Motherhood & the body
A mother still belongs to herself
A woman’s relationship with her body does not stop being her own when she becomes a mother.
Movement can mean many things: walking to clear a thought, dancing in a kitchen, training for a race, stretching after a long day or simply enjoying what a body can do. Motherhood may change the time, energy and space available for any of it. It need not erase the woman’s own relationship with movement.
In Canadian measurement from 2022–2024, 39% of female adults aged 18 to 79 reached the recommended amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity. This figure is for women overall, not mothers alone, and it does not measure the value of a body or the worth of a day.
An earlier Statistics Canada analysis, using data from before the pandemic, found that single mothers were the least likely of the family groups studied to meet that activity threshold: 28% did. Time, access, money, disability, health and the availability of care can shape what is possible. The figure is a description of circumstances, not an invitation to judge individual mothers.
The conversation about mothers’ bodies often turns quickly to appearance or recovery. Yet a woman might be interested in strength, pleasure, rest, play, or none of those things at a given moment. Her body is not a project for the audience around her.
The question beneath the statistics is wider than an exercise target: what kinds of room do women have for experiences that belong to them, beyond what others need from them?
How can a conversation about mothers’ bodies leave room for their own account of living in them?
A little trivia
In the 2022–2024 Canadian measurement, what percentage of female adults met the moderate to vigorous physical activity recommendation?
- 19%
- 39%
- 79%
Reveal the answer
B. The measured share was 39% for female adults aged 18–79. This was not a mother-specific estimate. Source: Statistics Canada ↗
The Trust Her Words check-in
What does time in your body mean to you?
Four observations about movement, rest and choice. This is a light editorial exercise, not a health or fitness assessment.
A light editorial exercise. It does not assess wellbeing, readiness or circumstances. Answers are not sent or saved.