Caroline Little Cribari
is a system constantly being pushed away from its initial
state of equilibrium. At the same time, pregnancy is a
constant state of wellness with the body moving through
changes in a dynamic process creating equilibrium across
its course, thereby actually not being an illness but rather
a state of dynamic wellness. This concept was used
in order to develop a new model of wellness: “Dynamic
Wellness”. Traditional models of wellness rely on creating
stability in life, identifying healthy behaviors, doing
them consistently, and promoting wellness by developing
constancy in life. In pregnancy, postpartum and across
most women’s lives, “constancy” is not the norm. Change
is the norm. Therefore, traditional models of wellness do
not adequately apply and, thus, do not adequately provide
guidance for understanding, assessing, and optimizing
wellness in most women’s lives. This new model of
“Dynamic Wellness” will be presented as a model that
will enable women and providers to share a systematic
way of approaching and understanding wellness in states
of transition with terms needed to communicate about
it. The model offers specific guidelines to assess patient
wellness when in the state of transition, has a clinical tool
for assessment, and provides specific guidelines for optimizing
wellness in the context of life transitions.
