We feel very passionately that c-section mamas deserve to have all the information they need to have a full recovery after birth. Co-founder of Expecting and Empowered, Krystle, is a c-section mama herself, having had 3 cesarean births! Her personal experience combined with her professional experience as a Women’s Health Physical Therapist means she is the perfect person to educate our listeners on their healing process! Today’s episode will focus on post-cesarean recovery, specifically emphasising on scar mobilization and healing. If you’re interested in more info about what to expect immediately after your c-section, we have linked episode 12 for you to reference. After you listen to that episode, be sure to come back to this one! You won’t want to miss out on this information!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Links & Resources

C-section Scar Mobilization Guide - our most downloaded resource ever!

Belly Map

Expecting and Empowered Episode 12: “Everything You Need To Know The First Two Weeks After A C-Section”

“The Body Keeps Score…” 

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Today we are happy to host Stephanie King from My Essential Birth (@myessentialbirth), a mother, childbirth educator, and doula. After experiencing several unexpected changes leading up to the births of her children, Stephanie was inspired to get educated on the birthing process so she could inform and educate pregnant mothers to trust their bodies and feel empowered during their pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum journeys. We really feel like our missions align, so we are excited to have this conversation with Stephanie today about the medical terminology our providers use and how this can help you construct your birth plan, know when to speak up and be your best advocate, and better process your birthing experience. Instead of feeling like a deer in the headlights when hearing terms like “VBAC” or “primigravida”, we want you to leave this episode with new knowledge that will make you feel empowered and informed when you work collaboratively with your provider to birth that baby!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @myessentialbirth and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Follow Stephanie on Instagram

Stephanie’s Website

Stephanie’s Podcast - Pregnancy and Birth Made Easy

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Krystle and Amy are back together to bring you today’s episode, 5 things you didn’t know you could ask for during a c-section! Krystle is not only our Expecting and Empowered in-house Physical Therapy expert, but is a three-time cesarean birth mama, making her a wealth of knowledge about the c-sections. Krystle is going to walk us through today’s 5 things to help you feel more prepared and feel empowered to collaborate with your care team to create a positive c-section birthing experience. Whether you have a planned c-section or unplanned, educating yourself about the options can help select what things you’d like to include to make your c-section birth special to you and your baby. The 5 things we will cover today walk you through the whole experience: things you can ask for before your c-section, things you can ask for during, as well as something to ask for to help with after your c-section while you are healing. 

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

We want to thank you all, our listeners, for helping us find the best expert to interview for today’s episode all about gestational diabetes! Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author who has a passion for sharing evidence-based nutrition with mamas-to-be. Whether you’ve yet to be pregnant, are pregnant with your first baby, or are a seasoned mama, this episode has so much great information for you.

To help reduce the fear surrounding GD, Lily breaks down non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors of gestational diabetes and the link between GD and preeclampsia. We also tackle the topic of the sweets craving - should we be indulging in sweet treats while pregnant or is there a way to curb these cravings? Lily gives us the scoop! She also touches on which food, considering you are not allergic/intolerant, that as a pregnant woman you should be including in your daily diet. Major takeaway from today’s episode is that it’s never too late to change your nutrition and exercise habits during pregnancy to improve outcomes for you and baby!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @lilynicholsrdn and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their pregnancy journey!

Follow Lily Nichols on Instagram

Lily’s Website

Check out Lily’s 3 books (Real Food for Fertility, Real Food for Pregnancy, and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes) HERE

Links & Resources

Lily’s articles “Pregnancy Weight Gain…”,  “Electrolytes & Pregnancy…”, and “Am I too late…”

Gestational Diabetes Freebie Video Series

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Amy’s husband, Drew, hops on the podcast today to talk about what labor and delivery is like from a partner’s perspective. Having been through three labor and deliveries together, Drew has some solid advice on how to be a supportive partner during an L&D experience. We also had a lot of really great questions come in from our IG followers that Drew and Amy discuss with raw and honest answers. If you are a partner listening to today’s episode, know that you are such an important part of the birthing process and we appreciate you!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Links & Resources

“The Birth Partner” by Penny Simkin

Amy Kiefer’s Unmedicated Birth of Baby #3 - Episode 32

Expecting and Empowered Labor and Delivery Course - Enter code ‘PODCAST25’ at checkout

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code ‘PODCAST25’ at checkout (subscription link)

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Certified dog trainer, Dominika Knossalla-Pado, was thrilled to be adding newborn twins to their family.  Sadly, her beloved dog had a difficult transition when the babies came home. Dominika has now made a career out of her passion, helping families safely integrate new babies into homes with dogs and new dogs into homes with kiddos. Dominika is a wealth of knowledge and we are so excited to share all of the information in today’s episode with you.

Being a first-time parent means a lot of unknowns. Having a plan for your dog during the fourth trimester can at least solve one of the unknowns!  Where will the dog sleep, play, or go if they need to be away from the baby or home for a couple of days? Ask family and friends to help with walking or playing with your dog so you can rest and recover once you bring the baby home. Dominika also shares with us the safest way to introduce your furry friend to a new baby and what to do if you have an overprotective pup.

To close out, we shift gears with tips on bringing a new dog to your home with kiddos. Dominika shares with us the things we need to think about before doing so and what age she thinks our kids should be to make it an easier and safer transition for your kiddos and new pup! If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @dogmeets_baby and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their parenting journey!

Follow Dominika on Instagram

Dominika’s Website

Links & Resources

 Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

One of our goals here at Expecting and Empowered is for women to feel empowered going into the fourth trimester! We hope this episode helps you pinpoint some spots where you can prepare before the birth of your baby to be set up to heal well and feel more like yourself during your fourth trimester experience! 

We prepare for 9 months for our babies!  We plan the perfect nursery, buy all the cutest clothing, we take baby courses and classes…but have you prepared yourself for postpartum? Today we will go through our suggestions of things to add to your list of considerations that may help you lessen your load during your fourth trimester.

After going through this huge transition from pregnancy to the fourth trimester, it’s important to do something every day that helps you feel a little more like yourself. We asked the members of our Expecting and Empowered community what helped them during their postpartum time and are passing along their suggestions. Whether it’s a big or small thing, you matter and deserve to feel like your best self. 

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram


This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

We are so excited to bring back Mackenzie from Mackenzie.On.Motherhood on Instagram. She was with us for episodes 27 and 28 where we talked about what an L&D nurse wants you to know about labor and what actually happens after a hospital birth. So we thought it would be perfect for her to come back and educate us about epidurals! Whether your birth plan will include an epidural or not, this episode will be a great opportunity to educate yourself on the option of an epidural and what that process of having one looks like. It’s better to be over prepared than under prepared!

We start off with defining what exactly an epidural is and Mackenzie walks us through the step-by-step process of how an epidural is placed and who does the procedure. We then go through some of our listeners' most requested questions about epidurals. Can you get out of bed and change positions? Will I still feel pain? What are the risks and benefits? We go through it ALL!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @mackenzie.on.motherhood and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Follow Mackenzie on Instagram

Mackenzie’s Website

Mackenzie’s Online Courses

Links & Resources

Episode 27 - What a Labor and Delivery Nurse Wants You To Know About Labor

Episode 28 - What Actually Happens After a Hospital Birth

Expecting and Empowered App - Check out our Labor Day Sale and enter code ‘LABORPOD25’ at checkout!

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

Today is a solo episode from one of your hosts, me, Amy! As a trained doula, Registered Nurse, and mom of three, I feel confident we can provide you with some strategies in today’s episode to help you create a positive mindset around your upcoming labor and delivery. Mindset is aways trainable! 

Something we encourage you to do is to learn about the birthing process. We’ve linked some of our previous episodes for you below about the different stages of labor and women’s birth stories. I also share my favorite book and documentaries to watch if that interests you more! By doing this research, you’ll know what is normal and expected during labor but also be prepared to know what options you have as the laboring mama. 

The second tip I wanted to cover with you today is about yourSELF. How do YOU like to be encouraged during times of stress? I share with you some positive feedback quotes I learned in my doula training that you can share with your birthing support person if you feel they resonated with you and can help you during your birth. And also choose a couple key phrases to encourage yourself during the labor process.

My third tip to help you work on your birthing mindset is to write a letter to yourself. As if you were writing this to your best friend, detail what your birth plan is and fill it with loving, positive affirmations to yourself. Encouraging your future self that you can do it and meet your baby! Finally, my last tip is to protect this new positive birth mindset you have created. Everyone will have an opinion about your birth plan, and it may not always be encouraging. Step away from conversations or online content if you feel it isn’t beneficial to your mindset.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth journey!

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered Episode 24 - Empowering Your Labor and Delivery

Expecting and Empowered birth story episodes: Episode 3, episode 5, episode 10, episode 15, episode 19, and episode 32

The Birth Hour Podcast

The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin

Expecting and Empowered App - Check out our Labor Day Sale and enter code ‘LABORPOD25’ at checkout!

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

We are so excited to have Diane Boden from the Minimalist Moms on the podcast today. After feeling like she wanted to live more intentionally and simply, Diane pursued sharing her experience through Minimalist Moms Podcast, which has become a top rated podcast and resource for women! 

Diane doesn’t want the term “minimalist” to scare you - she really just means living your life more simply, with less clutter taking up space in your mental load and taking time away from really enjoying your life with your kids and your family. She uses a technique where if it can be put away in 1 minute, do it right then so you don’t have to do it later! It really helps the clutter from building up. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in your home, Diane shares what room to start decluttering in and why. And to keep that newly organized space tidy, Diane suggests implementing the “1 in, 1 out” rule. This can be especially helpful for kids' toys!

Besides the physical items cluttering up our home, there can also be a lot of mental clutter when it comes to being a mom. If thoughts keep you up at bedtime, have a pen and paper handy to use as a “brain dump”. You can write all your ideas down and tackle the to-do list the next day without worrying you’ll forget something. And don’t forget to quiet your mind once in a while and relax in a way you enjoy most! 

Diane also covers what to do in our closets…we know it can seem daunting, but Diane’s tips about how to handle your pre-baby clothes and maternity clothes can help this task seem less overwhelming.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @minimalistmoms and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their motherhood journey!

Follow Diane and Minimalist Moms Podcast on Instagram

Diane’s Minimalist Moms Website

Diane’s Podcast, Minimalist Moms Podcast

Grab a copy of Diane’s book, Minimalist Moms: Living and Parenting with Simplicity

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram