Think you “caused” your diastasis by breathing wrong or lifting heavy? Let’s retire the blame. We dig into what the research actually says about diastasis recti, core tension, and the real impact of progressive strength training after birth. No magic fixes, no fear-mongering—just practical steps to feel stronger, lift smarter, and trust your body again.

We also unpack the hormonal rollercoaster of early postpartum. Low estrogen can look like perimenopause: night sweats, dryness, joint aches, even a higher risk of frozen shoulder. Your period might return at six weeks or nine months and still be normal. And yes, surprise pregnancies can happen while nursing. We explain how cycles, prolactin, and training interact so you can make informed choices without anxiety driving the bus.

For athletes eyeing a comeback—powerlifters, runners, hybrid competitors—we map a realistic path back to the platform. Skip the crash cuts and rigid weight classes while you’re fueling recovery. Build capacity with tempo work, bracing, and pelvic floor coordination, then add load with patience. We also tackle prolapse with clarity: how to read symptoms, where a pessary fits, what conservative care can achieve, and when surgery is a valid route. Stronger before surgery often means better after, and smarter mechanics beat blanket lifting restrictions every time.

If you’re tired of conflicting advice and want evidence, empathy, and actionable plans, you’re in the right place. Subscribe, share with a friend who’s navigating postpartum training, and leave a review telling us the myth you most want debunked next.

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A wave of excitement hit social media over a perimenopause hormone therapy “study” that hadn’t even cleared peer review. We pull back the curtain on how posters at medical conferences actually work, why methods and nuance matter, and how hype from massive accounts can eclipse the careful voices of the researchers themselves. It’s a candid look at women’s health misinformation, how it spreads, and why long-form conversations offer a better path to clarity.

From there, we dive into real questions from active moms. What explains breathlessness and fatigue at just eight weeks when your body looks the same? How do you navigate the identity whiplash of being an athlete who suddenly feels slower, quieter, and less recovered? We share practical ways to stay consistent, lean on community, and reframe expectations without losing performance completely. You’ll learn how to assess lower abdominal soreness after toes-to-bar, when a hip flexor or lower abdominal strain is the likely culprit, and when anxiety or ectopic history means it’s time to see a clinician.

We map out first-trimester strength work in clear terms: three focused full-body days, two to four sets per lift, rep ranges that respect energy, and simple progressions—add a rep, add a little load, or add a set as recovery allows. Instead of defaulting to scaling everything, we push for a progression mindset and modify only when your body asks. On pelvic girdle pain and sciatica, we compare slimmer pelvic belts like the Serola with fuller supports, explain who benefits most, and pair any device with targeted hip and trunk strengthening. We also spotlight a missing piece in the literature: how pre-pregnancy injury history shapes pain during pregnancy, and what that means for prevention.

If you’re an active mom, coach, or clinician who values evidence with empathy, this conversation gives you tools you can use today—plus the context to spot hype before it takes root. Subscribe, share with a friend who trains, and leave a quick review to help more women find trustworthy guidance.

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Conflicting rules about pregnancy exercise can make even seasoned athletes second-guess their training. We cut through the noise with a practical framework that honors your history, your symptoms, and your goals—so you can keep moving with confidence. Christina Previtt, pelvic floor physical therapist and researcher, digs into why guidance still conflicts, what the latest research actually supports, and how to use simple guardrails to make smart decisions in real time.

We break down the 150-minutes-plus-strength target, why “some” beats “none” at every step, and how to think about intensity when heart rate naturally runs higher during pregnancy. Runners get a deep dive on comfort strategies: strength training to reduce pelvic floor dysfunction risk, SI belts and compression to offload the pelvis and abdominal wall, and internal bladder supports like Impressa or Uresta for urethral hypermobility. If you’ve been told “don’t lift” or “no squats,” you’ll hear a clearer path: pick movements you can breathe through, brace without pain, and recover from within 24 to 48 hours, and modify when symptoms speak up.

We also reframe diastasis recti. A two-finger gap is often below clinical concern, the linea alba will lengthen to make room for baby, and targeted core work is not off-limits. Learn which exercises actually train the abdominal wall, how to scale without bulging or pain, and why capacity matters more than chasing closure during pregnancy. By the end, you’ll have a steady set of cues, tools, and options to tailor running, lifting, and daily activity across trimesters—without fear or guesswork.

If this Q&A style hits home, tap follow, share with a friend who’s training through pregnancy, and leave a quick review with your top question for part two. Your feedback shapes the next round of topics and helps more active moms find evidence they can use.

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Imagine your daily choices in pregnancy quietly shaping your child’s metabolism, stress responses, and emotional regulation for years. That’s the compelling throughline from our time at the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology pre-conference, where leading researchers shared how movement and food quality during pregnancy build health that lasts well beyond birth.

We break down what the latest studies suggest about prenatal exercise, resistance training, and reducing ultra-processed foods. You’ll hear how even simple interventions—like pairing grocery support with a pedometer goal—can improve early childhood outcomes up to 36 months. We also talk candidly about the barriers that make “just exercise and eat well” feel unrealistic: long commutes, childcare, nausea, finances, or medical restrictions. Our aim is to cut the fear and guilt, and replace them with doable wins grounded in the 24-hour movement guideline, where any shift toward more activity and less sitting moves the needle.

Whether you’re an experienced lifter cruising through classes or taking your first steps into movement, you’ll find a flexible framework that respects context and celebrates small gains. We explore the nature–nurture blend and how epigenetics helps explain the long arc from prenatal habits to early development, without overselling certainty. The takeaway is warm and practical: choose what’s possible today, protect sleep where you can, keep stress in check, and let consistency do the heavy lifting for both you and your baby.

If this conversation helps, share it with a friend who needs encouragement, subscribe for more evidence-based guidance on pregnancy and postpartum performance, and leave a review to support the show. Your feedback shapes future episodes and helps more parents find their path.

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Fear thrives where facts are fuzzy—especially around pelvic organ prolapse. We open the blinds with clear explanations, zero scare tactics, and a practical path back to the barbell. You’ll hear why the vagina isn’t a hollow tube, what normal movement of vaginal tissues looks like when you bear down, and how providers actually assess prolapse across the anterior, posterior, and apical walls. More importantly, we focus on what your symptoms mean for your life and training, not just what a grade says on paper.

We get honest about timing and healing. Early postpartum tissues are remodeling, so a six‑week verdict rarely predicts your long‑term baseline. Think of prolapse like stretch marks: some bodies show more change, some less, and sensitivity varies. When heaviness or that “golf ball” sensation shows up, we map out next steps—conservative care to coordinate your pelvic floor, simple recovery positions to calm flares, and how a pessary can act like a sport-ready brace with the right fit. We also outline when surgery is typically considered, what options exist, and the trade‑offs to discuss if future pregnancies are on your mind.

Then we take on the weight room myths. Occupational lifting data isn’t the same as structured strength training, and newer research doesn’t show a significant increase in descent among strenuous sport athletes. Translation: you didn’t “cause” prolapse by one heavy session. We walk through a return-to-lifting framework—clean up bracing to avoid bearing down, use your breath as a pressure gauge, manage load to raise your symptom threshold, and reintroduce the belt with purpose. Along the way, we tackle constipation, coughing, and pelvic floor tightness, so you’re not clenching your way into more discomfort.

If this conversation eased your fears or gave you a plan, share it with a friend, subscribe for more evidence-based guidance, and leave a review to help other moms find reliable support.

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The room got quieter when the number landed: HCG at 5,000—far too low for nearly thirteen weeks. From that moment, everything we’d been planning—the crib shuffle in our three-bedroom house, the baby names our kids were arguing over, the assumption we’d crossed into a “safe zone”—shifted into the harsh clarity of a missed miscarriage. We’re sharing the story we needed to hear: what the ER limbo feels like, how bedside ultrasound can foreshadow a formal diagnosis, and why lab values can be both information and heartbreak.

We walk through the real choices families face after pregnancy loss: expectant management and its long, uncertain timeline; medical management with misoprostol, including what the pain, bleeding, and safety thresholds actually feel like at home; and surgical management via D&C when speed, tissue testing, or medical necessity make it the right call. Along the way we talk about follow-up plans, HCG monitoring, when to seek help, and how to make decisions that match your values, schedule, support system, and mental health. This is practical, compassionate guidance from people who just carried it.

You’ll also hear the partner’s perspective—what it’s like to hold hope in a waiting room, to field waves of well‑meant messages, and to grieve a child without the physical markers of loss. We share how we told our kids, why simple rituals like a barefoot hike helped, and how community support can be both overwhelming and lifesaving. If you’ve been here, you’re not alone. If you haven’t, this conversation can help you support someone who has with empathy instead of minimization.

Subscribe for more honest, evidence‑informed conversations on pregnancy, postpartum, pelvic health, and strength. If this episode resonates, share it with someone who needs it and leave a review to help others find these stories.

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The internet turned pelvic floor training into a turf war—“always Kegels” on one side, “never Kegels” on the other. We cut through the noise with a clear, evidence-backed framework that shows how to build strength, practice relaxation, and keep moving with confidence through pregnancy.

We start by grounding the conversation in what the research actually supports: pelvic floor muscle training can reduce postpartum urinary incontinence and help many pregnant athletes and recreational movers maintain function as load increases. From there, we zoom out to the system that matters most—the diaphragm, abdominals, hips, and pelvic floor—and explain why coordination beats clenching. You’ll hear how to choose your focus based on your starting point, what symptoms to watch, and why both contraction and full release are essential skills for labor, lifting, and daily life.

Together, we map a practical plan you can live with: simple tests to decide when to prioritize strengthening, how to practice relaxation without overthinking it, and easy “habit cues” to fit training into a full schedule. We also challenge the myth that strengthening blocks relaxation during pushing and show how education and timing are the real game changers. Whether you’re entering pregnancy with previous leaks or feeling strong and symptom-free, you’ll learn how to adapt training to your week, trust your body’s signals, and stay aligned with long-term pelvic health.

If this helped you drop the confusion and find your middle ground, follow the show, share it with a friend who lifts, and leave a quick review with your biggest takeaway. Your questions shape future episodes—what should we unpack next?

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Cesarean delivery affects one in three births in America, yet many expectant mothers remain unprepared for this possibility. As a pelvic floor physical therapist and athlete who has competed while pregnant, I'm pulling back the curtain on C-sections with compassion and expertise.

The journey begins with addressing the emotional landscape. If you experienced an unplanned cesarean, hear this: you did not fail. You delivered your baby. This message resonates deeply with listeners who've felt disappointment when birth plans changed unexpectedly. I explore the value of doulas as advocates during these pivotal moments and explain why grieving an unexpected birth experience is both normal and important.

We dive into the different types of cesarean births - planned, emergent, and emergency - demystifying each scenario with clear explanations that go beyond medical jargon. You'll learn what actually happens during the procedure, from the horizontal skin incision to the lesser-discussed vertical internal cut that impacts your recovery.

The podcast shines in its practical recovery guidance. We explore the concept of a "gentle cesarean" with music, delayed cord clamping, and skin-to-skin contact. I share evidence-based rehabilitation techniques including early walking, pelvic floor exercises, and the crucial but often overlooked scar mobilization techniques for both the visible and internal incisions.

Most powerfully, this episode transforms anxiety into agency through knowledge. Whether you're currently pregnant, recovering from a cesarean, or planning future pregnancies, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of cesarean delivery that empowers rather than frightens. The techniques shared apply whether your C-section was six weeks or six years ago.

Ready to rebuild your strength after cesarean birth? Visit thebarbellmamas.com to explore our programs designed specifically for athletic mothers at every stage of the journey.

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Interested in our programs? Check us out here!