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All Swiss Birth Stories Episodes
Alexandra, a footballer who moved to Bern six years ago, shares her pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience just seven weeks after having her son. She explains how she chose an English-friendly hospital in Bern (Salem Spital), how her history of concussion impacted her pregnancy and overall health and fitness journey, how an English language birth preparation course helped her and her partner, and what pregnancy felt like as an athlete. She also describes how a long labour led to an unplanned cesarean birth (C-section) that she and her partner chose together, with partner present, skin-to-skin and a family room stay. Alexandra covers cesarean recovery, breastfeeding challenges, postpartum midwife support, two weeks' paternity leave in Switzerland, and the practical things that helped most: rest (and loving people who kept telling her to rest), pre-cooked meals, fresh air and a supportive partner.
Alexandra's Resources:Inselspital's app mentioned in the podcast (Insel Health- Mama Care)
Alexandra's birth preparation class was with Mamamundo
Questions Answered in this Episode:1. What is pregnancy and postpartum recovery like for an athlete in Switzerland?
Alexandra, a footballer living in Bern, found pregnancy mentally challenging because she could no longer control her body, sleep and training the way she was used to. Her earlier concussion recovery taught her to accept her body's limits, and during postpartum she leaned on "rest, rest, rest" advice from her midwife, partner and family.
2. How do I choose a hospital and prepare for birth as an English speaker in Switzerland?
Alexandra discovered she had three hospitals within an eight-minute drive in Bern. She attended hospital information sessions and chose Salem Spital because English was an accepted language. She also joined an English-language birth preparation course and took an infant emergency first aid course with her partner.
3. What happens if your waters break before contractions start?
In Alexandra's experience, her waters broke six days past her due date. The hospital midwives invited her in, checked her, and offered the choice to go home to rest, since labour had only just begun. She notes that waters breaking is often not the emergency people expect. Always follow the guidance of your own midwife or hospital.
4. What is an unplanned cesarean birth (C-section) like, and how are decisions made in the moment?
After a long labour with little progress, Alexandra and her partner were given two options: a cesarean now or waiting to see if labour progressed. They took some time and chose the calmer, planned-style cesarean. Her partner was present, they opted for a clear window to see the birth, and she had skin-to-skin contact and initiated breastfeeding shortly after her baby was born. They then stayed together in a hospital family room.
5. What does postpartum support look like in Switzerland?
Alexandra describes a hospital stay of three nights after birth in a family room at Bern's Salem Spital, a postpartum midwife who prioritised rest, lactation consultant support for breastfeeding challenges, and (near) absent physiotherapy care. She also discusses the limits of two weeks' paternity leave in Switzerland and how family and friends helped with meals and freezer food.
Subscribe for more Swiss Birth Stories, Write a review, and share this podcast to help more parents in Switzerland and beyond find the show.
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Swiss Birth Stories shares personal birth experiences for education and support. It is not medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, so please speak with your midwife, doctor or other qualified healthcare provider about your own care.
Mentioned in this episode:
Join Julia's birth preparation class
Julia's class
Discover more great podcasts at SwissCast.Network
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
SwissCast Network
Every American living abroad has the right to vote in federal elections, yet every cycle, a meaningful number of ballots never make it home, not from apathy, but from a form that arrived late, a lost ballot, or simply not knowing a backup option existed.
Ada Shen from votefromabroad.org, who has spent over two decades helping Americans overseas register, request, and return a ballot, joins the podcast for a fully nonpartisan, procedural walkthrough of how voting from abroad actually works.
──────────────────────────────────────────
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
──────────────────────────────────────────
00:00 - Yes, Americans abroad can vote, and here's what's actually on the ballot
01:32 - The one form that registers you, requests your ballot, and updates your info
04:43 - Why "last resided" isn't a choice, it's a rule
09:27 - Getting your ballot by email, and the deadlines that matter this cycle
15:07 - The backup ballot almost nobody knows they can use
25:14 - Clearing up the biggest misconception: voting and taxes are separate
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT THE GUEST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Ada Shen has spent over two decades helping Americans overseas navigate voter registration and absentee voting through VoteFromAbroad.org, guiding voters through registration, ballot requests, and the specific rules that apply to citizens living outside the United States.
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT YOUR HOST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Arielle Tucker, CFP® & IRS Enrolled Agent with Connected Financial Planning, is a cross-border financial planner based in Switzerland helping Americans living abroad navigate U.S. taxes, international investments, and cross-border financial planning.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LOVE THIS EPISODE?
──────────────────────────────────────────
Follow the show and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it's the single biggest thing you can do to help other cross-border families find this show.
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT PASSPORT TO WEALTH®
──────────────────────────────────────────
Passport To Wealth® is the platform for current and aspiring US expats. We connect globally mobile Americans with vetted, licensed cross-border financial advisors, tax professionals, and relocation experts who understand the financial and legal complexities of life abroad.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LINKS & RESOURCES
──────────────────────────────────────────
Website: https://www.passporttowealth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passporttowealthofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passport-to-wealth
Visit VoteFromAbroad.org: https://www.votefromabroad.org
──────────────────────────────────────────
This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a qualified cross-border financial professional before making any financial or tax decisions.
──────────────────────────────────────────
Mentioned in this episode:
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network
Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland
SwissCast Network
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Find your cross-border expert on the Passport To Wealth® directory
Start your Business Reality Check Now
"The System Looked Great on Paper"
Your new process looked logical, clear, and complete, but your team quietly stopped using it. In this episode, Linda explains why good systems still break and the three questions that help you repair the conditions around them.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why a well-documented process can fail within weeks of rollout.
Reality Check: How one growing company's new system collapsed because the team understood what to do, but not why it mattered.
The Shift: A process only survives when the culture, trust, and real decision-making structure support it.
The Move: Three questions to ask before introducing or repairing a process:
The Wrap: The real system is what people do when work gets busy and the easier path is available.
Key Takeaway: A process that looks great on paper is only a plan until it works in the reality of your team's day.
Ready to build processes that work beyond the planning stage? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
FAQs This Episode Answers:
Q: Why did our new process fail even though it was well designed?
A: The team may have understood the steps without understanding the problem they solved. When the new process felt slower, people returned to the old way because its purpose was not clear.
Q: How do I repair a process my team has stopped using?
A: Explain why the process matters, align it with how decisions really happen, and involve the people whose work it makes harder.
Q: How can I tell who is most likely to break a new system?
A: Look for the person whose workload, habits, or role gives them a genuine reason to skip a step. Talk with them before rollout and adapt the process to their real workflow.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Start your Business Reality Check Now
What happens when your own body keeps throwing you curveballs — burnout, single motherhood, perimenopause symptoms nobody warned you about — and coaching becomes both your business and your survival tool?
Megan and Danna sit down with Vanessa Gaitlin, an IIN-trained coach (and one of Megan's earliest connections in the coaching world) who's spent over a decade rebuilding her practice around her own hormone chaos. Vanessa's coaching origin story starts with a very specific craving: hamburgers and Coca-Cola, eaten compulsively while working an exhausting corporate marketing job. A coach helped her trace that craving back to homesickness, not willpower, and Vanessa was hooked on the idea that food is never just food.
From there, her business has shifted shape again and again — emotional eating coaching, a hard niche into "no weight loss talk, ever," corporate wellness workshops, ghostwriting for a supplements brand, and a genuine burnout so severe she couldn't hold a plank or follow a friend's story. She's candid about the anxiety attack that landed her in a doctor's office, and how that crash led her into yoga, breathwork, and nervous system work almost by accident.
The back half of the conversation gets into the messier reality of perimenopause: Vanessa describes years of vaginal pain and insomnia dismissed by doctors because she was "still getting her period," and how she eventually pieced together her own answers through a menopause-focused yoga teacher, a hormone-cycle certification, and — eventually — a gynecologist who actually listened. Now she works exclusively with women in perimenopause and menopause through her seven-week group program, Back to Her, blending food, nervous system work, and community accountability.
Vanessa also shares her clearest business advice: niche into what you've personally lived (not just studied), always have three offers ready to go, and market what your client will gain — not what you're willing to give. It's a grounded, funny, occasionally TMI conversation about what it actually looks like to build a coaching business while your own hormones keep rewriting the rules.
Chapters:00:00 Meet Vanessa Gaitlin
01:44 Coaching Menopause Wellness
03:54 From Corporate to Coaching
15:32 Burnout Recovery and New Niche
30:10 Menopause Wake Up Call
31:04 Hormone Education Overload
34:55 Niche Marketing Newsletters
45:04 Group Program Offers Wrap
Mentioned in this episode:
Becoming a Health Coach is a proud member and production of the SwissCast Network
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Check out more great podcasts on the SwissCast Network
Got 10 Minutes? Creatine Is Not Just for Gym Bros
Megan's stirring creatine into her morning coffee. Danna's done a few rounds with it herself. And both of them are done letting the gym bro reputation put women off what might genuinely be one of the most useful supplements on the market. This one's a rapid-fire myth-bust — what creatine actually does, why it's suddenly showing up everywhere in the women's health space, and what happens when you jump straight to 20 grams on an empty stomach. (Spoiler: don't be Danna.)
What You'll Learn:
That's your 10 minutes. Don't slam 20 grams on an empty stomach. Don't be Danna. Start low, go slow, and maybe add it to your coffee.
Get in touch!Check out the So Frickin' Healthy Website
Leave us a Voicemail
Join the So Frickin' Healthy Community
Watch us on YouTube
Connect with us on Substack
K, love you, byeeeeeChapters:00:00 Creatine Hype Explained
01:31 How They Use It
02:32 Muscle vs Brain Benefits
05:10 Rapid Fire Myths and Dosing
07:59 Side Effects and Final Tips
Mentioned in this episode:
So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network
Discover more great podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland
SwissCast Network
A YouTuber built a channel documenting American life in Germany, then leveraged it into an actual self-employment visa, and eventually German citizenship, without ever going through a traditional employer sponsor.
Donnie Ashburn, a dual American-German citizen and content creator, joins the podcast to walk through his path from dependent visa to self-employment to citizenship, and what he'd tell anyone considering the same route.
──────────────────────────────────────────
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
──────────────────────────────────────────
00:00 - Quitting two jobs, traveling nine months, and landing in Germany by chance
02:43 - COVID and the moment "backup plan" stopped being hypothetical
08:10 - What Germany's self-employment visa actually required, dollar for dollar
21:18 - Why becoming self-employed meant giving up his wife's EU Blue Card
23:11 - The real bureaucratic weight of running a business in two countries at once
27:35 - Why he pursued German citizenship as insurance, not just a milestone
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT THE GUEST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Donnie Ashburn is a dual American-German citizen and content creator living in Germany's Pfalz region. He built a YouTube channel documenting life as an American in Germany, later turned that platform into a self-employment visa, and became a naturalized German citizen in 2025. He now helps other content creators navigate Germany's self-employment visa route.
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT YOUR HOST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Arielle Tucker, CFP® & IRS Enrolled Agent with Connected Financial Planning, is a cross-border financial planner based in Switzerland helping Americans living abroad navigate U.S. taxes, international investments, and cross-border financial planning.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LOVE THIS EPISODE?
──────────────────────────────────────────
Follow the show and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it's the single biggest thing you can do to help other cross-border families find this show.
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT PASSPORT TO WEALTH®
──────────────────────────────────────────
Passport To Wealth® is the platform for current and aspiring US expats. We connect globally mobile Americans with vetted, licensed cross-border financial advisors, tax professionals, and relocation experts who understand the financial and legal complexities of life abroad.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LINKS & RESOURCES
──────────────────────────────────────────
Website: https://www.passporttowealth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passporttowealthofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passport-to-wealth
Subscribe to Donnie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PassportTwo
──────────────────────────────────────────
This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a qualified cross-border financial professional before making any financial or tax decisions.
──────────────────────────────────────────
Mentioned in this episode:
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network
Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland
SwissCast Network
Find your cross-border expert on the Passport To Wealth® directory
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Running on Empty: Tina's Health Coaching Journey Begins
We're doing it again. Last time, we opened the doors to real health coaching sessions with Joanna, and so many of you told us how much it helped to hear coaching in action — not the polished version, the real one.
So we're back for with another awesome woman. Over the next several episodes, you'll hear real coaching conversations between Danna and a client we're calling Tina. Nothing scripted, nothing cleaned up.
Meet Tina
Tina is a working mom navigating the kind of full-plate exhaustion so many of you know — a purpose-driven career in female health, a 2-year-old daughter, and a body that's been quietly sending up flares for years. Subscribe so you don't miss a chapter of her story.
Chapter One: The Health History
Tina walks in already fluent in taking care of everyone but herself — the friend people call, the one who tells others it's okay to ask for help, even as she struggles to take her own advice. She loves her life and her purpose-driven work protecting pregnant women and newborns. She's also running on empty, and before any symptoms come up, what surfaces first is guilt: over daycare hours, over comparing herself to friends with more support, over needing help at all.
Danna traces when each piece of Tina's health history started. Sleep issues go back to childhood night terrors, once managed by movement routines that vanished along with her free time. Digestive trouble traces to a teenage eating disorder that took years to move past, though her digestion never fully recovered. Layer on chronic deficiencies severe enough to require years of IV iron infusions, a new endometriosis diagnosis, and a family history of breast cancer that spikes her anxiety every screening season — and it's clear why Tina feels like she's standing in a hole, unsure which thread to pull first.
Danna's answer: don't start with food. Start with stress and sleep, because nothing else sticks on an empty tank. She names something Tina's been fighting alone — that knowing what's healthy and living it out are two different skills. All doctors have a doctor. All health coaches have a health coach. Nothing gets fixed in this first call, but a plan starts taking shape, and a woman who spends her career advocating for others finally lets someone advocate for her.
Get in touch!Check out the So Frickin' Healthy Website
Leave us a Voicemail
Join the So Frickin' Healthy Community
Watch us on YouTube
Connect with us on Substack
K, love you, byeeeeeChapters:00:00 Welcome and Goals
00:51 Why Coaching Now
06:58 Mom Guilt and Stress
08:07 Sleep and Gut Deep Dive
16:43 Holistic Plan and Wrap Up
Mentioned in this episode:
Want more?
If you're curious about the coaching strategies being used in each session, head over to our other podcast, Becoming a Health Coach. Megan and Danna debrief after each session and break down what's happening behind the scenes.
BHC Coaching Series - Tina's Playlist
So Frickin' Healthy is a proud member of and produced by the SwissCast Network
Discover more great podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland
SwissCast Network
Missed an episode?
Don't worry, we've got you covered.
SFH Coaching Sessions - Tina's Playlist
Your next step is just one click away
Think of it as a coffee date, minus the awkward small talk. Book your free discovery call with Danna today.
Organilicious - Danna, Functional Medicine Health Coach
Welcome to another coaching series where we do a coaching debrief after a real coaching session.
Let's meet Tina - this is her Health History.
Chapters:
00:00 Welcome and Goals
00:51 Why Coaching Now
06:58 Mom Guilt and Stress
08:07 Sleep and Gut Deep Dive
16:43 Holistic Plan and Wrap Up
Mentioned in this episode:
Missed an episode?
Don't worry, we have you covered.
Listen to all of Tina's debrief episodes - Playlist
Check out So Frickin' Healthy
Find full, real-time coaching sessions with Tina on our other podcast, So Frickin' Healthy.
Listen to Tina's full coaching sessions on So Frickin' Healthy - Playlist
Becoming a Health Coach is a proud member and production of the SwissCast Network
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Check out more great podcasts on the SwissCast Network
Institute for Integrative Nutrition Special Deals
IIN is expensive but they always have special deals going on.
Get big discounts on IIN Courses
Be that health coach who has a health coach
If you're a health coach or want to become one, you most likely have some health issues you hope to tackle too. We all do... Let's book a discovery call and see if we're a match made in foodie heaven
Organilicious
A valid, properly signed power of attorney still isn't a guarantee a bank will honor it. Beth Pinsker found that out the hard way while managing her mother's care and finances from several states away, an experience she turned into "My Mother's Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving."
Beth, a CFP and award-winning journalist, joins the podcast to walk through what financial caregiving actually looks like day to day, why one family member usually ends up doing it whether or not they agreed to, and what changes when the people involved live in different countries.
──────────────────────────────────────────
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
──────────────────────────────────────────
00:00 - The distance every caregiver feels, whether it's states or oceans away
01:26 - How a "temporary" trip turned into nine months of caregiving
06:22 - Big-picture money talks versus the daily bill-paying reality
09:19 - Why one person always ends up "the doer" in every family
11:59 - What changes when trustees and heirs live in different countries
21:14 - The power of attorney fight that took three appointments at the bank, and the one document every family needs before a crisis
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT THE GUEST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Beth Pinsker is a CFP and award-winning journalist who has covered personal finance for outlets including MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal. She managed her own mother's care and finances from several states away and wrote about the experience in "My Mother's Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving."
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT YOUR HOST
──────────────────────────────────────────
Arielle Tucker, CFP® & IRS Enrolled Agent with Connected Financial Planning, is a cross-border financial planner based in Switzerland helping Americans living abroad navigate U.S. taxes, international investments, and cross-border financial planning.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LOVE THIS EPISODE?
──────────────────────────────────────────
Follow the show and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it's the single biggest thing you can do to help other cross-border families find this show.
──────────────────────────────────────────
ABOUT PASSPORT TO WEALTH®
──────────────────────────────────────────
Passport To Wealth® is the platform for current and aspiring US expats. We connect globally mobile Americans with vetted, licensed cross-border financial advisors, tax professionals, and relocation experts who understand the financial and legal complexities of life abroad.
──────────────────────────────────────────
LINKS & RESOURCES
──────────────────────────────────────────
Website: https://www.passporttowealth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passporttowealthofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/passport-to-wealth
Order My Mother's Money: https://bethpinsker.com
──────────────────────────────────────────
This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a qualified cross-border financial professional before making any financial or tax decisions.
──────────────────────────────────────────
Mentioned in this episode:
Find your cross-border expert on the Passport To Wealth® directory
Passport to Wealth is a proud member of the SwissCast Network
Discover more podcasts for English-speaking Switzerland
SwissCast Network
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Order "The Expat Money Playbook"
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter
Click to start your Business Reality Check
"Why do founders get stuck researching instead of launching?"
Sometimes the work that looks productive is actually protecting you from finding out whether something will work. In this episode, Linda looks at the founder who is not overwhelmed by too many decisions, but stuck because they keep waiting until they feel completely sure.
What You'll Learn:
The Hook: Why some founders stay busy refining, researching, and aligning instead of making the decision that would move things forward.
Reality Check: Linda shares the story of a founder who spent eight months preparing to launch a service while the bar kept moving.
The Shift: Most delayed decisions are not one-way doors; they are two-way doors you can walk back through, adjust, and learn from.
The Move: Three ways to stop hiding inside productive-looking work:
The Wrap: Ask whether you are doing real work, or doing work that protects you from finding out.
Key Takeaway: The eight months of preparation do not eliminate the risk; they only delay the moment you find out if it works.
FAQs This Episode Answers:
How do I know if I am procrastinating or avoiding a decision? If you are busy doing real work but the decision still does not get made, you may be avoiding the moment of finding out. Research, feedback, refinement, and alignment can all be useful, but if the bar keeps moving every time one concern is resolved, the issue may be fear dressed up as diligence.
What is the difference between a one-way door and a two-way door decision? A one-way door decision is hard or impossible to undo, so it deserves careful thought. A two-way door decision can be adjusted, reversed, or learned from, which means the bigger risk is often not deciding at all.
How can I stop perfectionism from delaying a launch or important business move? Sort the decision first: if you can course correct, set a deadline to decide. Then name the real worst case, check how likely it is, and ask what changes if the work is perfect versus good enough.
Ready to make the decision you have been circling? Visit https://www.lindavanegmond.com/ and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
The SwissCast Podcast Network is here to amplify the diverse voices and unique stories of Switzerland—all in English. Whether you're a Swiss local fluent in English, an expat, or simply curious about Swiss culture, SwissCast offers engaging content that speaks directly to you.
Our mission is simple: to create a space where Swiss life and English voices connect, bringing you meaningful conversations, expert insights, and compelling stories from all over the country.
Our podcast shows are made by, for, or in Switzerland and range from Health, Business, Career, Travel, and more.
Mentioned in this episode:
Let's Connect on LinkedIn
Find Linda on LinkedIn
Connect with Linda on LinkedIn
Discover More Shows at SwissCast.Network
SwissCast Network
Click to start your Business Reality Check
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