Things They Don't Tell Her

In this week’s episode, Caitlin is joined by Nadja. Nadja is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and a mother to 2 beautiful twin girls. Nadja has over 20 years experience in her field and was the first acupuncturist to be accredited at Sunshine Coast private hospital to provide acupuncture for women in labour. Today, Nadja is here to fill us all with her extensive knowledge in r...

After giving birth, taking time to heal and recover before jumping back into physical activity is so important. There are so many things that come with pregnancy, labour and being a new mum that changes the body in many ways.  Today, Caitlin is here to give you her framework to safely return to exercise postpartum. Caitlin covers how to prevent and treat pain, prolapse and urinary leakage in those...

When an athlete undergoes surgery, for example to repair their ACL, straight after, they are seen by a physio and prescribed specific exercises, they are updated on the progress, given regular massage by a physio and provided a step by step guide all the way through to returning to sport.  But when women undergo a C-Section, we are told to not do anything for 6 weeks, then we can do what we like. ...

Caring for your perineal scar during the postpartum journey, is unfortunately, not a frequently spoken about topic. There are many things that can come with having a perineal tear or episiotomy, like trouble or pain  urinating, pain when eventually getting back to  intercourse and even discomfort while sitting. Today, Caitlin talks to us about the importance of caring for your perineal scar during...

Today we all have lifestyles that cause imbalances to the pelvic area. Things like driving a car, handling heavy groceries, sitting a baby on our hip & even just some of the ways we stand and sit all play a role in causing imbalances. Some women start to notice the effects of this during pregnancy with discomfort or they show through during birth. In today’s episode, Caitlin is joined by Amy....

In today’s episode, Caitlin sits down with fertility educator, Megan. In Megan’s life as a young woman, she was met with horrendous periods, inconsistent and painful. After Megan was told at a young age that she would have trouble conceiving, she became obsessed with finding the answers. While tracking her changes, she noticed incredible results within her cycle. Going from experiencing periods on...

In today’s episode, Caitlin Interviews Courtney Clark. Courtney is a qualified Naturopath and Nutritionist, with 10 years clinical experience. Being 7 months postpartum herself, Courtney understands the pressure of maintaining healthy eating as a new mum.  In this episode Caitlin and Courtney chat about all things nutrition and healthy eating to help you, as you venture your way through motherhood...

The current maternity system in Australia is very focused on our babies medical wellbeing and shows very little attention to the mother, especially when it comes to their emotional and mental health.  In this episode Caitlin speaks to the importance of zooming out and addressing the “whole woman” to reduce anxiety and stress physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally, by providing tools to...

Caitlin interviews Sheridan Austin, a Qualified Holistic Nutritionist, Mother of two boys & the founder of The Mother’s Blend, a pregnancy and postpartum supplement made from real food. Together they unpack the pressure put on women to take synthetic supplements during pregnancy and the risks that come with them to empower you to make a choice that is right for you and your baby.  In this epis...

This episode explores the power of sound as an epic tool for a natural birth. Caitlin starts by explaining the four diaphragms (pelvic floor, respiratory, vocal and the left/ right hemispheres of the brain) and the role sound plays to connect them to soothe us when required.  Listen in to hear how and why sound is the most undervalued and useful tool for mums to use as a distraction and a strategy...

In this episode, Caitlin reveals that we often unknowingly put ourselves into a stressful state by breathing from the chest triggering our primal instinct which moves blood away from our reproductive organs and towards our muscles and heart to arm us with what we need to run away. Hence why we call it our “fight, flight or freeze response”. In a situation where we need to be in survival mode, this...

Did you know, our breathing pattern affects our pelvic floor, our digestion & our stress levels? For Caitlin, the breath is the most underrated and least prescribed medicine. Today Caitlin is here to dive deep into the importance of breath work especially during pregnancy. She explains how upper chest breathing stimulates the brain to stay in a stressed state, causing increased cortisol, blood...

Have you heard of a Perineal massage? A Perineal massage is a method of preparing the outlet of the birth passage for the stretching and pressure sensations during the birth of your baby and is important for a variety of reasons. Today Caitlin dives deep and gives you all of her wisdom and advice surrounding Perineal massage, discussing how increasing flexibility and elasticity of the tissue can d...

Pain during pregnancy is something mums-to- be assume is “just part of it”, when in reality, there ARE ways to manage and treat existing pain during pregnancy, and not to mention, prevent it. In today’s episode, Caitlin dives into the world of pain experienced by expecting mums. She outlines the most commonly experienced pain, what can contribute, and offers tips on how to manage and reduce existi...

There are many similarities between Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine when it comes to women's health. Today Caitlin is joined by Dr. Grace Jones, Dr Grace is an integrative Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine practitioner, passionately focussed on the areas of fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and hormonal health. They dive into the world of Chinese Medicine, offering top tips for women trying to conceiv...

Welcome to episode 6 of Things They Don’t Tell Her. Pain during sex postpartum is something Caitlin commonly sees in her patients, and this topic is something she feels passionate for us women to be open about and understand the importance of getting on top of the pain. In this episode, Caitlin uses her knowledge to explain the contributing factors of pain during sex postpartum, and how to help mi...

There is so much fear out there when it comes to nutrition and food during pregnancy. Simply googling “what not to eat while pregnant”, provides a long list of foods to avoid during this time. Today Caitlin is joined by Kirra, founder of Sunshine Coast Natural Health. Kirra is a Naturopath, specialising in women’s and children’s health & is currently pregnant with her second baby. In this epis...

Today Caitlin is talking about all the things they don't tell you about your pelvic floor (and why you should care about it)! Your pelvic floor is the muscle and connective tissue running from the pubic bone at the front of your body to your tail bone and it place a variety of extremely important roles. 1. Preventing leakage of urine and feces. 2. Supports and holds up your internal organs (your b...

Welcome to episode 3 of Things They Don’t Tell Her. There's a lot of out-dated information about exercising during pregnancy, which can make it confusing and overwhelming to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing! Whilst teaching Prenatal Pilates, one of Caitlin’s clients said that her mum still tells her that she shouldn’t be exercising while pregnant… This is because there has been a HUGE a...

There is an abundance of information out there when it comes to pregnancy and labour, but it is so important to find information that works best for you because, “one man's medicine is another man's poison”. In this episode Caitlin provides her top tips for a healthy pregnancy and shares the benefits of moving your body and effective breath work to empower you to incorporate these things in a way...

Welcome to the very first episode of the Things They Don’t Tell Her podcast where Caitlin lays out what all of you beautiful pregnant mums need to do before you do anything else to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Before you can go and start doing all the things you want to be doing in your pregnancy, you need to move through all of the limiting beliefs and excuses that you are facing. For example, the...

Welcome to the Things They Don’t Tell Her podcast where your host, Caitlin Pender, takes you on a journey back to sex ed to teach you everything you don’t get taught about periods, pregnancy and post partum. Being a registered Physiotherapist, with specialised training in pelvic floor Physiotherapy and a qualified Yoga, Pilates & Barre instructor, Caitlin has an abundance of tools for you to i...