If you’ve ever booked a shoot before you were actually ready for it, this episode is for you. We’re talking about postpartum recovery for self-employed moms, and it’s a conversation every mom needs to hear.
We started Motherclickers because photography and motherhood don’t exist in separate lanes. They collide constantly, and nowhere more than in the stretch of time after you’ve had a baby and you’re supposed to just be back. Back at your desk, back behind the camera, back to normal. This episode is about what “back” actually means for your body, and how much of what we’ve all been told about it is wrong.
What This Episode Is Really About
We sat down with Dr. Lydia Brodie, a chiropractor based in Burlington who specializes in pregnancy, postpartum, pediatric, and family care through her practice, GrowCo. She’s spent years educating other healthcare practitioners on postpartum rehab, she runs both in person and virtual recovery programs, and she’s navigated returning to work herself after two C-sections while running a physically demanding business of her own.
This isn’t a general wellness conversation. It’s specific to the reality of photographers and really all moms. Basically it’s for anyone whose job asks their body to move constantly, get up and down, carry gear, and show up fully present for someone else’s biggest day, all while their own recovery is still very much in progress.
A Sneak Peek Inside This Episode
We get into what your six week clearance actually confirms about your body versus what most of us assume it means. We talk about a statistic around pelvic health that neither of us had heard before this conversation, and honestly it changed how we think about our own recovery. Dr. Lydia also walks through a much more realistic way to think about pacing your return to work, one that has nothing to do with pushing through and everything to do with actually listening to your body.
There’s a personal story in here too, one of us has a five weeks postpartum shoot story that we’re not going to spoil here. You’ll want to hear it in full.
Why This Conversation Doesn’t Sound Like Typical Business Content
Most photography education stops at business strategy and creative technique. We built Motherclickers because that leaves out half of what actually determines whether you can sustain this career, your body and your capacity, especially in the years you’re also raising small humans.
This episode sits right at that intersection. It’s photographer mentorship in the sense that matters most, understanding what your business is actually asking of you physically, so you can build a career that lasts instead of one that burns you out by year five. That’s the whole point of this podcast, and it’s part of why we built a photographer community around conversations like this one instead of leaving everyone to figure it out alone.
Listen to the Full Episode
This is one you’ll want to hear start to finish, not skim through. Find the full conversation with Dr. Lydia Brodie on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and stick around to the end for a discount code she’s offering listeners on her postpartum rehab programs.
While you’re there, follow along on Instagram @motherclickers for the rest of the content from this episode, and if you’re looking for a weekend built around actually resting instead of just talking about it, the Muskoka Cottage Retreat still has a few spots open.
This is just the beginning of what we’re building.