Do you ever wonder how motherhood has looked since the beginning of time?  Emily Kearney and Melissa Wetzel chat about how Motherhood has changed and taken may different forms throughout centuries and how the concept of “stay at home mom” is a recent/modern/privileged phenomenon, in order to help reduce mom guilt for mothers who feel like they do not do enough for their kids or spend enough time with them, etc. They take a look at ancient history of motherhood, how it evolved in modern times, and mom shame.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iCN6EnaAL0&t=61s 

Research mentioned in episode:

• New York Times Opinion piece, “Early Motherhood has always been Miserable” by Jessica Grose: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/opinion/sunday/babies-mothers-anxiety.html
• Washington Post Opinion piece “A brief history of how we think about motherhood: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-brief-history-of-how-we-think-about-motherhood/2016/05/06/a8a1af86-12df-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html
• Britannica Encyclopedia entry on “Women in the Workforce” https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-work-organization-648000/Women-in-the-workforce
• “Hunter-Gatherer Women” entry in the Anthropology Oxford Research Encyclopedia: https://oxfordre.com/anthropology/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.001.0001/acrefore-9780190854584-e-105) 
•  “Women’s Work in Ancient Egypt” Encyclopedia: https://www.ancient.eu/article/1058/womens-work-in-ancient-egypt/ 
• Oxford University Press’s Academic Insights for the Thinking World, entitled “11 things about women in Ancient Israel you probably didn’t know” https://blog.oup.com/2016/10/women-ancient-israel/
• Women in the Middle Ages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Middle_Ages 

Ready to shop for your "mom car?" Want to know what kind of car is best for your family in the future? Kelly Stumpe, aka the Car Mom, discusses what features to look out for in a mom car, how to choose a mom car that will grow with your family, what to consider when trying to fit one or more car seats in a car, how to negotiate the best deal, her top new and used mom cars, plus more. If you want to pick out the best car for your family, then you can't miss this episode. You can find Kelly on Instagram at @the_car_mom and join her extremely helpful Facebook group as well by clicking here. 

Want to learn about alternatives to hormonal birth control? Want to learn more about the fifth vital sign, your period? Dr. Jolene Brighten, author of Beyond the Pill, is a prominent leader in women’s medicine and the emerging science of Post-Birth Control Syndrome. In this episode, she talks all about periods, why millennials are rejecting hormonal birth control (HBC), the risks versus benefits of being on HBC, how HBC shuts down your hormones, alternatives to HBC, plus more. You can learn more about Dr. Jolene Brighten at  www.drbrighten.com

Do you have an identity outside of motherhood? If not, is that something you desire? LaWann Moses chats about how finding an identity outside of motherhood enriched her life and made her a better mother.

Do you want to start your own business or side hustle? Priscilla Huerta started The Little Catholic, an artisan online jewelry shop, almost three years ago, and has been very successful. She shares her tips and tricks on how she created a successful online business, how she was able to transition to working for herself full-time, plus more. 

Want to know all the labor and delivery essentials? Labor and delivery nurse, Trish, shares all of her wisdom about giving birth. We chat about what you should pack in your hospital bag, what to expect during triage, the most common interventions and their risks/benefits, pain management, inductions, how your partner can best support you during delivery, various pushing positions, what to expect during a c-section, VBACs, plus more! Whether you are a first time mom or fifth time mom, you will learn so much and enjoy this episode.

Actress Ashley Bratcher, who plays the lead role in Unplanned, talks about her journey to motherhood, balancing motherhood with being an actress, and living with bipolar disorder. She explains why she chose life amidst and unplanned pregnancy in her own life. She also is transparent about the struggles of having a demanding career while being present for her son. Finally, she chats about why she views her bipolar diagnosis as a blessing, and how she manages it in her life.

Gut health is so important to overall health, and most do not know that know pelvic floor physical therapy can help with. As mothers, many of us deal with constipation at some point in our motherhood journey whether it is during pregnancy, early postpartum, or it has been a lifelong issue. Dr. Betsey shares actionable steps can we take to help ease constipation and improve gut health. Maintaining proper gut health ultimately can lead to better labor, delivery, recovery, and overall well-being as well.

Link to Dr. Betsey Caldwell's Birth Class: The Push Lab

Use code "Mothergood" for $20 off Dr. Betsey's birth class!

Steps to Ease Constipation:

1. Set yourself up for success. Use a squatty Potty. We want knees higher than your hips. For centuries, humans defecated in a squat position. That seems very caveman-esque, but it’s the truth. That is because our body’s were anatomically designed to defecate in a squat. 

   1. Click here to see what squatty potty looks like

   2. WHY - We need to activate our parasympathetic nervous system - the rest and digest NS 

2. Slow down the process. Don’t Rush a BM. I know as moms we can have multiple kiddos screaming at us when we are trying to relax to have a bowel movement. Try keeping special toys in the bathroom that they ONLY get to play with when you need to poo. That should give you 10 minutes!

   1. Try to respond to the urge to defecate within 10-15 minutes if you cannot respond immediately. IF we consistently ignore the urge, overtime, our body will stop sending us signals.

3. Pay attention to your urges! Don’t ignore the urge.

   1. Make sure you sip and do not chug. 

   2. For some of us, smoothies and carbonated drinks including sparkling water can worsen constipation.

4. Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water daily. 

     5. Pay attention to stress.

1. 1. I know we are living in a very stressful world right now but not only will managing our stress levels help us strengthen our immune system to fight off any virus or illness we get entering into flu season, it will also help regulate our bowel movements.

   2. When I say MANAGE stress levels what I actually mean is learning how your body internalizes stress. Which leads me to my last tip...

      6. Stop Gripping your muscles to cope with stress. 

For example, do you grip your jaw, your shoulder blades, your belly muscles, your glutes (butt muscles) or your pelvic floor?

When we do these compensation patterns, we are internalizing stress and it can actually slow gut transit

Dr. Betsey Caldwell's Bio

Betsey Caldwell is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who specializes in pelvic health and women's health. After consistently hearing from her patients, "why didn't anyone teach me about my pelvic floor sooner?" she has made it her mission to spread pelvic health awareness and education on social media.