Peoria’s own Inspired Maternity: The secret behind the studio’s name

By Heather Lauf

When Dr. Ashley Wozniak, owner and founder of Inspired Maternity in Peoria, first began working on the concept of creating a Physical Therapy and wellness studio exclusively for prenatal and postpartum women, she would soon become a new mom herself – as she was pregnant with her first baby.

“I had started learning about prenatal fitness, and then learning how to heal myself postpartum,” said Wozniak, who is a certified Physical Therapist. “Then I started diving deeper into creating a program aimed at wellness and true healing for postpartum women.”

Wozniak, who had previously been working at an orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, began looking into starting her own business, which would allow her to work more exclusively with prenatal and postpartum women.

What’s in a name

In the meantime, Wozniak became pregnant with her second child, and also started to consider what to name her new studio. She found that many health practices are typically named after the founder of the business, or have a name that incorporates the words “wellness” or “physical therapy.”

Wozniak gradually realized she wanted to convey that she was offering something different, since her studio caters to a very specific group – prenatal and postpartum women, as well as providing a unique focus on proactive wellness and education.

“When I combined the words ‘inspired’ and ‘maternity,’ there was something about it that really resonated with me,” she said. “The word ‘maternity’ stood out to me because I’m very passionate about postpartum healing. After the experience I had with my own postpartum healing, I realized the length of time it truly takes to heal and that I had to learn to take care of myself differently.”

“In our country, there’s such a short time given for maternity leave,” Wozniak said. “There are many misconceptions about when a mom is ready to go back to work. I learned it takes a lot longer than three months to fully heal after giving birth.”

Inspired Maternity

Because of her focus on proactive wellness, injury prevention, and overarching goal of changing the public conversation and thought process about the postpartum and maternity period, Wozniak ultimately decided to include the word “maternity” in her studio’s name.

Wozniak emphasizes wellness education for prenatal and postpartum moms in her practice and chose to add the word “inspired” to highlight that.

“I want to inspire mothers to take care of themselves and show them how to do that during pregnancy and postpartum – to help them set themselves up for improved healing and fewer injuries – and inspire them that it’s ok to take time for themselves,” said Wozniak.

Wozniak works to provide information to mothers about the length of time that it takes to fully heal postpartum (hint: it’s not at 6 weeks post-birth, when the majority of OBs “clear” new moms to go back to doing everything they did before). She provides education and tips to help new moms incorporate healing activities into everyday baby/toddler care – because, as she knows well herself as a mom of two young children, moms are busy people.

What are your goals?

Talk about your pregnancy or postpartum healing goals with Dr. Ashley Wozniak. Learn more about the studio, wellness programs and Physical Therapy offerings at www.inspiredmaternity.com.

Inspired Maternity in Peoria is a one of a kind Pregnancy and Postnatal Health, Wellness and Fitness Studio located in Peoria, Ill. We offer in-studio prenatal and postpartum fitness programs and Physical Therapy assessments throughout the calendar year, as well as virtual options and telehealth visits.