No matter which way you bring your baby into the world, you are incredible! If you had a cesarean birth with your first baby, that doesn’t automatically mean you need to have another c-section if you choose to have more children. Today’s guest Meagan Heaton, co-founder of the VBAC Link, doula, and c-section educator had a successful VBAC with her third child after two previous cesareans. That third birth sparked a drive in her to help other women like herself feel educated, supported, and emp...
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No matter which way you bring your baby into the world, you are incredible! If you had a cesarean birth with your first baby, that doesn’t automatically mean you need to have another c-section if you choose to have more children. Today’s guest Meagan Heaton, co-founder of the VBAC Link, doula, and c-section educator had a successful VBAC with her third child after two previous cesareans. That third birth sparked a drive in her to help other women like herself feel educated, supported, and emp...
No matter which way you bring your baby into the world, you are incredible! If you had a cesarean birth with your first baby, that doesn’t automatically mean you need to have another c-section if you choose to have more children. Today’s guest Meagan Heaton, co-founder of the VBAC Link, doula, and c-section educator had a successful VBAC with her third child after two previous cesareans. That third birth sparked a drive in her to help other women like herself feel educated, supported, and emp...
Amy is solo for today’s episode sharing what she wishes she would have known about labor and delivery. Amy has always been interested in birth and while her nursing career ended up taking a different route, her passion for birth did not end there. After having her 3 boys, Amy decided to further her knowledge and train as a doula. Every part of Amy’s professional and personal life has led to her sharing all things pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum with the Expecting and Empowered audi...
Our conversation today is with Dr. Whitney Casares, board-certified pediatrician, CEO and founder of Modern Mommy Doc, and author of the new book for children My One-of-a-Kind Body. Her book is a wonderful tool to encourage body confidence in kids and can be a valuable resource for parents! As new moms, we are shifting the narrative away from the diet culture from the past and learning to love our bodies. We want our kids to feel the same and to view all bodies as special. Dr. Casares w...
On today’s episode, Amy is joined by Licensed Psychologist and maternal mental health specialist, Dr. Lilit, to discuss identity - from womanhood, to motherhood, to working mom - why self care is a non-negotiable, and how to shift “mom guilt” into “I care”. Dr. Lilit feels strongly that all women can thrive in motherhood by rethinking expectations and priorities. She walks through ways to maintain your original identity when becoming a mother and reminds us to have gentle expectations of ours...
Mealtime struggles can feel overwhelming, but they don’t have to be—and that’s why we’re so excited to welcome Jennifer Anderson to today’s episode. Jennifer is a registered dietitian with a Master’s in Public Health, a mom of two, and the founder of Kids Eat in Color, a trusted resource that’s been supporting families with evidence-based strategies for child nutrition and feeding since 2019. In today’s conversation, Jennifer dives into how to recognize signs of picky eating, offers practical...
In episode 91 we talked all about SPD pain during pregnancy, but we’ve had a lot of women from our community ask about SPD pain during the postpartum period! Today, Krystle is going to close that loop and talk about things you can do to alleviate SPD pain during postpartum. Through proper full ribcage breathing, keeping movements symmetrical until inflammation has decreased, and modifying your workouts, less pain and a stronger pelvic floor is possible. A great feature about the Expecting and...
In today’s inspiring episode, we welcome a first: a military spouse, mother of two, content creator, and Expecting and Empowered App Affiliate - Corrie Lynn! Corrie joins us to share her unique experience navigating motherhood and military life, and how she’s rewriting the narrative with positivity, resilience, and intentionality. After moving to their first base only a few short months before their first child was born, they leaned heavily into their new community of the other military...
If you’ve ever felt immense, sharp, pain in your pelvis during pregnancy, you are not alone - we have too! That pain is called Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction, or SPD pain for short. SPD can be caused by a combination of things, but mostly because of imbalances in the pelvis and relaxin hormone that increases during pregnancy. Krystle is going to walk us through ways to eliminate asymmetrical movements and activities to decrease inflammation and reduce SPD pain. Then she will cover how to keep yo...
Krystle is hosting solo this week with Jen Wagner, board-certified obstetric anesthesiologist, and Bethany Scott, birth doula, and co-hosts of The C-Section Experience Podcast! Jen and Bethany provide education and support for c-section mamas with the goal of improving c-section experiences for all women. With Jen having had 1 c-section and 1 VBAC and Bethany having had 3 c-sections like Krystle, this episode is full of tips and stories to help you feel empowered and in charge of your c-secti...
Birth can be a beautiful experience, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t without fear and concerns. After hearing from our community, it’s evident that some women feel ready to go! While others feel excited to meet their baby but anxious about the labor and delivery process. We want you to know that ALL of those feelings are valid and so normal! Today’s podcast is going to be all about mentally preparing for labor and delivery. We’ll be going over some tips to help you feel more confident when it ...
Our guest on today’s episode is mom of two, founder of Taylor Lee Yoga, and yoga trainer in the Expecting and Empowered app, Taylor Kaulius! So many mamas requested prenatal and postnatal yoga be included in our workout app, so we brought Taylor onto the team! We have loved her perspective on why including yoga during pregnancy and postpartum as not only a physical practice is so important, but that it’s also so great for feeling like yourself during your journey through motherhood. We also w...
Urinary urgency and incontinence are topics that often don’t get enough attention in women’s health—which is exactly why we're diving into them in today’s episode. Join hosts Amy and Krystle as they share top tips for better bladder health! It’s common to be practicing unhealthy bladder habits without even knowing it, so we will cover what healthy habits should look like for you, your partner, and your kids! Urinary urgency is when you get the feeling that you have to rush to the bathroom, wh...
Today on the podcast, we are honored to have relationship expert Dr. Morgan Cutlip on to talk all about sharing the mental load as mothers and some tangible tips on how to do so. Transitioning from committed partners or a married couple to parents of young children can come with seemingly never ending to-do lists and a lot of emotions. Sharing the mental load of household tasks, schedules, expectations, and more by having open and honest conversations with our spouse can help prevent feelings...
One-third of babies in the United States are delivered via c-section. In honor of C-Section Awareness Month, we thought it would be a great opportunity to revisit one of our earliest episodes about everything you need to know during the first two weeks after a c-section. Here at Expecting and Empowered we celebrate all births whether they are vaginal births like Amy’s, or c-sections like Krystle’s. We will link Krystle’s c-section birth story about her breech baby, Brooke, down below! Our hop...
Transitioning from pregnancy to postpartum can sometimes leave new moms feeling confused, tired, and depleted. Here at Expecting and Empowered, we feel passionately that every mama should get the care, education, and support they deserve and love sharing the microphone with other women who feel the same. That's where Stacia Scott and her company Postpartum Care USA come in! Stacia is a mother of 3, CEO of Postpartum Care USA, and nurse practitioner. With her root-cause approach using in-depth...
Finding the motivation to workout while being a mom can be hard. Our to-do lists are long and our schedules are busy! Amy is solo for today’s episode to share why we feel pure motivation isn’t going to get you to workout. Instead, changing your mindset, prioritizing yourself, and creating the habit of exercising by knowing your “why” are the three keys to keeping a consistent workout routine and a healthier mind and body. We’re going to dive deeper into these three keys in today’s episode and...
Over our last few episodes, we’ve gone over our #1 most downloaded resource about c-section scar mobilization AND our second most downloaded resource ever on labor positions! Today we are bringing you a BRAND NEW resource we think all of you need to see all about the pelvic floor! The pelvic floor is the “basket” keeping all of our internal organs up and in place and plays a huge role in our everyday activities. During pregnancy and birth, these pelvic floor muscles are doing a lot of work wh...
As moms of young babies and children, we focus so much on their sleep. Baby sleep is so important for growth and development. But why isn’t the sleep of the mother more talked about? Today on the podcast, Dr. Shelby Harris, a Board Certified Sleep Psychologist and mother, is here to help us dissect sleep as a mom. There are so many different influencing factors that go into how we sleep at night like having a newborn, stress and anxiety, and sleep diagnoses like insomnia, just to name a few. ...
As avid lifelong runners, we, Amy and Krystle, know that when you’re a runner, you want to keep running through all phases of life! And sometimes, pelvic organ prolapse can feel like it’s keeping you from doing the thing you love. One of our most popular blog posts was about running with prolapse. So, today we thought we’d expand on that post and bring you more of the education we think you need to know to feel empowered about your own health. Addressing prolapse sooner after it happens is ke...
On the podcast today, we are happy to have Heather Knezic! Heather is a Labor & Delivery nurse, wife, mom of 3, birth educator and founder of A Life In Labor who has helped thousands of women achieve their most empowered birth experience. This episode is an open and honest conversation about having the goal of an unmedicated birth. We recognize and honor that this is not everyone’s goal or choice when making their birth plan - all births are beautiful! But if this is your goal, we want yo...
No matter which way you bring your baby into the world, you are incredible! If you had a cesarean birth with your first baby, that doesn’t automatically mean you need to have another c-section if you choose to have more children. Today’s guest Meagan Heaton, co-founder of the VBAC Link, doula, and c-section educator had a successful VBAC with her third child after two previous cesareans. That third birth sparked a drive in her to help other women like herself feel educated, supported, and emp...
