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Today I am speaking with Dr. Sara Tanza, pelvic floor physical therapist, and Steph Bruce, professional runner for HokaOneOne NAZ Elite, mom, Celiac, Co-conspirator for Picky Bars, coach. Sara and Steph both, have been incredibly open about what it looks like to return to exercise after pregnancy and how they are active moms in their postpartum. 

We talk about: 

-forming the Dream Team 

-getting stronger with age 

-the importance of rehab 

-life as a professional runner 

-listening to your body 

-having a baby at 39 

-always keep learning 

-breastfeeding struggles 

-communicating with your provider 

-running the US Olympic Marathon Trials 

Time Stamps 

1:00 Introduction 

5:51 how they met 

9:57 beginning to work together 

14:58 preparing for pregnancy 

19:18 retire or olympic trials? 

30:04 concerns during 3rd pregnancy 

38:50 .handling early postpartum 

45:40 fueling your body for its needs 

51:00 gauging postpartum progress 

57:10 bridging the gap between progress and perfection 

1:06:13 what’s next 

1:7:45 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH STEPH 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/stephrothstein/ 

CONNECT WITH SARA 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/pelvicpotential/ 

Website: https://pelvicpotential.com/ 

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

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Today I am speaking with Andrea Herbert, co-founder of Gold Ivy Health Co. She is making it her mission to simplify the research and inspire women everywhere to own their health and life. As a mother of 3, wife, entrepreneur, and marathoner working to complete a marathon in all 50 states, Andrea juggles a lot. The combo of finding balance, staying aligned with her values, and having fun brings endless fulfillment and she wants more women to join her. Andrea has coached thousands of women to embody the highest version of themselves, whether their goal is to build confidence, be a better person or parent, lose weight, find more joy, or run a marathon. After a decade of working with clients, Andrea created the Ivy Unleashed Podcast to help women listen to their truth and chase after their dreams. Along with her co host Brooke, they bring the real, raw truth of how difficult it can be to care for ourselves and inspire women with health tips, expert opinions, and inspirational stories to never stop prioritizing their physical and mental health.

We talk about:

-Prioritizing Self-Care as a Mom

-Maintaining Your Identity Through Motherhood

-Pushing Yourself Past Perceived Limits

-Holding High Standards for Your Life

-Setting Healthy Boundaries in Relationships

-Acknowledging your capacity

-Making Health & Wellness Accessible

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

4:40 finding community

10:52 relying on exercise for mental health

13:48 running with young kids

17:30 changes after the last child

22:35 transitions of motherhood

34:49 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH ANDREA

Links to Gold Ivy Health Co.: https://konect.to/goldivyhealthco

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldivyhealthco/

Ivy Unleashed Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ivy-unleashed/id1540810300

MOVE with Gold Ivy: https://goldivyhealthco.com/move/

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

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Today I am speaking with Dr. Stephanie Waggel, a mother, physician, author, motivational speaker, teacher, cancer survivor, marathon runner, and founder of Improve Medical Culture. She has a degree in psychology, biology and medicine and has over 17 years of experience working in the mental health field. In 2023, Dr. Waggel became certified in perinatal mental health. Specifically, advanced studies in perinatal psychopharmacology (medication for pregnant people). She feels this area is understudied and pregnant women deserve an educated professional to provide correct diagnosis and treatment. She started a free therapy group and heavily advocates for expansion and integration of PMADs care.  

We dive deep into the importance of having professionals that can diagnose and treat perinatal mental health, as well as her own mom journey. 

We talk about: 

-advocating for maternal mental health 

-psychologist versus psychiatrist 

-breastfeeding and medications 

-when to seek help 

-intrusive thoughts in postpartum 

-finding running in postpartum 

-sports in pregnancy 

-early education 

Time Stamps 

1:00 Introduction 

3:06 where to go and who to see? 

10:04 meds in postpartum 

14:06 intrusive thoughts 

 20:01 normalizing feelings 

25:35 being a runner 

31:53 more moms talking about postpartum 

35:24 exercise to navigate mental health 

42:30 the fear of losing control 

49:38 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH DR. WAGGEL:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvemedicalculture/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/improvelifepllc/ 

TikTok-  www.tiktok.com/@improvelifepllc 

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ImproveLifePLLC/ 

Youtube- https://youtube.com/@improvelifepllc 

Website: www.improvelifepllc.com 

We have a free biweekly anonymous virtual group therapy for pregnant persons + new parents. RSVP for free tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-group-therapy-for-pregnant-persons-and-new-parents-tickets-699860972007 

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

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Today I am speaking with a returning guest, Lisa Ryan, a former high school English teacher who completely changed her career after the birth of her children. Before having children, she was a competitive CrossFit athlete who then struggled postpartum with diastasis recti. Because of her experience, she became a coach to help women avoid experiences like hers. We hear about her coming to terms with getting a tummy tuck to fix her diastasis recti and how she was completely open about her experience leading up to it. With the perspective she gained with her experience, Lisa is able to empathize with so many women.

Lisa is so open about her experience getting surgery and how she’s dealt with it as an athlete. You don’t want to miss this episode!

We talk about:

-tummy tucks and diastasis repair

-sharing her journey

-knowing when to have surgery

-different types of surgery

-expectations after surgery

-pros and cons of surgery

-setting PRs after tummy tuck

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:58 working out through significant diastasis

7:30 trying to find answers for DR

14:14 sharing her story and helping others

16:19 deciding to have surgery

23:50 collaborating with doctors  

30:27 immediately after surgery

40:00 hitting PRs in your 40’s

42:28 Tummy Tuck Rehab

50:00 Questions to ask yourself

55:21 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH LISA

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lisa.marie.ryan/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lisa.marie.ryan/
Website: https://www.instagram.com/tummytuckrehab/

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

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Today I am speaking with Reshma Rathod, co-founded of Restore Motion, a physical therapy practice in Rockville MD, in 2004. She has been Primary Health Care Provider for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) since 2007, and is also a member of the Hologic WTA Women’s Health Task Force. She has a passion for women’s health and understands the profound need for a women-focused, compassionate physical therapy practice that could support the female leaders who make our communities prosper. 

She is excited to share her passion, knowledge, and advocacy with a global audience and is determined to bring the topic of women’s health to life. 

We talk about: 

-the mashup between ortho and pelvic health 

-tennis and pelvic health 

-tennis after pregnancy 

-elite athletes returning to sport after pregnancy 

-breast mechanics & mobility 

-issues caused by high tone 

-changing the conversation 

Time Stamps 

1:00 Introduction 

4:30 the roll of pelvic floor in ortho cases 

8:45 working with the Women’s Tennis Association 

11:30 transitioning into motherhood 

19:35 returning to tennis postpartum 

28:28 changing mechanics and pelvic floor symptoms 

32:35 reteaching coordination 

34:50 young athletes in tennis 

36:20 high tone issues 

40:58 Resume’s pregnancy/postpartum experience 

45:00 the evolution of pelvic health 

50:23 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH RESHMA 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restoremotion/ 

Website: https://restoremotion.com/ 

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

Send us Fan Mail

Today I am speaking with Brianna Battles, the Founder of Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism. She teaches fitness coaches and practitioners how to understand the needs of their pregnant and postpartum clients (and sometimes their own bodies) so they can go out and be the expert in their community. As a strength and conditioning coach, she realized there was a need for more resources for pregnant and postpartum athletes. She believes the biggest impact can be had when coaches are trained how to help moms regain their athleticism and is doing that through her coaching certification. 

We talk about: 

-changes in athletics in the last 10 years 

-no guarantees in pregnancy 

-overcoming birth trauma 

-expanding access to information 

-coaching is creative 

-pushing for answer 

-a lifetime of athleticism 

-different isn’t bad 

-P&P Combat 

Time Stamps 

1:00 Introduction 

2:32 expectations versus reality 

10:15 finding athleticism at any age 

13:20 conflicting information internationally 

15:20 lock of education in progressing exercises 

20:40 adaptable discipline 

22:45 shifting mentality of the public 

27:10 asking why and pushing boundaries 

30:06 passing on information from stage to stage 

32:40 movement between postpartum and menopause 

44:05 biggest opportunities for change 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH BRIANNA 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianna.battles/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pregnant.postpartum.athlete/ 

Website: https://www.briannabattles.com/ 

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

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Today, I speak with Dr. Ashley Winter, Board certified urologist who specializes in sexual medicine and postpartum hormones. After realizing that many of the common concerns that patients were brining to her clinic were not being addressed by the information she was being taught, she decided to do a fellowship in sexual disfunction. After working in managed health for five years following her fellowship, she decided to branch out into the tech side of medicine to help improve sexual health care for everyone.

We talk about:

-foray into parenthood

-normal hormone levels

-failures in postpartum care

-impacts of estrogen 

-knowing when it’s something else

-topical estrogen and breastfeeding

-finding the right provider

-the benefits of Telehealth

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

7:33 parallels of hormones levels in pregnancy and postpartum

16:00 after the baby comes

22:30 genitourinary symptoms in lactation

25:24 barriers to obtaining vaginal estrogen

34:50 finding the right provider

45:02 listening to patients

50:33 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH ASHLEY

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleygwinter/

Twitter at @ashleygwinter

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

Send us Fan Mail

Today, we are celebrating our 100th episode! I’ve been doing the podcast for about two years now, and I’ve have interviewed some incredible guests! But today is my first solo episode. Think of this as a State of the Union” Pelvic Floor edition. I cover what I’m loving about the pelvic floor space right now as well as things I’d love to see change. 

We talk about:

-state of the union

-the need for more specialization in pelvic health

-from pregnancy to menopause

-growing the profession

-pregnancy on social media

-too much DIY?

-high tone versus under activity

-listener questions

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:45 current state of pelvic floor physical therapy

10:05 all the way to menopause

13:38 bad things happening in PFPT

18:35 DIY fallout

23:57 biggest impact over the last 5 years

33:49 Top 5 podcast guests

39:47 olympic lifts after prolapse

42:10 exercising in supine in pregnancy

50:00 social media pet peeve

60:55 balancing mom and business owner

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Holly Brooks, a 2-time Nordic Ski Olympian, twin mom, licensed therapist working at the intersection of performance and mental health. She is also the co-founder of Moms Matter Now, a group focused on empowering, educating, and supporting women from pregnancy to early motherhood so they don’t lose their minds, selves or relationships. Her two passions are athlete & maternal mental health. Holly’s goal is to give moms tools to be models, not martyrs in their motherhood journeys!

We talk about:

-life after professional sports

-the athlete mindset

-preparing for the uncontrollable

-educating to empower

-matrescence

-knowing when to pivot

-navigating mixed messages of returning to sport

-maternal gatekeeping

-RED-S in moms

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

6:08 combining her interests to serve more people

9:17 athletes and first time moms

11:29 ways to guide a mom through pregnancy

17:20 knowledge without anxiety

21:23 dedication and perseverance for athletes and moms

26:30 when to return to sport

31:50 being a mom with goals

36:40 maternal gatekeeping

43:20 be a model, not a martyr

45:30 RED-S

51:12 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH HOLLY

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollybrooksllc/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momsmatternow/

Website: https://www.momsmatternow.com/

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌

Send us Fan Mail

Today I speak with Margo Kwiatkowski, an orthopedic and pelvic health physical therapist in Southern California. She has made it her life’s mission to provide valuable, evidence based, and accessible information about pelvic organ prolapse in postpartum people. Margo was diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse after the birth of her first child in the summer of 2021. She knew all the statistics about pelvic organ prolapse and did “all the right things” but was still taken aback by the diagnosis. She was the most shocked by how deeply this diagnosis affected her physical AND mental health. She quickly realized there was a need for more education and exposure about pelvic organ prolapse and created her Instagram with the hopes of normalizing changes postpartum. Her goal is to help dispel fears about prolapse and help people get back to what they love. 

We talk about: 

-learning about pelvic floor therapy 

-expectations going into pregnancy 

-not being heard postpartum 

-empowering but not scaring 

-speaking with a mental health professional 

-common but not normal 

-reducing symptoms to restore nervous system 

-shifting organs 

Time Stamps 

1:00 introduction 

2:56 learning about pelvic health 

5:40 pregnancy as a PT 

10:10 discovering she had prolapse 

15:00 validating patients’ feelings 

20:30 ah-ha moments from pelvic health 

28:19 pessaries 

34:25 “Are my organs going to go back?” 

40:49 dealing with perimenopause 

43:30 rapid fire questions 

CONNECT WITH CARRIE 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/ 

Website: https://carriepagliano.com 

CONNECT WITH MARGO 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/postpartum_prolapse/ 

Website: https://www.p4moms.com/

The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there.

Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now).

Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it.

Questions or topic requests? DM me 💌