Pregnancy Podcast

One of the first things you do when you find out you are pregnant is to determine your due date. This date rules everything about your pregnancy, from your prenatal care to the timing of your baby shower. This is also the most common question from friends, family, and strangers. As you get close to your due date, there can be a lot of anxiety, especially if your due date comes and goes and you are still pregnant. This date estimates when your baby will arrive, it is not an exact science. It is certainly not a deadline. The calculation we use today is hundreds of years old, and the evidence doesn’t 100% agree with the calculation. This episode examines how to calculate your due date, the accuracy of these calculations, and what this means for your pregnancy. 

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Research has firmly established strength and resistance training benefits for your physical and mental health. Lifting weights may be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about strength training. This can also include using resistance bands, kettlebells, and body-weight exercises like pushups, pull-ups, or squats. Even activities like plyometrics and yoga can be considered strength training. Although there is a lot of research on exercise during pregnancy, there are limited studies on strength training. ACOG attributes the lack of literature to resistance training not being considered a safe activity in early guidelines for exercise during pregnancy. This was due to potential injury and possible fetal heart decelerations. This episode examines the evidence on strength training, physical changes that can affect strength training, and precautions and tips to make your workouts safe during pregnancy.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Regular exercise during pregnancy can decrease your risk of complications like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean birth and promote a healthy weight gain. Working out can also ease common pregnancy symptoms like constipation and back pain. In addition, living an active lifestyle will improve your physical and mental health in the short and long term. This episode is an overview of exercise in pregnancy including recommendations and what activities you should avoid.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more. 

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Your body will go through a more significant transformation during pregnancy than in any other period of your life. Although building and growing a human is an amazing feat, not everyone is thrilled about the involved physical changes. There is evidence that women commonly experience body dissatisfaction during and after pregnancy. This can range from having negative thoughts to struggling with body dysmorphia or an eating disorder. Many external factors influence your thoughts, feelings, and perception of your body. The body image you internalize plays a significant role in your mental health. This episode focuses on the forces that influence body image and how you can reframe how you view your body during pregnancy and after you have your baby.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more. 

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Staying hydrated is crucial to help your overall health. Water makes up around 60% of your total body weight, and every cell in your body needs water to function. Staying hydrated helps you regulate body temperature, aids in digestion, transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste. These processes are also crucial during pregnancy for your baby, and you have increased water requirements when you are pregnant. Plus, if you are not drinking enough water, you can exacerbate many common pregnancy symptoms.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more. 

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Our focus is on our health, baby, and planning for birth during pregnancy. We often overlook what happens after birth and what we will experience postpartum. Your body needs time to recover after nine months of pregnancy, giving birth, and establishing breastfeeding. Many things happen after you have your baby that no one talks to you about ahead of time. Let’s normalize talking about the regular changes you go through after birth. Rather than wondering if what you are experiencing is normal, I want you to have a heads up on what to expect. Plus, give you some warning signs you can keep an eye out for to make sure you are recovering well after birth.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

We all deal with some level of stress daily. Pregnancy can be a time of additional stress as you are experiencing many physical changes and preparing for birth and a new baby. In a sense, everything you expose yourself to during pregnancy also can affect your baby, and stress is not an exception. Stress during pregnancy can affect your baby in many ways. Physiological changes can impact your developing baby. Stress that puts you at a higher risk for some complications can affect the health and development of your baby. How you and your baby are affected by stress, both in the short and long-term, is essentially a function of your stress response and your ability to turn it off. The good news is that understanding your stress response and learning about evidence-based tools to manage stress will minimize the adverse effects for both you and your baby and positively impact your mental health.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

Join Pregnancy Podcast Premium to access the entire back catalog, listen to all episodes ad-free, and more.

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.

Hear about changes coming to the podcast and the launch of Pregnancy Podcast Premium.

Pregnancy Podcast Premium is now live! You can check it out here.

For all of the Pregnancy Podcast resources, visit the website.

There is a lot of research that examines the relationship between newborns and parents. Most of the more recent research builds on the widely accepted concept that a parent’s emotional involvement with their baby influences their parenting. The question is whether you can bond with your baby during pregnancy and get a head start on building that connection early. Every parent experiences pregnancy differently and how you feel about your baby right now is okay and normal. This article examines the research on bonding with your baby during pregnancy and tips on how you and your partner can start building a connection with your baby now.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by visiting http://pregnancypodcast.com/bonding/

For more evidence-based information, visit the Pregnancy Podcast website at http://pregnancypodcast.com

COVID-19 has caused a lot of changes to birth plans over the past few months and we can expect many of these changes to last for the foreseeable future. In this episode, I talk with Heather Delaney, of Maryland State Doulas, about how you can prepare, and what to expect if you are pregnant now. Heather is a wealth of information about how hospitals, birth centers, and home birth midwives are navigating this new environment. Learn what questions you should be asking your doctor or midwife, what to expect when you arrive at your birth venue, and what you may experience in labor and postpartum. Plus, the value a virtual doula can bring to your pregnancy and birth, and the logistics of how virtual support can be a lifesaver.

You can read the full article and resources that accompany this episode by clicking here.

For more evidence-based information visit the Pregnancy Podcast website.