, or core and pelvic floor needs. 

Feel supported with a customized workout program through pregnancy and postpartum