Most women are prepared for the baby. Almost none are prepared for the woman who shows up on the other side of the birth, the one whose hormones, energy, priorities, and sense of self have all quietly changed, and who is being told to just bounce back.

In this episode of The Whole and Complete Woman Podcast, Dr. Alicia Newsome sits down with Alex Riley, a holistic nutritionist with advanced training in functional medicine who specializes in women's health, hormones, postpartum recovery, and sustainable behavior change. For more than 12 years, Alex has supported women through pregnancy, motherhood, and major health transitions. Then she became a mother herself, and she will tell you honestly that knowing the science of postpartum is not the same as living it.

This conversation goes deep on Alex's own story of postpartum anxiety and the turning point that changed how she works with women, the grief that is part of motherhood and why you can love your child and still miss the woman you were before, why bouncing back may be the wrong goal when your body is in recovery mode, what is happening hormonally during pregnancy and postpartum that makes you feel so different, how to listen to your body instead of pushing through, including why your bowel movements are a daily report card and your period is a monthly one, the symptoms women are told are normal that are really a check engine light, why knowing what to do is not the same as doing it, how micro moments and three foundation pillars of movement, nutrition, and restoration make health work in real life, what the mental load does to your body, what our children learn when they watch us care for ourselves, and a rapid fire round you will not want to miss. If you have ever looked up in the middle of caring for everyone else and wondered where you went, this conversation will give you permission to stop trying to go backward and start getting to know the woman you are becoming.

Chapters: 00:00 - Welcome and Introduction 03:17 - Finding Yourself Again After Baby: Alex's Story of Postpartum Anxiety 07:15 - The Identity Shift Nobody Prepares You For 09:00 - Grieving the Woman You Were While Loving the Mother You Are 14:27 - Why Bouncing Back Is the Wrong Goal 17:06 - What Is Actually Happening in Your Body During Pregnancy and Postpartum 19:07 - Rest, Pelvic Floor Care, and Why You Should Not Rush Postpartum Recovery 21:15 - How to Listen to Your Body: Bowel Movements and Periods as Report Cards 24:16 - The Symptoms Women Dismiss That Are Really a Check Engine Light 27:07 - You Know What to Do, So Why Is It So Hard? 28:33 - Wellness Overload: How to Know What Actually Matters 30:08 - Letting Go of All or Nothing: Aim for Better, Not Perfect 31:27 - Micro Moments: A Realistic Definition of Consistency 33:08 - Where to Start: Movement, Nutrition, and Restoration 35:04 - The Mental Load and What It Does to Your Health 37:36 - What Our Children Learn When We Care for Ourselves 40:50 - Rapid Fire Round 43:37 - Honoring Both the Mother and the Woman 46:19 - Final Takeaways and Where to Find Alex

Resources and Links: Connect with Alex Riley: Instagram: @alexrileywellness TikTok: @AlexRileyWellness Website: https://alexrileywellness.com/ Work with Alex one-on-one, join one of her seasonal group wellness programs, or learn about her workshops and seminars: https://alexrileywellness.com/

Books Mentioned: The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson The First Forty Days by Heng Ou

ALL THINGS WOMAN SUMMIT: If you would like to attend the next summit or apply to be considered as a speaker, visit www.allthingswomensummit.com.

FREE RESOURCES FROM DR. ALICIA: www.draliciagifts.com

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SEE DR. ALICIA NEWSOME ON TV: https://youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=uMUmgzkSeMU

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Keywords: postpartum, motherhood, new mom, postpartum recovery, postpartum anxiety, identity after baby, bounce back, hormones, women's health, functional nutrition, holistic nutritionist, sustainable health, micro moments, mental load, listen to your body, bowel movements, menstrual cycle, Alex Riley, Dr. Alicia Newsome, The Whole and Complete Woman Podcast