We have known Dr. Lindsay Mumma of Triangle Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center for a few years now, and love her approach to prenatal and postpartum care in the Triangle!
She is an amazing Webster Certified chiropractor who has received advanced training in a wide variety of specialities that makes her a valuable resource for many members of our community! Furthermore, she is the North Carolina Regional Director and COO of BIRTHFIT where she teaches pregnant and postpartum people how to use their body in a more effective and safe way.
What we love about her approach is she doesn’t define postpartum as a 12 weeks, but rather you are always postpartum because your body changed, for example, I am 3 years and 4 months postpartum. In addition to leading BIRTHFIT classes fitness classes, she teaches both group and private childbirth education classes in her North Raleigh office. We highly recommend her to all of our clients, and are excited to feature her this month as our provider spotlight!
What made you get interested in chiropractic work?
When I was 16, I started seeing my chiropractor and it changed my life. I'd been to multiple providers for low back pain that I was having that started at age 15, and none of them could help or even figure out what was "wrong". After I started seeing my chiropractor, my back pain went away, I could return to my regular sports, and I also stopped getting migraines. I was astounded at the changes that happened under her care.
What do you see the main benefits of consistent chiropractic work for your clients, especially during pregnancy and the postpartum period?
There are so many! The biomechanical changes of pregnancy alone necessitate chiropractic care: the body's rapid changes typically result in compensations that can be addressed by helping the body move better. But the neurological aspect is probably even bigger. The impact of chiropractic care has been shown in research to decrease the length of labor in first time moms, decrease reported pain during labor, increase a woman's ability to relax her pelvic floor (which is key in birth - especially because so many women have pelvic floors with too much tension), and enhance postpartum recovery. A well-balanced pelvis is imperative during labor and birth, and a well-balanced neuromusculoskeletal system throughout the Motherhood Transition allows for optimal function.
We love the introduction to BIRTHFIT we attended at your office last year. Can you tell us more about the ideas behind BIRTHFIT and how it is such a great program?
BIRTHFIT is a movement that is changing the way the world views birth. Through the four pillars of fitness, nutrition, mindset, and connection, we are helping women and their partners become educated on their options as well as in-tune with their bodies so that they can make truly informed and empowered decisions throughout the Motherhood Transition. From preconception through at least the first year postpartum, we offer in-person and online courses so that women can feel supported as they prepare for, experience, and recover fully from childbirth. We have classes for coaches and professionals so that they can learn how to incorporate BIRTHFIT into their interactions with clients, and have Regional Directors all over who teach the BIRTHFIT curriculum, which includes childbirth education through postpartum rehabilitation. Our education and movement classes are all designed with a pregnant or postpartum woman in mind and come from the holistic approach of addressing the whole person instead of just a woman and a bump/baby separately.
I get to serve as COO of the company as well as run BIRTHFIT NC here in Raleigh, so I get to see how it plays out in our community as well as the impact we're making worldwide, and it's amazing what an empowered and informed Motherhood Transition looks like.
Speaking of BIRTHFIT, we love the saying "slow is fast". Can you explain a bit more how you use this thought in your practice?
This is our favorite mantra. Slowing down allows us to be fully present and to create a space between stimulus and response. It allows us to BE in our body and allow healing or processing to take place. This also is true of movements and rehabilitation: the slower you go through a transition or movement, the faster you learn from it and the faster it can work to help you. For me, this meant that taking my second postpartum time period VERY slowly and intentionally meant that at two years later, I'm feeling strong and stable instead of depleted and drained.
When you aren't working with clients, where can we find you?
I love being at home with my family. I ended up traveling a LOT this year - almost every month I was on a plane - and that's not my norm. I love working with patients and BIRTHFIT clients in person, and I also love growing the BIRTHFIT movement, but when I'm not doing those things, you can usually find me in my back yard! And if you want to find me online, you can follow along @birthfit_nc or @trianglecrc on social media.
And most important, what did everyone in your family dress as for Halloween?
I dressed up as Aladdin; my older son was a dragon; my younger son was a "cowboy", but the hat, boots, and horse stayed at home and he just carried around a toy pistol. This was our first year going trick-or-treating, so that was a new experience!
