Suffolk Woman's Wellness

Have you ever looked back and thought, “If only I had done that sooner,” “Why didn’t I listen to myself?” or “Maybe things would be different if I had made another choice.”

This is called counterfactual thinking. It is when the brain imagines an alternative version of the past and compares it with what actually happened.

Sometimes this helps us learn. But when we are grieving, recovering from illness, processing trauma, navigating fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, relationship changes, menopause or diagnosis, it can become incredibly painful.

The problem is that hindsight gives us something we did not have then: information.

We look back knowing how things turned out and judge the woman we were then using knowledge that belongs to the woman we are now.

That is where thoughts like “I wasted all that time,” “I should have known,” or “I should have put myself first” can begin to take hold.

But she did not know what you know today. She was making decisions from the circumstances she was in, the information she had, the hopes she carried and what she believed might still be possible.

Sometimes self-blame can also create a sense of control. If we believe we made the “wrong” choice, we can convince ourselves there must have been a “right” one that would have protected us from the pain.

Sometimes there simply wasn’t.

Two things can be true at once: I wish I had made some different choices, and I made the best decision I could with what I knew at the time.

So perhaps instead of asking, “Why did I do that?” we could ask, “What was I hoping for, needing or trying to protect?”

And then, “Knowing what I know now, what do I need to choose for myself next?”

We cannot go backwards and care for our past self differently, but we can stop punishing her.

Sometimes healing is recognising that the woman you were then was doing her best to find her way through something she could not yet see the ending of.

Love, Nina xx

What if your body is still holding onto things your mind has already moved on from?

Have you ever noticed that even when life is technically “fine”, your body doesn’t always seem to have got the memo?

You might feel tired but struggle to truly relax. Your shoulders stay lifted, your jaw is clenched, your tummy feels tight, you hold your breath without realising, or you wake in the night with your mind already busy.

Sometimes we become so used to living like this that we think it is simply our personality.

“I’m just a worrier.” “I’ve always been tense.” “I’m terrible at switching off.”

But what if some of this is your nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do?

When we experience stress, pressure, fear, grief, trauma, overwhelm, childbirth, illness, relationship difficulties, hormonal changes or simply years of pushing through, our nervous system responds.

We brace. We tighten. We prepare. We keep going.

And sometimes, long after the stressful experience has passed, the body is still carrying some of that activation.

This is one of the reasons I love **TRE, Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises** so much.

TRE works with the body rather than asking you to analyse everything that has ever happened to you.

Through a series of simple exercises, we invite the body’s natural tremoring response to begin. Shaking and tremoring are instinctive responses seen across the animal world after periods of threat or stress, and TRE gives us a safe and intentional way to explore this natural mechanism.

For many women there is something incredibly powerful about realising: I don’t have to think my way out of everything. sometimes the body needs a way to release too.

Women often describe feeling calmer, lighter, more grounded, more spacious in their body and deeply relaxed after TRE. For some, it feels like finally being able to exhale.

I’ll be running another **women-only TRE workshop** soon, and over the next few weeks I’m going to share more about what TRE is, why we tremor, what happens during a session and how it may support the nervous system. love, Nina x

Do our ovaries retire after menopause?

The ovaries have largely been described as reproductive organs, releasing eggs, producing hormones and then, once menopause arrives, becoming far less relevant.

But fascinating new research is beginning to challenge that idea. A 2026 study looking at ageing mouse ovaries found that once reproductive function had ended, the o***y did not simply become inactive. As follicles disappeared, the ovaries developed a much stronger immune and inflammatory profile, with increasing numbers of immune cells including T cells and macrophages. The researchers described the post-reproductive o***y as becoming increasingly immune-like.

Another 2026 study using detailed single-cell analysis also found growing populations of inflammatory immune cells within ageing ovaries and complex communication between immune cells and ovarian cells.

So perhaps rather than viewing the o***y after menopause as a redundant organ, we need to think of it as an organ that changes function as it ages.

This research does NOT yet prove that human ovaries become immune organs after menopause. Much of this work has been carried out in mice, and we need further human research before knowing exactly what this means clinically.

But it raises some fascinating questions.

Could the postmenopausal o***y still communicate with the rest of the body?

Could it continue to influence inflammation, ageing and endocrine signalling?

And could this help us better understand why ovarian conservation may still matter beyond our reproductive years?

We already know that menopause does not mean the ovaries suddenly stop doing everything. Hormonal activity changes dramatically, but ovarian tissue remains biologically active.

Perhaps one of the biggest shifts we need in women’s health is moving away from thinking about female organs purely in terms of reproduction. Our ovaries may have a story that continues long after our periods stop. Once again, women’s bodies are proving to be far more complex than we were taught.

Converse et al., *Molecular Human Reproduction*, 2026; Galligos et al., Communications Biology, 2026.

There was so much more to Dolly Parton than the rhinestones, the extraordinary voice and the songs we all know. ❤️

Behind that huge career was also a woman who lived with endometriosis, experienced fertility difficulties and eventually underwent a partial hysterectomy. She had once imagined that she and her husband Carl might have children, and she spoke about the sadness that came with realising that motherhood would not happen in the way she had expected.

And yet, look at what she did with her life.

Singer. Songwriter. Actress. Businesswoman. Trailblazer. Philanthropist. A woman who came from poverty in rural Tennessee and built an extraordinary career while refusing to lose her warmth, humour or sense of who she was.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of her story is that although she never became a mother herself, she poured so much love into other people’s children. Her Imagination Library has sent hundreds of millions of free books to children around the world, opening doors to literacy, imagination and possibility.

There feels like such a lesson in that. Sometimes life does not give us the path we thought we would have, and still, a life can expand in ways we could never have imagined.

Dolly showed us that femininity has no single shape, that motherhood is not the measure of a woman, that you can be soft and incredibly powerful, glamorous and intelligent, funny and wise, successful and generous.

And perhaps most of all, that what happens through us can reach far beyond what happens to us.

What a woman. What a legacy. What a beautiful soul to have shared this world with. 🌸

Rest well, Dolly. You certainly left it brighter than you found it. ❤️ xx

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PELVIC FLOOR DURING PREGNANCY AND BIRTH?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissues forming a supportive base underneath the pelvis. It helps to support the bladder, bowel and uterus, contributes to continence and works alongside the diaphragm and abdominal muscles as part of our core.

During pregnancy, the pelvic floor is already adapting long before labour begins.

It carries the increasing weight of the uterus and baby, while hormonal changes affect the tissues supporting the pelvis. Constipation, coughing, reduced movement, changes in posture and increased pressure through the abdomen can all add to the demands placed upon it.

During a vaginal birth, the pelvic floor must then soften, lengthen and open to allow the baby to pass through.

Research using biomechanical modelling suggests that the most stretched areas of the levator ani muscles may reach more than three times their original resting length as the baby is born. That is an extraordinary amount of change for any muscle to accommodate.

This does not mean that vaginal birth inevitably causes lasting damage. The body has a remarkable capacity to adapt and recover, and many women regain good function with time and appropriate support.

However, it does help us understand why recovery should not be reduced to simply being told to “do your pelvic floor squeezes.”

Some pelvic floors may feel weak or less responsive after birth. Others may remain tense, guarded, painful or unable to relax fully. There may also be changes to sensation, bladder or bowel control, pelvic support and confidence with movement.

Pregnancy affects the pelvic floor regardless of how your baby is born, so women who have had a caesarean birth may also benefit from pelvic health assessment and rehabilitation.

A postnatal MOT assessment can look at breathing, abdominal recovery, pelvic floor strength and relaxation, symptoms, scars and how everything works together during movement.

Your body has undergone an enormous physical transition. It deserves time, understanding and individual support as it recovers. Love, Nina x

Classes resume after Summer break. Tuesdays 6:30pm Sproughton Church Hall, near Ipswich If you’re pregnant in Ipswich, Sproughton or the surrounding Suffolk area and looking for a safe, supportive way to keep moving through pregnancy, come and join my Pregnancy Pilates classes.

Pregnancy brings so many changes to your body, your posture, core, pelvic floor, hips, back and breathing all adapt as your baby grows. Pregnancy Pilates can help you stay mobile, build strength, support your changing body and prepare physically for birth and postnatal recovery.

It’s also a lovely hour each week to slow down, connect with your body and baby, and meet other local mums-to-be.

Classes are taught by me, Nina — an experienced midwife, women’s health practitioner and specialist pregnancy and postnatal exercise instructor, so you can feel confident that your pregnancy and individual needs are always at the heart of the class.

Pregnancy Pilates – Sproughton, Ipswich
Tuesday evenings at 6.30pm
📍 Sproughton Church Hall

There is free parking on the road outside, or additional parking just a two-minute walk away down Church Lane, so it’s nice and easy to get to.

Suitable throughout pregnancy, with exercises adapted as your pregnancy progresses. You don’t need any previous Pilates experience and you certainly don’t need to already feel fit — just come as you are.

If you’ve been searching for Pregnancy Pilates in Ipswich, pregnancy exercise in Suffolk, prenatal Pilates, antenatal exercise, pelvic floor exercise during pregnancy or safe pregnancy fitness, I’d love to welcome you into the class.

Book via my website or send me a message if you’d like to know more. xx

PrenatalPilates AntenatalExercise PregnantInIpswich PregnantInSuffolk IpswichMums SuffolkMums MumsToBeIpswich MumsToBeSuffolk PelvicFloorPregnancy BirthPreparation PregnancyFitness

My unplanned solo parenting holiday!

Croatia turned out to be so much more than a holiday.

At the airport, just as we were about to leave, my husband was turned away at the gate because his passport had expired.

Suddenly I had minutes to decide.

Do I turn around and go home too… or do I get on that plane with my children and just work it out?

I got on the plane.

And that meant arriving in another country without the person I’d expected to share the driving, navigating everything myself and then getting into a left-hand-drive car and driving for over an hour, in the dark, on the opposite side of the road.

I was completely out of my comfort zone, but I did it.

I did it for my children because I didn’t want their holiday to disappear in that moment. But, I did it for myself too as I desperately needed this break.

And somewhere between the fear, the driving, the exploring, the sea and the sunshine, I was reminded of something I think we women sometimes forget.

We are capable of so much more than we think we are.

I’ve learnt that sometimes your mind has to lead and your body follows. You take the next turn, then the next one, and suddenly you realise you’re doing the very thing you were convinced you couldn’t do.

Growth for me this year arrived at the airport gate and says, “Right then… what are you going to do?” I’m proud of what I chose. ❤️

FREE GIVEAWAY – ZINZINO BALANCE TEST WORTH £120!!!! Update! Winner announced on the 17th as Sam Evans, big congratulations

I have a Zinzino BalanceTest to give away to one lucky person.

This test is designed to measure your personal omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid balance using a small self-collected blood sample, which is then sent away for analysis.

Learning more about your own fatty acid profile can be really interesting, particularly if you’re curious about nutrition and how your everyday diet is reflected within your body. Omega-3 and omega-6 are both important fats, and having some personal information can give you a useful starting point for thinking about your food choices and overall wellbeing. It’s information rather than a diagnosis, but sometimes knowing a little more about what’s happening inside can help us make more informed choices for ourselves.

To enter:

* Like this post
* Comment BALANCE below
* Share this post to your stories

I’ll randomly select a winner on Monday 17th August.

Terms: This giveaway is for the test kit only. I am not affiliated with, sponsored by or working with Zinzino. The winner is responsible for carrying out the test themselves, following the instructions provided, arranging and paying for any postage required, registering the test and retrieving their own results via the Zinzino website.

I take no responsibility for the testing process, sample collection, postage, laboratory analysis, results or interpretation of those results. The test should not be used as a substitute for medical advice, and any health concerns should be discussed with an appropriate healthcare professional.

There is no cash alternative and the prize cannot be exchanged. Good luck! love, Nina x

Hello Summer Holidays!!!

I’m now officially out of office and taking a little time to rest.

Thank you so much to everyone who has kept me so wonderfully busy this year. I have loved working with so many interesting, inspiring women and being trusted to support you through such personal and important stages of your lives.

It is always a privilege to hold space for the women who come through my door, whether you have needed physical support, emotional care, guidance, reassurance or simply somewhere to pause and feel heard.

Now it is time for me to practise what I so often encourage others to do. I’m stepping back for a little while to rest, replenish and recoup my energy, so that I can return feeling refreshed and ready for the rest of the year.

Thank you for your continued support, your recommendations, your trust and for helping my little business continue to grow. I will respond to messages and enquiries when I return. Until then, I’m switching off and allowing myself some proper time to rest. Love, Nina xx

Have you heard of a caesarean scar niche?

A niche, sometimes called an isthmocele, is a small indentation or pouch within the muscle of the uterus where the caesarean incision has healed.

They are being talked about more because improved scanning and recent research have helped clinicians identify them more clearly. Niches are common, and many women will never know they have one because they cause no symptoms.

In some women, however, a niche may collect menstrual blood or fluid. This may contribute to prolonged brown spotting after a period, bleeding between periods, pelvic discomfort or difficulties conceiving again.

Researchers are also exploring whether retained fluid or inflammation around the niche may affect s***m movement, implantation or IVF treatment. The evidence is still developing, so we cannot say that every niche causes fertility problems. The size of the niche, whether fluid collects within it and how much healthy uterine muscle remains are all important.

What about caesarean scar therapy?

Scar therapy may support the comfort, sensitivity and mobility of the external abdominal scar and surrounding tissues. It may also help women reconnect with an area that feels tight, numb or uncomfortable.

However, the external scar and the niche inside the uterine muscle are not the same structure. At present, research has not looked specifically at whether external scar therapy can prevent a niche, reduce its size or improve fertility.

This is why we need to use the word may. Scar therapy may support wider caesarean recovery, but it should not currently be described as a treatment for a uterine niche.

Women experiencing prolonged spotting, pelvic pain, fluid within the womb or secondary fertility difficulties may benefit from further investigation, usually with a transvaginal ultrasound or saline scan.

This post is not intended to create fear around caesarean birth, but rather improve awareness, supporting further research and helping women receive appropriate, individualised care. love, Nina x