The Lady Birds

Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite taboo topic: poop. In this clinical episode, we break down what normal bowel function actually looks like, why constipation is so common in pregnancy and postpartum, and what you can do about it. We share practical tips for that dreaded first postpartum poop, how your pelvic floor plays a role in all of it, and what to do if you’re struggling with gas leakage weeks after delivery. Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or just curious — this episode is full of surprisingly helpful bowel talk.

In this episode:

💩 What counts as normal poop (yes, there's a chart)

🍌 Why pregnancy slows things down

🤰 Pelvic floor tension + pooping = a bad combo

🧻 Tips to prep for your first postpartum bowel movement

🥤 Hydration, magnesium, and the power of a squatty potty

👃 Gas leakage (why it happens + what to do)

🫧 Why chewing gum might help post-cesarean recovery

Some episodes are just full of sh*t — and this is one of them (in the best way).

Stay connected with us!

📧 [email protected]

📸 Follow us on instagram: @ladybirdpt

🌐 www.ladybirdpt.com

💻 Book in-person or virtual visits

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In this episode, Becky shares the full story of her daughter’s birth — from a stretch of decreased fetal movement leading to an earlier than planned induction, to navigating a rare clotting disorder and deciding whether to get the epidural she wasn’t sure she could have. We get into what labor actually felt like, how clinical anxiety shows up in real time, and the small but unforgettable details — like a postpartum nurse who wouldn’t step aside and a placenta the size of a snack plate. It’s honest, nuanced, and exactly the kind of story we wish we heard more often.

In this episode:

🧠 Medical anxiety meets real birth decisions

🧳 Guess who didn’t bring a hospital bag

💉 When the epidural brings more questions than relief

📟 Cytocec, contractions, and cervical checks

🪞Pushing with mirrors, tug-of-war, and perineal massage

🧻 A memorable first pee - and not for why you would think

🍼 The beautiful blur of those first moments

Whether you’re prepping for birth or processing your own story, this one’s for you — and we hope it helps you feel a little less alone.

Talk to us!

📧 Email with questions: [email protected]

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

🌐 Book in-person, virtual, or home visits: ladybirdpt.com

📝 Don’t forget to rate, review, and share the podcast

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Nichelle Haynes, a reproductive psychiatrist and co-owner of Reproductive Psychiatry and Counseling based in Austin, Texas. She walks us through the nuances of mental health care during pregnancy and postpartum, from medication safety and identity shifts to postpartum anxiety and baby blues. If you’re navigating mental health during pregnancy or postpartum, this one’s for you—and anyone supporting someone through it.

In this episode:

🧠 Identity loss and matrescence

😰 Postpartum anxiety vs. baby blues

🍼 Medication during pregnancy & breastfeeding

💬 Are intrusive thoughts normal?

🧪 Missteps in the recent FDA panel on SSRIs

💡 Nuance over fear-mongering in psychiatry

📈 Monitoring meds throughout pregnancy

🤱 The difference between “baby blues” and postpartum depression

If you’ve ever felt alone in your mental health journey through motherhood—you’re not. And you deserve care that’s just as thoughtful and personalized as the love you give every day.

📧 Reach out: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

🎙️ Book a pelvic floor PT visit with us: www.ladybirdpt.com

💬 Leave a review & help more parents find this support

🎙️Listen to Dr. Nichelle Hayne’s podcast More Than Mom With Dr. Nichelle Haynes  Designed to help people find themselves in motherhood!

📧If you’re local to Austin, visit their website to schedule an in person visit or if you’re in Texas, reach out to schedule a virtual appointment 

📲Follow her on Instagram: @dr.nichellehaynes

This episode dives into one of our favorite birth topics: VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean). Jessica and Becky open with a heartfelt check-in about the recent Hill Country floods before shifting into all things VBAC. They walk through the history, break down the real (and rare) risks like uterine rupture, and talk candidly about what pelvic floor PTs actually do to help. From hip mobility to scar tissue myths to provider dynamics—this one’s all about helping you feel informed, supported, and ready to advocate for the birth you want.

In this episode:

📚 A mini history lesson on VBACs and changing medical norms

🧠 Repeatable and non repeatable factors for a VBAC and what that means

⚠️ Uterine rupture: real risk, rare event

🧘‍♀️ The PT angle: hip mobility, fetal positioning, and what we don’t do (Which might surprise you!)

🧍 Why asymmetry in your body matters and how we assess it

🧑‍⚕️ The make-or-break role of your provider and the magic of doulas

 Whether you’re team VBAC or scheduled cesarean, you deserve informed, individualized care—and we’re here for it.

🎧 Want to go deeper into birth prep? We’ve got two episodes just for you! One dives into perineal massage and how it can help reduce tearing, while the other covers push prep—how to coordinate your breath, core, and pelvic floor for an efficient second stage. These episodes are packed with practical tips for anyone preparing for a vaginal birth (VBAC or otherwise). You’ll find them both linked below!

Episode 6: Birth Preparation: Perineal Tear Risk ReductionEpisode 8: Birth Preparation - Push Prep 101

📧 Have questions or want to work with us? Email us at podcast@ladybirdpt.com

📸 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

🌐 Explore our services and events: ladybirdpt.com

⭐ Leave us a review—seriously, it helps other parents find us!

 In this follow-up to Becky’s pregnancy story, we flip the mic and hear all about Jessica’s experience being pregnant at the same time as Becky. From instant joy to pubic symphysis pain, insomnia, compression socks, and body image shifts, we talk about it all, capturing the contradictions, the surprises, and the stuff no one tells you. We reflect on what it was like to go through pregnancy side-by-side, how our experiences were wildly different (despite similar lifestyles), and why there’s no such thing as doing pregnancy “right.” This episode is for anyone who’s navigated the physical and emotional roller coaster of pregnancy—and for those who know the rage of being 41 weeks and still pregnant.

In this episode you’ll find:

🤰 Pregnant together: the highs, the weirds, the wildly different

💉 Who saw the positive pregnancy test first? Spoiler, it wasn’t Jessica

😴 First-trimester insomnia and pubic symphysis pain

🥤 Diet Coke, nausea, and modifying exercises

🧦 Compression sock obsession vs. compression sock regret

🧠 Mental load: fear of induction and body image in pregnancy

📸 Maternity photos in Mexico (and not sucking it in!)

😡 The emotional chaos of weeks 40–42

 Pregnancy is never one-size-fits-all, even when you’re doing it side by side.

💌 Got questions or episode ideas?

Email us at [email protected]

📱 Follow us on Instagram @ladybirdpt

🌐 Learn more about our services at ladybirdpt.com

⭐ Love the podcast? Leave us a review—it helps other parents find us!

Tailbone pain, or coccydynia, is a condition we treat frequently, but it’s often overlooked or misdiagnosed. In this episode, Jessica and Becky take a closer look at what true tailbone pain is (and isn’t), how it presents in pregnancy and postpartum populations, and why pelvic floor physical therapists are uniquely positioned to help. They discuss common contributing factors, treatment strategies, including internal exams and dry needling, as well as practical advice for managing symptoms at home. Whether you’re newly experiencing tailbone pain or have been dealing with it for years, this episode offers clarity and direction for real relief.

In this episode:

💥 What exactly is the tailbone and how do you know it’s what’s hurting?

🍑 The pelvic floor–tailbone connection explained

🧠Do you need to work on strengthening or relaxing?

🪑 Cushions: helpful relief or just a Band-Aid?

🛠️ Manual therapy, dry needling, and how PTs actually treat tailbone pain

🧘‍♀️ At-home relief options like foam rolling and glute stretches

Tailbone pain can be a literal pain in the ass, but it doesn’t have to be forever!

📧 Email us: [email protected]

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

🌐 Learn more about our pelvic floor services: www.ladybirdpt.com

⭐️ Rate and review the podcast if you love the show

In this episode, Becky opens up about her pregnancy journey — one that was medically complex, emotionally draining, and often left out of the typical pregnancy narrative. From gestational diabetes and chronic itching to fetal heart defects and ovarian cysts, this is the story of Becky's pregnancy. Jess and Becky initially meant to talk about both her pregnancy AND her birth but ended up not having time! Stay tuned for Becky's birth story.

In this episode: 🦟 Dealing with full-body eczema at just 7 weeks pregnant 🤢 Navigating persistent nausea that lasted the entire pregnancy 💊 Managing preexisting hypertension during pregnancy 🫀 Discovering a ventricular septal defect in the baby’s heart at 20 weeks 🍭 The emotional weight of a gestational diabetes diagnosis 🩻 Handling the unexpected: an ovarian cyst that kept growing 🧠 The mental load of constant monitoring, MFM visits, and late-night triage

Want to know more?

📧 Email us: [email protected]

📸 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

🌐 Learn about our pelvic floor services: www.ladybirdpt.com

⭐️ Rate and review if you love the show!

In this episode, we’re diving deep into one of the most debated and often feared topics in the birth world: inductions. We’re joined by our own OBGYN and friend, Dr. Romy Ghosh, to talk through the myths, facts, nuances, and personal experiences behind needing (or choosing) an induction. From medical to elective reasons, relative risk to actual outcomes, we unpack it all! Whether you’re prepping for birth, supporting someone who is, or just curious about what real, evidence-informed care looks like, this one’s for you.

*Trigger warning - Stillbirth mentioned*

In this episode you’ll find: 

🧠 What an induction of labor really is

💊 The most common medical and elective reasons for induction

🤰 Why shame around elective inductions doesn’t belong in the birth space

📊 Relative risk vs. absolute risk, and how they actually shape care

🗣️ How to ask your provider the right questions to feel confident in your decision

⚖️ Cascade of interventions: fear vs. actual outcomes

🛠️ A breakdown of methods: cervical ripening, balloons, Pitocin & more

Birth is full of surprises — but the decision to induce doesn’t have to be one of them. Let’s replace fear with knowledge and shame with support.

💌 Questions or thoughts? Email us at [email protected]

📱 Follow us on Instagram: @ladybirdpt

💻 Learn more about our services at www.ladybirdpt.com

⭐ If you liked this episode, leave us a review and share it with a friend!

In this episode, Becky and Jessica tackle one of the most requested (and under-discussed) topics in postpartum care: painful sex. Whether you're weeks, months, or even years postpartum, pain during intimacy is common — but not something you have to just live with. They break down the most common causes, what it actually feels like, and what you can do about it. 

🧠 Your brain matters as much as your body Fear, stress, and feeling "touched out" all impact sex. You're not broken — you're exhausted, and that’s valid.  Sometimes, sex hurts because it’s the last thing you want. Lack of sleep, stress, and feeling disconnected can all tank libido.

🩹 Scar tissue should be assessed Pain from perineal or C-section scars is real — and often pinpointed, burning, or tight. PT can help reduce that stiffness and sensitivity.

💧 Estrogen takes a dive postpartum Whether you’re making milk or not, low estrogen means dry, irritated tissue. This can feel like sandpaper or tearing — and even tons of lube may not fix it (but still use it anyways!)

🧴 Topical estrogen is effective — and safeTopical, low-dose vaginal estrogen is considered safe in lactation and we are BIG FANS!

🧘 Muscle guarding is very, very common Tension in the pelvic floor (and hips, glutes, adductors) can lead to that “hitting a wall” feeling. Your body may be protecting itself — for good reason.

🛑 C-section parents: this could still apply to you Cesarean births doesn’t always exempt you from pelvic floor issues. Scar tension and deep pain are real and treatable! 

🔁 It’s not linear — and it’s not forever Pain should improve over time. If it’s not, a pelvic floor PT can help untangle the why.

📧 Email us: [email protected]

📱 Follow us: @ladybirdpt on Instagram and Facebook

🏡 Work with us: In-office, virtual, and home visits available

⭐ Like what you hear? Leave us a review and share with a friend.

In this episode, Becky and Jessica dive into the messy beauty of postpartum routines — or lack thereof. From tracking every diaper to full-on bath poops and unpredictable nap schedules, they reflect on how parenting expectations meet the real-world chaos. It’s a conversation filled with relatable moments, unexpected wins, and the sweet spot between over-preparing and letting go.

In this episode you'll find:

🍼 Navigating the chaos of postpartum work-life balance and hybrid childcare🛏️ The highs and lows of baby nap consistency 🎉 Birthday wins: a solo workout, a massage, and the simple joy of no time constraints🧼 The bath poop saga: a parenting rite of passage?🥛 Dairy reintroduction drama — Noomi's review of Chobani📱 Baby-tracking apps: essential tool or emotional support crutch?🧺 A very real discussion on laundry, wardrobe purging, and clothing overwhelm🦜 Colleen’s first big bird moment — and why feeding birds in public is banned (by us)