You’ve probably heard birth described as “the most painful experience of your life.”
But what if we described it as: the most powerful performance the human body can sustain; a literal ultramarathon of muscle, mind, and meaning?
Meet Needed Champion Tsune Brown, who reframed birth not as a test of pain tolerance, but something bigger and full of heart.
“Motherhood is an endurance sport™ because it asks everything of you: body, mind, and heart. You learn to push through the ache, to rest without quitting, to rebuild when life burns down. It’s patience and persistence, love and discipline, resilience and recovery. It’s the art of showing up, again and again, with heart strong enough to keep going, and soft enough to still feel.”
The Science of Birth Endurance
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Labor is the most energy-intensive event in a woman’s life. Studies estimate that active labor can burn between 13,000 and 25,000 calories, rivaling or exceeding an Ironman Triathlon.
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The uterus is the strongest muscle in the human body by weight, contracting up to 100 times stronger than during menstruation, during labor.
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The body releases adrenaline and oxytocin to fuel contractions, while endorphins rise to manage pain. It is an intricate hormonal choreography that pushes human performance to its physiological edge.
Why Tsune Is Our Champion
Tsune’s story celebrates surrender as strength.
Her journey didn’t stop at birth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsune chose home birth to navigate hospital restrictions safely, trusting her body and her midwives amid uncertainty. In the years that followed, she faced another extreme challenge: losing her home in the Eaton Fire, demonstrating resilience not only in childbirth but in life itself. Through it all, she embodies the layered endurance of motherhood, physical, emotional, and logistical. She is a true Needed Champion.
Practical Takeaways
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Train your breath: Slow, deep breathing reduces cortisol and improves oxygen flow.
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Build strength before labor: Core and pelvic conditioning can shorten labor duration.
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Support recovery immediately: Labor is an event; postpartum is the recovery phase.
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Support healing: Prioritize Collagen and protein rich foods.
The Bottom Line
Birth is not the end of endurance, it’s the turning point. It demands preparation, energy, and recovery equal to any major athletic event.
Our campaign celebrates mothers like Tsune, whose story reminds the world that giving birth deserves the same reverence as crossing any finish line.
The accompanying image of Tsune is by photographer Maggie Shannon, as part of her work capturing the space between “Extreme Pain and Extreme Joy”, illuminating the intensity, beauty, and complexity of motherhood.
Our “Motherhood Is an Endurance Sport™” campaign kicks off alongside the NYC Marathon, celebrating the unmatched strength, stamina, and resilience of mothers everywhere. The visuals spotlight the many faces of endurance with champions from IVF and infertility journeys to labor or everyday marathon of motherhood. Reminding the world that moms deserve the same recognition, recovery, and support as any athlete. At the heart of this initiative is Every Mother Counts (EMC), a nonprofit improving maternal health worldwide. To further their mission, we’re releasing a limited-edition “Motherhood Is an Endurance Sport™” shirt, available online and at Happier Grocery, with 100% of proceeds supporting EMC’s vital work.
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