When Jaclyn Vasey of Chester County was pregnant with the first of her two sons, she began experiencing pain at her sacroiliac joint, which needed to be addressed to enable her to get through her pregnancy without being in severe pain and to enable her to function physically.
“Being a physical therapist, I tried to self-treat, which was mostly unsuccessful,” she said. “The pain was severe in nature, so I decided to get trained in pregnancy and postpartum rehabilitation.”
Vasey implemented what she learned, and the pain improved significantly, enabling her to walk, and got her through the pregnancy.
Wellness coach Jaclyn Vasey, with her husband and their two children. (Courtesy of Jaclyn Wellness Collective)
After delivering her son, she had a realization when she was back to work and began treating more pregnant and postpartum women.
“I realized that they were taught nothing about their bodies during pregnancy,” she said. “Outside of ensuring the baby is growing properly, mothers are given minimal resources.”
So Vasey decided to start Mom Reset Summer BootCamp, an opportunity that serves as a jumpstart into summer that centers on wellness tactics for pregnant and postpartum women.
Strong bonds
Vasey said she also learned that OB-GYNs and midwives rarely prescribe physical therapy for women during pregnancy and postpartum, unless they are referred to a pelvic floor physical therapist. But to those few who were referred to her, she formed strong bonds due to their shared experiences and her open and friendly nature.
“I became a resource for these patients, outside of helping to improve their pains or weaknesses,” she said. “I became their friend and helped guide them through this time, learn how to move their bodies, how to reduce pain, lift baby or car seats to avoid injury, how to exercise safely and effectively and ultimately take care of themselves during pregnancy and postpartum.”
Brittney of Montgomery County, who declined to give her last name due to privacy reasons, worked with Vasey postpartum.
“Jacqueline has a rare ability to make you feel truly seen, supported and capable during pregnancy and postpartum,” Brittney said. “She is grounded and present while also being incredibly knowledgeable and encouraging because she understands the mental and physical load moms carry and creates an environment that feels safe, empowering and realistic for real life.”
Listened to and supported
Brittney said that she always felt listened to and supported.
“I walked away feeling more confident in my body and myself,” she said. “Jaclyn has a natural gift for guiding and encouraging through a season that can feel overwhelming, and I’m deeply grateful for the care she provided.“
In retrospect, when Vasey was going through her pregnancies, she wished she had her own wellness coach to use as a resource.
“I needed someone to remind me how to eat to improve my body composition while being able to still breastfeed; someone to provide me with exercises that were safe for my stage of postpartum,” she said. “And I wish I had someone to talk to about the hard days and how those days lead me down a path of eating poorly.
“Having dedicated support would have been amazing. Even more, I wish I had that through pregnancy so I was already set up for success after having the baby.”
Accountability groups and coaches
She said that accountability groups and coaches are great resources to remind you of your goals.
“I knew how to help myself — I was educated in nutrition, health, wellness and rehabilitation and I still had a hard time getting myself to be healthy again,” Vasey said.
She felt lucky to be a physical therapist because she realized she had knowledge from which so many women could benefit, so she founded Jaclyn Wellness Collective last year, based in Chester County but serving all locations virtually.
“As a wellness coach, I wanted to create a space where women can feel motivated, heard, uplift other women and get back to feeling like themselves after having children,” Vasey said.
Summer boot camp experience
During her summer weekend boot camp experience, Vasey will be sharing information on how to lose weight and sustain it and much more.
Jaclyn Wellness Collective’s boot camp is for pregnant and postpartum moms of all ages. (Courtesy of Jaclyn Wellness Collective)
“It will run in April, about a month before Memorial Day, and will serve as a way to jumpstart into the summer season feeling optimal,” she said, adding that the information she’ll be teaching includes calculating your own macros; how to weigh and measure food; biohacking tactics; supplement review; engaging your core properly during exercise; and life as a mom.
Posture for motherhood and wellness tactics
Other topics will include posture for motherhood and other wellness tactics for moms.
So when it comes to taking the time out to choose an ideal camp experience for your children to look forward to, don’t forget about yourself and your personal needs to preserve all aspects of your wellness, particularly if you are new to motherhood and are looking for support from others going through the same experience.
“I want to ensure women have a place to ask questions, relate to other women and feel heard,” Vasey said. “New moms, especially, have questions daily and through what I offer they have someone to talk to, who has been there, which is invaluable.”
Improve your lifestyle
Specifically, Vasey feels women need support from the start of their pregnancies through postpartum and well into motherhood on nutrition, exercise, appropriate posture and body mechanics in order to improve their lifestyle while caring for their children.
“The special part of my program is that women have access to me, a physical therapist and health coach, to help guide them through these times,” she said.
More information
About Jaclyn Wellness: Jaclyn Wellness Collective offers a 16-week one-on-one health coaching and weight loss program or an opportunity to join the Jaclyn Wellness Collective, a virtual accountability group for moms of all ages that is a safe environment for women to ask questions and feel heard. Local meetup opportunities will provide moms with a chance to form friendships among others going through similar experiences.
For more information:
• Website, www.stan.store/jaclyn_wellness
• Instagram: jaclyn_wellness
• Facebook: Dr. Jaclyn Wellness
• Email: drjaclynwellness@gmail.com
Jaclyn Wellness Collective addresses the best ways to operate as Mom, whether squatting to pick up your baby, placing the baby in a crib, rolling over when pregnant properly to avoid pain and difficulties to feel your best during pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. You will get the opportunity to learn how to move and live to reduce the chance of pain during pregnancy and postpartum.
About Mom Reset Summer BootCamp: Jaclyn Wellness Collective’s Summer BootCamp, which will be taking place on April 18-19, will provide you with an opportunity to learn, ask questions, provide and get support. With Jaclyn Vasey’s guidance, you will get some foundational tools to help yourself and become a part of a community. The aim is to serve as a jumpstart to being consistent with health habits while balancing the chaos of being a mother. Enrollment is open.
