The Hole Shebang

Your child was potty trained, sleeping through the night, and fine at drop off, and now suddenly none of that is true. If you have been told your child will grow out of the accidents, the meltdowns, or the school refusal, this episode explains what is going on underneath. Kristen talks with Christine Robinson, a dual trained occupational therapist and child and adolescent psychotherapist on the Blueberry Therapy team, who spent six years working with Dr. Stuart Shanker at York University on the Self-Reg model. Christine's core idea is simple and disarming: behaviour is communication, and a child's nervous system tells the truth about family stress long before the child has words for it.

A note on privacy: as a qualifiying regulated psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, Christine cannot discuss an actual client. The families described in this episode are a composite of many different families she has worked with, not one real family, and nothing here discloses information about any specific patient.

What listeners will learn

Why toileting regression, sleep changes, and sudden meltdowns often trace back to something happening in the family system, not the child. Why Christine meets with parents before she ever meets the child. What brain to brain hookup means and how it develops from infancy. And what to do instead of another sticker chart when a child's nervous system is too activated to reason with.

In this episode

• [00:40] Who Christine sees, and why she resists diagnostic labels as the starting point
• [05:57] Her early intervention years in the US, and the parent child relationship as the whole foundation of the work
• [13:01] DIR Floortime, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, and why the model went from general child development to mostly autism
• [17:51] What an infant parent psychotherapy session looks like, starting as young as a few weeks old
• [25:21] Allan Schore's right brain research and why a parent cannot be partially available
• [28:16] The common ways stress shows up at school age: refusal, toileting accidents, sleep and eating changes
• [30:51] The patterns Christine sees across families: illness, job stress, and how a child's body absorbs household stress before words can
• [42:47] Why a meltdown is a nervous system response, not a choice, and Dr. Shanker's foot on the gas line
• [44:05] The dimmer switch, and why generic calming protocols so often fail
• [51:14] Theme Song: Kyrie by Mr. Mister

About Christine Robinson

Christine Robinson is a dual trained occupational therapist and child and adolescent psychoanalytically trained qualifying psychotherapist with more than 40 years of clinical experience. She spent six years at York University working with Dr. Stuart Shanker on the Self-Reg model and DIR Floortime, is completing post certification training in infant parent psychotherapy, and sees children from infancy through the college years, along with adults with autism through the Ontario Autism Program. She practices at Blueberry Therapy.

Theme Song: Kyrie by Mr. Mister

Key topics covered

• Behaviour as communication
• Self-Reg and the five domains of stress
• DIR Floortime and brain to brain hookup
• Infant parent psychotherapy
• Toileting regression, school refusal, and sleep changes as stress signals
• The Ontario Autism Program

Resources and References Mentioned

• Self-Reg, Dr. Stuart Shanker's framework
• DIRFloortime and ICDL, founded by Dr. Stanley Greenspan
• Canadian Institute for Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
• Ontario Autism Program
• My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Listen to more episodes like this

• Pediatric Pelvic Health: Kids Don't Grow Out of It with Keri Martin Vrbanac
• The Scoop on Kids Poop: The Secret World of Pediatric Pelvic Health with Clare Bourne
• Eating Disorders in Kids: The Warning Signs Parents Miss with Kim Doyle

Connect with Christine Robinson: christinerobinsonotpsychotherapy.com

Our Sponsor: SRC Health

SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work.

Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket.

Ready to talk to someone? Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to book with our multidisciplinary team, Christine included.

Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

A pessary for running can support leaking that only shows up later in the day. Dr. Carrie Pagliano, a pelvic floor physiotherapist in Arlington, Virginia with 26 years in women's health, joins Kristen to share her own pessary story during perimenopause. She tried a dish, then a ring, then a cube, and explains how each held up on a run. You will hear how stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse relate to passive tissue support, why pelvic floor therapy and muscle training are only part of the answer, and why prolapse advice is hard to give safely on social media.

What listeners will learn

You will learn what a pessary is and who it is for, how to think about leaking that shows up later in the day, which questions help choose between a ring, a dish and a cube, and how to take out a suction pessary.

Timestamps

• [00:00] Welcome to Carrie Pagliano
• [00:54] How Carrie ended up in pelvic health and why she once disliked it
• [04:53] Who pessaries are for, and the consolation prize story
• [09:11] Stress urinary incontinence, urethral closure and why strength is not the only lever
• [11:59] What prolapse is: looseness in the vaginal walls, not organs falling out
• [16:17] Pressure management for runners compared with lifters
• [22:28] Carrie's own pessary story: the dish, the ring and the cube
• [31:11] Suction, the porta potty plan and the easiest poop in years
• [34:52] Taking it out, softer options and the stages of acceptance
• [37:24] Trial and error, fit kits and what marketing promises
• [40:47] Why real prolapse advice is hard to give on social media
• [43:19] Where to find Carrie
• [44:25] Theme song

About Carrie Pagliano

Dr. Carrie Pagliano, PT DPT, is a pelvic floor physiotherapist in Arlington, Virginia with 26 years in women's health. She served on the executive board of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy and hosts the Active Mom Podcast.

Theme Song: Patient Zero by Taylor Swift

Key topics covered

• Pessary for running
• Stress urinary incontinence and urethral closure
• Pelvic organ prolapse and passive support
• Pressure management in running and lifting
• Ring, dish and cube pessaries
• Perimenopause and staying active

Resources and references mentioned

• Carrie Pagliano: carriepagliano.com
• Carrie on Instagram: @carriepagliano
• Active Mom Podcast: listen on Buzzsprout

Listen to more episodes like this

• Pessaries with Kristen Parise and Dr. Maureen Macdonald
• Prolapse and Pessaries: Losing the Shame with the Vagina Coach Kim Vopni
• Purple Pessaries, AI Fitting, and Building the Invisalign of Pelvic Health with Derek Sham
• Pelvic Floor for Athletes: Your Hidden Force Absorber with Dr. Rachel Selman
• Return to Running After Baby: Forget the Green Light with Gráinne Donnelly

Our Sponsor: SRC Health

SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work.

Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket.

Work with Blueberry Therapy

If you leak when you run and want to talk about a support device, book a pelvic floor physiotherapy assessment at Blueberry Therapy.

Subscribe and connect

Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca and leave a review if this episode helped. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

Is vaginal estrogen safe? If you have ever read the paper insert that comes with a vaginal estrogen prescription, you have probably wondered the same thing, because the warnings on it sound frightening. Dr. Sarah Shaw, a physician with twenty years in women's hormonal health and co founder of Lume Women + Health in Toronto, joins The Hole Shebang to explain why that label is outdated, why it does not reflect current evidence, and why vaginal estrogen is one of the safest, cheapest and most underused treatments in menopause care. Sarah also breaks down premature ovarian insufficiency, the real difference between systemic and local hormone therapy, and the non-hormonal options for hot flashes that most women have never heard of.

What You Will Learn

Listeners will hear the story of a patient who spent years on daily antibiotics for recurrent urinary tract infections before anyone mentioned vaginal estrogen, and what changed once she started it. Sarah explains why the product monograph on vaginal estrogen carries warnings meant for systemic hormone therapy, why vaginal estrogen does not raise the risk of blood clots or dementia, and why it remains a safe option for women who have had breast cancer. She also covers how to find a menopause certified provider, what premature ovarian insufficiency looks like in a woman in her thirties, and the newest non-hormonal medications for hot flashes.

In This Episode

[00:49] Sarah's day to day focus on hormonal health and preventive medicine [02:29] From harm reduction outreach in Halifax to co founding a women's health clinic [05:08] The patient story: years of recurrent UTIs, and the vaginal estrogen conversation nobody had with her sooner [08:14] Shared decision making and being the CEO of your own body [11:36] What to look for in a menopause certified provider [16:15] Premature ovarian insufficiency and why early symptoms deserve to be taken seriously [20:20] Hormone therapy as gold standard care for premature menopause [21:57] Systemic versus local hormone therapy, explained [27:32] Why the vaginal estrogen warning label is outdated and what the current evidence actually shows [31:31] Non-hormonal options for hot flashes: fezolinetant, elinzanetant, SSRIs, SNRIs and low dose gabapentin [39:57] Practical sleep advice for early morning waking in midlife

About Dr. Sarah Shaw

Dr. Sarah Naomi Shaw, MSW EdD MD FCFP MSCP, is a family physician and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner who spent fifteen years running a family medicine practice in downtown Toronto before co founding Lume Women + Health with Dr. Woganee Filate, Dr. Amy Louis Bayliss and Lindsay Stollery Jephcott. She holds a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and began her career running a harm reduction outreach program for sex workers in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Theme Song: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

Key Topics Covered

• Vaginal estrogen safety and the product monograph
• Genitourinary syndrome of menopause
• Premature ovarian insufficiency
• Systemic versus local hormone therapy
• Non-hormonal hot flash treatment
• Choosing a menopause certified provider

Resources and References Mentioned

• The Menopause Society, evidence-based guidance on hormone therapy, referenced by Sarah as the source to check instead of the product monograph
• Canadian Menopause Society, a Canadian evidence-based menopause resource Sarah recommends
• Menopause Foundation of Canada, a Canadian patient education resource Sarah recommends
• Lume Women + Health, Sarah's clinic in Toronto

Listen to More Episodes Like This

• Why 85 Percent of Women Develop the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause with Dr Daiana Castleman
• Your Vagina Is Shrinking and Nobody Told You: The Hormone Conversation We NEED with Dr. Carrie Jones
• Sleep, Sex and Menopause with Dr. Woganee Filate, Sarah's co founder at Lume Women + Health

Find every episode at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca.

Connect with Dr. Sarah Shaw

Website: lumewomenshealth.com Instagram: @lumewomenshealth LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarah-naomi-shaw

Our Sponsor: SRC Health

SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work.

Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket.

Keep Learning

Visit blueberrytherapy.ca to book a pelvic health consultation, subscribe to The Hole Shebang wherever you listen, and connect with us on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

Perimenopause fatigue has more than one cause, and the right fix depends on which kind of tired you have. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen talks with Dr. Jessica Drummond, a physiotherapist with a doctorate in clinical nutrition and founder of the Integrative Women's Health Institute, about why perimenopause so rarely arrives to a perfectly healthy body. Dr. Drummond shares a sleep test for sorting ordinary exhaustion from deeper fatigue, explains why hormone therapy can burn when mast cells are involved, and describes how a frozen shoulder can be part of an estrogen story. You will also hear why menopause symptoms, chronic illness and long COVID overlap, why no scan finds the driver, and why she asks for months of small changes with a practitioner who listens. A rapid fire round covers cold plunges, seed cycling and castor oil packs.

Timestamps

• [00:00] Welcome, and why this starts with endometriosis
• [03:27] Where the immune system, chronic pain and hormone shifts meet
• [05:23] Why perimenopause rarely arrives to a perfectly healthy body
• [14:04] What fatigue is: POTS, ME/CFS and post exertional malaise
• [16:30] The sleep test for sorting one kind of tired from another
• [17:57] When you cannot sleep, and why sleep can feel unsafe
• [25:48] What to start earlier: protein, lifting weights and recovery
• [29:12] Vaginal estrogen, dryness and when mast cells change the plan
• [35:11] Why the driver matters, and why hormones are not the whole answer
• [40:42] When it is just hormones: the frozen shoulder example
• [43:16] Rapid fire on cold plunges, glucose monitors, seed cycling and castor oil packs
• [48:12] Where to find her, and a free hot flash relief guide
• [49:02] Theme song

What listeners will learn: a simple way to start sorting your tiredness, why a hormone that helps one person can burn another, and why slowing down with a practitioner who listens is part of the treatment.

About Dr. Jessica Drummond: Dr. Drummond, DCN, CNS, PT, is the founder and CEO of the Integrative Women's Health Institute, which has taught 3,500 graduates in 62 countries. She is a physiotherapist who earned a doctorate in clinical nutrition, the author of Outsmart Endometriosis, and the host of the weekly Integrative Women's Health Podcast for professionals.

Theme Song: American Cars by Noah Kahan

Key topics covered

• Perimenopause, chronic illness and long COVID overlap
• Fatigue, the sleep test and the nervous system
• Hormone therapy order, mast cells and a frozen shoulder example

Resources and References Mentioned

• Hot Flash Relief Guide, free from the Integrative Women's Health Institute
• Integrative Women's Health Institute
• Integrative Women's Health Institute on Instagram, @integrativewomenshealth

More on The Hole Shebang

• Perimenopause Isn't All in Your Head: Empowering You with the Knowledge You NEED with Jessica Caceres
• Chronic Pelvic Pain: Real Even When Your Tests Are Normal with Carolyn Vandyken
• The Missing Link in Endometriosis Care with Physiotherapist Jill Mueller
• Pelvic health physiotherapy at Blueberry Therapy

Connect with Dr. Jessica Drummond

• Instagram: @integrativewomenshealth
• Website: integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com

Listen and subscribe

Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this helped, and visit blueberrytherapy.ca for more. Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

Return to running after baby is one of the most searched questions in postpartum recovery, and the guidelines most clinicians use were co written by this week's guest. Grainne Donnelly, Advanced Practice Pelvic Health Physiotherapist, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy and editor of the new Elsevier textbook Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor, joins Kristen to talk about leaking during exercise, pelvic floor dysfunction in female athletes and what a decade of new research has changed about postpartum return to sport. From compression shorts and pessaries to the evolutionary reason human pelvic floors work so hard, this is the conversation for anyone who runs, lifts or coaches.

This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

In This Episode

• [02:29] The short straw: how a maternity rotation labelled a waste of six months became a career
• [04:57] Nearly half of 325 athletes at the Lima U20 World Championships reported pelvic floor symptoms, and why the research is only catching up now
• [08:55] Assessing a young athlete: history, bladder diary, real time ultrasound and leaking as a warning sign of underfuelling (RED-S)
• [15:44] The 2019 return to running guidelines: why they were written and what they screen for
• [19:56] What changed: the 881 woman study, the three week minimum and why 12 weeks is an average, not a rule
• [24:13] The product menu: pessaries, Uresta, Poise Impressa and the compression shorts her PhD put through gait analysis
• [30:28] Run quieter and lean in: free strategy changes that reduce load on the pelvic floor
• [33:31] The evolutionary chapter: what walking upright cost the pelvic floor, sparked by a chance meeting with Dan Lieberman
• [41:27] Load capacity in practice: the six double unders method
• [44:41] The Chrome browser brain: why understanding a symptom changes the symptom

What You Will Learn

How to tell a load capacity problem from a structural one, what a graded return to running actually looks like, which support products exist and how they work, and why pelvic floor symptoms touch at least one in three women without being anyone's fault.

About Grainne Donnelly

Grainne is an Advanced Practice Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and founder of Absolute Physio in Northern Ireland. She co wrote the returning to running postnatal guidelines (2019) with Tom Goom and Emma Brockwell, is Editor in Chief of JPOGP and edited Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor: Science to Practice (Elsevier, 2026). Her PhD research at Cardiff Metropolitan University investigates compression garments for pelvic floor symptoms in runners.

Theme Song: Jump Around by House of Pain and Maniac 2000 by Mark McCabe (she filled in the form twice and we kept both)

Resources and References Mentioned

• Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor: Science to Practice (Elsevier, 2026)
• Returning to running postnatal guidelines (Donnelly, Brockwell and Goom, 2019)
• The Lima 2024 World Athletics U20 study on athlete pelvic floor symptoms (Giagio et al.)
• Grainne's research on ResearchGate
• Products discussed: pessaries (fitted at Blueberry Therapy), Uresta, Poise Impressa, Efemia and Diveen urethral supports, targeted compression garments (SRC Health garments)

Keep Listening on The Hole Shebang

• Pelvic Floor for Athletes: Your Hidden Force Absorber with Dr. Rachel Selman
• The New Postpartum Exercise Guidelines That Ditch the Six Week Rule with Dr. Margie Davenport
• Menopause Joint Pain: Why Everything Aches and What Helps with Michelle Lyons
• Birth Prep: The Movement Work Nobody Taught You with Gina Conley

Connect with Grainne

Website: absolute.physio Instagram: @grainnedonnelly_absolutephysio

Our Sponsor: SRC Health

SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work.

Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at Blueberry Shop, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket.

Ready for Support?

Blueberry Therapy offers pelvic health physiotherapy, pessary fittings and return to sport planning in Dundas, Ontario and virtually across the province: blueberrytherapy.ca

Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this episode helped, and connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

Pelvic girdle pain affects about one in two pregnancies, and most women who have it are told a story about relaxin, loose ligaments and an unstable pelvis that research disproved back in 2012. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Dr. Sinead Dufour, PT PhD, Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University, to explain what pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain is: a sensitive, protective nervous system rather than a structural failure. They cover the real risk factors, the three step treatment model, symphysis pubis dysfunction as a harmful label and how virtual pelvic health physiotherapy is reaching women who could never get to a clinic.

This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off.

In This Episode

• [01:01] Twin mama first: how twins during a PhD pulled Sinead into pelvic health
• [03:46] One foot in the clinic, one in research, and why both get better
• [07:14] One in two: how common pelvic girdle pain is in pregnancy and the first postpartum year
• [08:50] Normal pregnancy aches versus pain that persists
• [11:23] The relaxin story, and why twins with 3.6 times the relaxin disprove it
• [14:29] Not a stability problem, a sensitivity problem: nociplastic pain explained
• [17:08] Beliefs beat biomechanics: the harm in the label symphysis pubis dysfunction
• [19:42] The eight or nine established risk factors, and none of them are structural
• [21:48] Guarding, the threat response and what good treatment looks like
• [23:52] Three steps: making sense of pain, exposure with control, lifestyle
• [34:18] Virtual pelvic health care, and when you still need hands and eyes in person
• [40:09] The Ontario fix: pelvic health in the public health nurse visit, and teaching teens their bodies
• [44:47] Theme song: Bitter Sweet Symphony

What You Will Learn

How to tell an ordinary pregnancy ache from pelvic girdle pain that needs care, why the relaxin and instability explanations failed the evidence, which risk factors matter (previous trauma, second pregnancies, fear, depleted energy, smoking, higher BMI, a history of episodic low back pain, synthetic progestin use and lack of belief that things will improve), what modern treatment involves and how virtual care opens the door for women far from a pelvic physiotherapist.

About Dr. Sinead Dufour

Sinead Dufour, PT PhD, is an Associate Clinical Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University, where she teaches across medicine, nursing and rehabilitation science. She practices virtually through the National Pelvic Health Collective, is a founding partner of The WOMB perinatal care centres, led the SOGC guideline on conservative care of urinary incontinence and co authored FIFA's decision aids for pregnant and postpartum footballers. Her course Reframe Pelvic Girdle Pain retrains clinicians worldwide.

Theme Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve

Resources and References Mentioned

• Reframing beliefs and instiling facts for contemporary management of pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022)
• Understanding and managing pelvic girdle pain from a person-centred biopsychosocial perspective (Beales, Slater, Palsson and O'Sullivan)
• Reframe Pelvic Girdle Pain: A 21st Century Approach (Sinead's course for clinicians on Embodia)

Listen to More Episodes Like This

All at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:

• Chronic Pelvic Pain: Real Even When Your Tests Are Normal with Carolyn Vandyken (Ep101), Sinead's research collaborator on the nociplastic pain side of this story
• The New Postpartum Exercise Guidelines That Ditch the Six Week Rule with Dr. Margie Davenport (Ep66), who named Sinead on air as a leader in remote pelvic care
• Empowering Exercise During Pregnancy with Dr. Christina Prevett (Ep6)

Pregnant or postpartum and dealing with pelvic girdle pain, incontinence or prolapse, or wondering about a pessary fitting like the ones mentioned in this episode: the Blueberry Therapy team offers pelvic health physiotherapy in Hamilton and virtual consultations across Ontario at blueberrytherapy.ca.

Our Sponsor: kGoal

kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see.

Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract.

Shop kGoal at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose.

Connect with Dr. Sinead Dufour

• McMaster experts page
• National Pelvic Health Collective (virtual care)
• Instagram @dr.sinead

Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca, leave a review if this episode helped you and connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

The first 1000 days of life, from before conception to a child's second birthday, set the foundation for lifelong health, and most of us have never been told the window exists. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen sits down with Dr. Deb Sloboda, professor and Associate Chair of Research in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Early Origins of Health and Disease, to walk through the developmental origins of health and disease in plain language. They cover preconception health for both partners, why the placenta is a fetal organ with a sex, epigenetics explained as dimmer switches, stress hormones in pregnancy, the gut microbiome and The Art of Creation, her arts based science translation project now headed to the British Science Festival.

This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off.

In This Episode

• [01:02] From French major at Guelph to falling for embryology at the Ontario Veterinary College
• [04:10] What the developmental origins of health and disease means
• [06:30] The first 1000 days, the window nobody talks about
• [08:18] The placenta is the baby's organ, and it has a sex
• [11:14] Male preconception health, the gap in research and healthcare guidelines
• [12:36] The six month preconception checklist for the partner with the sperm
• [14:17] Birth weight, famine cohorts and the metabolic thread in the research
• [18:00] Epigenetics explained: dimmer switches on your DNA
• [20:30] Stress in pregnancy and the placenta's cortisol gatekeeper enzyme
• [25:57] How first and third pregnancies reshape the gut microbiome differently
• [30:42] The Art of Creation: rappers and sculptors inside a pregnancy lab
• [35:57] Art Gallery of Hamilton to the British Science Festival in Southampton
• [38:00] The five words a Hamilton rapper said after a month in the lab
• [41:16] Art workshops for clinicians and where to find Deb
• [42:35] Theme song time

What Listeners Will Learn

Listeners will leave understanding that health trajectories begin before birth, that preconception advice applies to sperm as much as eggs, that the placenta actively protects a baby from everyday maternal stress, and that serious depression in pregnancy deserves treatment rather than guilt. They will also hear how art carried this science to the public better than any lecture.

About Dr. Deb Sloboda

Dr. Deborah Sloboda is a professor and Associate Chair of Research in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at McMaster University and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Early Origins of Health and Disease. She has published 147 papers and 17 book chapters, won the 2015 Nick Hales Award, the 2017 Hamilton YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Science and McMaster's 2024 President's Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision, and is a founding co president of the DOHaD Society of Canada. She leads The Art of Creation, an arts based knowledge translation program.

Theme Song: Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads

Key Topics Covered

• Developmental origins of health and disease and the first 1000 days
• Preconception health and sperm health
• The placenta, epigenetics and stress during pregnancy
• The gut microbiome in pregnancy
• Arts based knowledge translation

Resources and References Mentioned

• The Sloboda Lab: slobodalab.com
• The Art of Creation: artofcreationstudy.com
• Sloboda Lab on YouTube (LT the Monk's spoken word piece and the art pieces)
• The Art of Creation results paper (Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, July 2026)
• DOHaD knowledge and diet quality in pregnancy, from the Mothers to Babies study (Maternal and Child Nutrition)
• Maternal diet, placental hypoxia and fetoplacental immune balance (Biology of Reproduction, 2025)
• Paternal obesity and placental blood vessel development (Biology of Reproduction, 2022)
• Paternal obesity and the sperm epigenome (eLife)
• Dr. Sloboda's publications on Google Scholar

Listen to More Episodes Like This

Find them all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:

• Secrets to a Healthy Pregnancy Journey with Dr. Kristi Adamo (Ep18)
• Healing the Gut for Hormone Balance with Stephanie Singh (Ep7)
• The Fertility Factors Nobody Talks About with Rachel Corradetti Sargeant (Ep31)
• It's More Complicated: Understanding Hormones with Dr. Stacey Ritz (Ep28)
• Understanding Severe Maternal Morbidity with Dr. Giulia Muraca (Ep9)

Our Sponsor: kGoal

kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see.

Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract.

Shop kGoal at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code kGoal15 for 15% off. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose.

Connect with Dr. Deb Sloboda

Website: slobodalab.com and artofcreationstudy.com Instagram: @sloboda_lab and @aoc_study LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/deborah-sloboda

Connect with The Hole Shebang

If this episode made you feel less alone, that is the entire point of this show. Subscribe, leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next. If you are planning a pregnancy or in one now, Blueberry Therapy's multidisciplinary team supports every stage, book at blueberrytherapy.ca.

Follow The Hole Shebang on Instagram at @blueberrytherapypelvichealth

Menopause joint pain is more common than hot flushes, yet most women have never been told the two are connected. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, pelvic health physiotherapist Kristen Parise talks with Michelle Lyons, the Irish chartered physiotherapist behind Celebrate Muliebrity, about the musculoskeletal side of the menopause transition: why joints, tendons and muscles ache when estrogen falls, which perimenopause symptoms start before periods stop, what protects brain health and bone density, and how vaginal estrogen plus pelvic floor physiotherapy changes bladder symptoms, comfort and confidence. Michelle has spent 30 years in women's health, teaches clinicians worldwide and hosts the Celebrate Muliebrity podcast, which passed 100 episodes this year.

This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca. and use kGoal15 to save 15%.

In This Episode

• [02:43] The symptoms nobody connects to menopause: hip pain, rotator cuff trouble and back pain, and why they beat hot flushes for prevalence
• [06:30] Osteoarthritis is inflammation, not wear and tear, and why that changes treatment
• [08:24] The realistic starting plan: sleep hygiene, morning light and what to do about wine
• [11:17] Hormone therapy, heavy perimenopause periods and the iron deficiency almost nobody checks
• [16:21] Brain fog: hydration, iron and the honest state of the estrogen and dementia evidence
• [18:24] What is proven for brain health: leg strength, aerobic exercise and a Mediterranean style diet
• [24:40] Bone health: four prunes a day, tahini for calcium, impact and balance training
• [27:28] Pelvic health concerns keep one in two women from exercising
• [29:34] Genitourinary syndrome of menopause: dryness, leakage and the bladder that fills faster
• [31:54] Vaginal estrogen plus 12 weeks of pelvic floor physio, the combination that works
• [37:04] Celebrate Muliebrity at 100+ episodes and Michelle's theme song

What Listeners Will Learn

Listeners will come away knowing how to spot perimenopause early, what blood work to ask for, which lifestyle levers have real evidence behind them and why treating pelvic health is the gateway to staying strong, active and confident through midlife.

About Michelle Lyons

Michelle Lyons, PT, MISCP, is a chartered physiotherapist from Ireland with 30 years of experience in women's health, licensed in Ireland and the US. She is the founder of Celebrate Muliebrity, where her online courses include The Menopausal Toolbox, and she hosts the Celebrate Muliebrity podcast. She co founded the Women's Health Physiotherapy community and founded Global Pelvic Physio.

Theme Song: You Gotta Be by Des'ree

Key Topics Covered

• Menopause joint pain and the musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause
• Perimenopause symptoms, heavy periods and iron deficiency
• Brain fog and what protects brain health
• Bone density, osteoporosis prevention and impact training
• Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, vaginal estrogen and pelvic floor physiotherapy

Resources and References Mentioned

• Michelle's courses and podcast: celebratemuliebrity.com
• Global Pelvic Physio group for clinicians, moderated by Michelle
• Canadian research on vaginal estrogen with pelvic floor muscle training by Joanie Mercier
• Pelvic health physiotherapy at Blueberry Therapy: blueberrytherapy.ca

More Episodes Like This

Find them all at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca:

• Menopause and Muscle: It Is Not Too Late to Get Strong with Dr. Stuart Phillips
• Your Vagina Is Shrinking and Nobody Told You: The Hormone Conversation We NEED with Dr. Carrie Jones
• Sleep, Sex and Menopause with Dr. Woganee Filate
• Perimenopause and Hormone Replacement with Dr. Alison Shea
• Sex After Menopause: The Truth Your Doctor Won't Say with Shirley Weir

Connect with Michelle

Website: celebratemuliebrity.com Instagram: @michellelyons_muliebrity

Our Sponsor: kGoal

kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see.

Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract. Use the code kGoal15 for 15% off.

Shop kGoal at Blueberry Shop. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose.

Enjoyed This Episode?

Subscribe and leave a review, it helps other women find the show. Book a pelvic health assessment at blueberrytherapy.ca or call 289 238 8383. Perimenopause and menopause pelvic health support is one of the things our multidisciplinary team does best.

Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth

Birth prep is not the same thing as birth education, and most pregnant people are only ever handed the second one. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Gina Conley, founder of MamasteFit and author of Training for Two, to talk about the physical preparation that actually makes space for a baby: pelvic floor function, pelvic mechanics and the movement patterns that carry you from labour into postpartum recovery. If you have searched for birth prep exercises, wondered how to prepare your body for birth or been scared by a prolapse diagnosis, this conversation is for you.

This episode is brought to you by kGoal. Shop kGoal smart pelvic floor trainers at blueberrytherapyshop.ca. and use kGoal15 to save 15%.

Gina brings an unusual path to this work. She spent seven years in the army, including a combat tour in Afghanistan, before a difficult first birth sent her back to school for a master's in exercise science. She is now a birth doula who has supported close to 200 births, a mom of four and, at the time of recording, training for her first 100 mile race.

In This Episode

• [01:00] From the army to the birthing room: how Gina's path led to perinatal fitness
• [06:46] Birth prep versus birth education, and why the difference matters
• [07:19] Why wide leg stretches are only one quarter of real birth preparation
• [11:30] Body asymmetry, the pelvic floor and the four movement patterns to train
• [16:44] How a baby moves through the inlet, mid pelvis and outlet, and how to make space
• [20:45] The pushing position debate, and why pressure gradients matter more than gravity
• [29:28] The bounce back lie and adjusting postpartum expectations
• [29:51] Prolapse debunked: why symptomless does not mean broken
• [44:54] What is next for Gina, from Beyond Postpartum to teaching the professionals

What You Will Learn

You will come away understanding why a functional pelvic floor is about movement rather than Kegels, how to think about creating space at each level of the pelvis and why the same prep that helps in labour supports postpartum recovery, including after a cesarean birth. Gina also reframes prolapse and diastasis so a diagnosis feels like a starting point rather than a life sentence.

About Gina Conley

Gina Conley holds a master's in exercise science and is the founder and CEO of MamasteFit in Aberdeen, North Carolina. She is a birth doula, a seven year army veteran, a mom of four and the author of Training for Two (2024). She runs MamasteFit and the MamasteFit Podcast with her sister Roxanne Albert, a labour and delivery nurse and nurse midwife.

Theme Song: an Avicii track (to be confirmed)

Key Topics Covered

• Birth preparation and pelvic mechanics
• Pelvic floor function beyond Kegels
• Labour positions and pushing
• Postpartum recovery and the bounce back myth
• Pelvic organ prolapse and diastasis recti

Resources and References Mentioned

• Training for Two by Gina Conley (2024): mamastefit.com
• MamasteFit Pelvic Mechanics course and Beyond Postpartum program: mamastefit.com
• The MamasteFit Podcast with Gina Conley and Roxanne Albert

Listen to More Episodes Like This

• Empowering Exercise During Pregnancy with Dr. Christina Prevett
• The New Postpartum Exercise Guidelines That Ditch the Six Week Rule with Dr. Margie Davenport
• The Bounce Back Lie and What Postpartum Recovery Actually Looks Like with Michelle Gauvreau

Our Sponsor: kGoal

kGoal makes smart pelvic floor trainers that show you what your pelvic floor is actually doing. Doing Kegels in the dark is the most common reason they do not work, and real time biofeedback replaces the guessing with something you can see.

Blueberry Therapy carries the full kGoal range. The Classic is the insertable trainer most people start with. The Boost is a sit-on-top trainer you use fully clothed, which makes it the one Kristen recommends for pelvic pain, early postpartum and anyone who finds insertion uncomfortable. Both train the pelvic floor to release as well as contract.

Shop kGoal at Blueberry Shop. Not sure which trainer fits, call the clinic at 289-238-8383 and a member of the pelvic health team will help you choose.

Connect with Gina Conley

Website mamastefit.com. Instagram, TikTok and YouTube at @mamastefit.

Connect with The Hole Shebang

Subscribe and listen at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca. Learn more about pelvic health physiotherapy at Blueberry Therapy in Hamilton, Ontario at blueberrytherapy.ca. Leave a review and tell us what you want to hear next.

Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram @blueberrytherapypelvichealth.

Chronic pelvic pain is one of the most dismissed conditions in women's health. Years of symptoms, multiple clinicians, clean imaging, and eventually the quiet suggestion that it might be in your head. In this episode of The Hole Shebang, Kristen Parise sits down with Carolyn Vandyken, registered physiotherapist, co-founder of Reframe Rehab and recipient of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association's Medal of Distinction, to explain what is happening when pelvic pain persists without a tissue cause. They cover nociplastic pain and central sensitization in plain language, why diagnostic labels like vulvodynia can act as nocebos, how overlapping pain conditions like migraines, IBS and low back pain cluster around the pelvis, and the biopsychosocial approach that treats the whole nervous system instead of hunting for one tight muscle. Carolyn also shares the lifestyle changes that calm a dysregulated system, including her 150 minutes of walking a week.

This episode is brought to you by SRC Health. Shop SRC garments at blueberrytherapyshop.ca and use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

In This Episode

• [00:40] Working with her daughter: co-owning a clinic and co-founding Reframe Rehab with Brittany Vandyken
• [03:53] What biopsychosocial care means, and why clinicians stay stuck in the biomechanical model
• [09:09] For the woman with years of pelvic pain and clean imaging: your pain is real
• [10:30] The Age of Diagnosis: when labels like vulvodynia become nocebos
• [13:29] Overlapping pain conditions, and new research putting pelvic pain at the centre
• [16:12] STAND UP: stress, trauma, anxiety, neglecting rest and distress
• [20:07] What CBT training changes about a physiotherapy session
• [22:06] Invitation over prescription: why patients skip exercises they never chose
• [25:32] Trauma informed care and the pelvic floor as protector, dysregulated rather than dysfunctional
• [27:59] Central sensitization and nociplastic pain, explained for the listener at home
• [31:41] The inconvenient truth: sleep, food, stress practices and 150 minutes of walking a week
• [33:58] The sandwich years: why perimenopause looks like a dysregulated nervous system
• [35:29] The teaching ripple: Sinead Dufour, Kim Vopni and Jill Mueller
• [41:04] Where to find Carolyn: Embodia and the Year of Mentoring
• [45:07] Theme song: Walk Beside Me

What Listeners Will Learn

Listeners will leave knowing that persistent pain with normal tests is real, common and treatable. Carolyn explains how an overprotective nervous system produces pain, bladder urgency, gut symptoms and muscle guarding at once, why the pelvic floor braces to protect you, and why releasing muscles without regulating the nervous system keeps patients stuck. She walks through the questions worth asking a prospective provider, the risk factors that load the system, and the evidence-backed lifestyle changes that start recovery at home.

About Carolyn Vandyken

Carolyn Vandyken is a registered physiotherapist with more than three decades in practice, co-owner of Physio Works Muskoka in Huntsville, Ontario and co-founder of Reframe Rehab, the teaching company she built with her daughter Brittany to break down the silos between musculoskeletal pain, pelvic pain, pain neuroscience education and psychology. She co-wrote Why Pelvic Pain Hurts with Adriaan Louw and Sandra Hilton, co-authored the definitive reviews on the overactive pelvic floor and sexual dysfunction, and her 2018 study with Dr. Sinead Dufour found that 95 percent of women with lumbopelvic pain had signs of pelvic floor dysfunction. Her honours include the YWCA Women of Distinction Award (2004), the Ontario Physiotherapy Association's Distinguished Education Award (2015) and the Canadian Physiotherapy Association's Medal of Distinction (2021). Her Year of Mentoring on Embodia draws faculty from five countries.

Theme Song: Walk Beside Me by Celtic Woman

Key Topics Covered

• Chronic pelvic pain with normal test results
• The biopsychosocial model in pelvic health physiotherapy
• Nociplastic pain and central sensitization
• Diagnostic labels, nocebos and the power of words
• Overlapping pain conditions (migraines, IBS, TMJ, low back pain)
• Trauma informed care and co-creation
• CBT tools in physiotherapy and graded exposure
• Lifestyle medicine: sleep, nutrition, stress practices and walking

Resources and References Mentioned

• Reframe Rehab
• Carolyn's Year of Mentoring on Embodia
• Physio Works Muskoka
• Why Pelvic Pain Hurts by Adriaan Louw, Sandra Hilton and Carolyn Vandyken
• The Age of Diagnosis by Dr. Suzanne O'Sullivan
• Lifestyle and Chronic Pain across the Lifespan: An Inconvenient Truth? (Jo Nijs and colleagues)
• Corina Avni's research on pelvic pain and chronic overlapping pain conditions
• Canada's food guide

Listen to More Episodes Like This

All episodes at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca

• Episode 91: Pelvic Pain Is a Symptom, Not a Diagnosis with Dr. Alopi Patel
• Episode 47: Rewiring Pain: From Velociraptors to Victory with Dr. Laura Katz
• Episode 30: The Missing Link in Endometriosis Care with Physiotherapist Jill Mueller
• Episode 82: Prolapse and Pessaries: Losing the Shame with the Vagina Coach Kim Vopni

Our Sponsor: SRC Health

SRC makes medical grade compression garments for pregnancy, bladder leaks and mild pelvic organ prolapse. The Restore short is the one Kristen reaches for most in clinic. It supports your pelvic organs while you and your pelvic floor physiotherapist do the strengthening work.

Blueberry Therapy has carried SRC garments for years. Shop the full range at blueberrytherapyshop.ca, same price as buying direct and shipped from the clinic in Canada. Use the code SRC15 for 15% off.

Many extended health plans cover compression garments with a prescription, so check your benefits before you assume you are paying out of pocket.

Connect with Carolyn

• Reframe Rehab: reframerehab.com
• Instagram: @reframerehab
• Clinic: physioworksmuskoka.com
• Courses and mentoring: find Carolyn Vandyken on Embodia

Work with the Blueberry Therapy Team

Persistent pelvic pain deserves whole person care. Our physiotherapists, psychotherapists and naturopath work together under one roof, which is exactly the interdisciplinary model Carolyn describes in this episode. Book a free discovery call at blueberrytherapy.ca

Subscribe to The Hole Shebang at podcast.blueberrytherapy.ca and leave a review if this episode helped you. The only awkward conversation is the one we're not having.

Connect with The Hole Shebang on Instagram: @blueberrytherapypelvichealth