Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond

Send us Fan Mail Today, we're thrilled to welcome back @paulina.balboa to the show!  A former MMA athlete, PhD student based in Cologne, Germany, owner of @pi.physio, & mom of 2, Paulina just welcomed her second child a few weeks ago!  (Don't miss Paulina's first appearance on the podcast, Season 2, August 18, 2023.) Paulina brings a wealth of knowledge on female athletes &...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I sit down with @drjocelynwallace, a physical therapist, Level 2 @CrossFit Trainer, & toddler mom, to discuss her personal & professional journey through fibroids, high-risk pregnancy, & hysterectomy. Having undergone 2 open myomectomies, a C-section, & ultimately a total hysterectomy, Dr. Wallace shares invaluable insights on healing after majo...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s episode, I chat with Dr. Tricia DeNardis, aka @burpeesandburpcloths  She's a physical therapist, pregnancy & postpartum exercise specialist, & mom of 3! 👶👧👦 (& a zero dark 30 exerciser who shares the ups raising kids while trying to stay fit, strong & sane!)  Tricia shares her journey to becoming a pelvic floor PT & how motherhood inspired he...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I sit down with Sara Perelmuter, a medical student and future OBGYN, who is already leading innovations in the field of sexual medicine. As president of the Sexual Medicine Research Team and with over seven peer-reviewed publications, Sara’s latest work, "Genitourinary Syndrome of Lactation: A New Perspective on Postpartum and Lactation-Related Genitourina...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s episode, I speak with Dr. Todd Davenport, professor and Chair in the Department of Physical Therapy at University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He is a scientific advisor to the Workwell Foundation and Chair of Long Covid Physio.  His research involves why some people don't get better following an illness.  We dive deep into how chronic fatigue, long COVI...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, I sit down with Dr. Rachel Tinius, an Associate Professor at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to discuss her groundbreaking research on the benefits of exercise during pregnancy.  Dr. Tinius has dedicated her career to studying the impact of physical activity on maternal & infant health outcomes, developing community-based interv...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s episode, I speak with Dr. Jessica Drummond, founder and CEO of The Integrative Women’s Health Institute. Her unique approach focuses on functional nutrition, lifestyle medicine, movement therapies, nervous system dysregulation, trauma, and mindset – essential elements often overlooked in traditional health education. She is passionate about caring for and empowering peo...

Send us Fan Mail In today's solo episode, I dive deep into the topic of running during pregnancy. Drawing from 25+ years of experience as a physical therapist and addressing listener questions, I aim to provide evidence-based information, clarify common misconceptions, and help you make confident decisions about staying active while pregnant. With so many challenges to navigate during pregnan...

Send us Fan Mail Today I speak with Dr. Rita Deering, a women's health physical therapist, associate professor of physical therapy, and researcher who investigates postpartum neuromuscular function and perinatal exercise. Her PhD work evaluated postpartum abdominal muscle function and she completed an Advanced Fellowship in Women's Health where she looked at running mechanics and abdomin...

Send us Fan Mail Today I speak with Dr. Ciera Kirkpatrick. She is an assistant professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Ciera studies how messages in the media — like social media, advertising, and news coverage — influence individuals’ health by affecting their health-related knowledge, attitudes, and...

Send us Fan Mail Today I speak with Michelle Lyons, a physical therapist for 30 years. She is passionate about women’s health, with a particular focus on hormonal health & its influence on pelvic & musculoskeletal health throughout the female lifecycle. She lives in Ireland and teaches nationally, internationally, and online. She consults for various organizations including Sport Ireland a...

Send us Fan Mail Today I speak with Jay Dicharry, MPT, SCS, author of Running Rewired. His career blurs the line between clinical practice, coaching, and engineering to solve problems and optimize performance. Jay literally wrote the book(s) on running gait; he is author of Running Rewired and Anatomy for Runners, writes for digital and print media, and founded MOBO as a tool to improve foot healt...

Send us Fan Mail Today I speak with Margie Davenport, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation in the University of Alberta. As a former national team athlete, her recent work has examined elite sport participation during pregnancy, and return to sport following delivery. This line of research aims to develop more inclusive guidelines and policies for elite pregnant/postpartum athl...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Dr. Abby Bales, PT, DPT, CSCS. She is the founder of Reform Physical Therapy in New York City where she specializes women’s health and orthopedics. She is an expert in pregnancy and postpartum pelvic health and sports rehabilitation, as well as strength and conditioning and run programming. Dr. Bales has served as a medical advisor for health and tech start-ups...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Mary Johnson, owner and founder of Lift. Run. Perform, mom of 2, coach, and athlete. A former D1 rower, she ran her first marathon in 2010. She worked in fashion for 6 years after college and left in 2015 to work in strength & conditioning. She founded LRP in 2017 to follow her true passion of running coaching. After giving birth in 2019 and 2021, Mary had...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Jennifer J. Bagwell, PT, PhD, DPT, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at California State University Long Beach. Her overall research objective is to enhance quality of life through the reduction of joint pathology and the promotion of health and exercise. She seeks to understand the relationship between movement, anatomy, and function...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Verna Volker, founder of Native Women Running, a source of visibility, inspiration and community of native women runners on and off the reservation/reserve. She is from the Navajo Nation but lives in Minneapolis, MN. Married with four kids, she began her running journey in 2009, and went from a newbie runner to an ultra runner, 94 miles being her longest so far...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Selene Yeager, the host of the Hit Play Not Pause podcast, content manager at Feisty Menopause, and a best-selling professional health and fitness writer, including the co-author of ROAR and Next Level with Dr. Stacy Sims. She lives what she writes as an NASM certified personal trainer, Pn1 certified nutrition coach, and lover of all two-wheeled exploits and ad...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I speak with Dr. Linda McLean, a professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences and Chair in Women's Health Research at the University of Ottawa in Canada. Her research program focuses on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with pelvic floor disorders in women, and on the development of improved intervention approaches. Linda and her team hav...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s solo episode, I’m going to address a topic that’s come up on the show with multiple guest, do you have to wait 12 weeks to run after baby? In general, there are more women who are educated about the roll of pelvic floor physical therapy, so more women hear the 12 weeks guideline thrown around. But is that guideline applicable to everyone?    We talk about:  -what the gu...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am speaking with ultra runner Rachel Drake. She is the mother of a 1.5 year old, a two time top 10 finisher at UTMB races (7th at CCC in 2019 and 6th at OCC in 2023), Black Canyon 100k champion and was 2nd at the Golden Trail World Championships in 2020. Outside of running, she has her MD PhD from Oregon Health and Science University and is starting residency training in a...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am speaking with Dr. Shefali Christopher, PT, DPT, about Return to Sport after Childbirth, integrating motherhood and athletics. Currently, she is at Tufts University working toward strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion in admissions. Shefali is a mom of two and is a medical provider for the USA Paratriathlon team. We talk about: -diversity, equity, & inclusio...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am speaking with Gina Mundy, an attorney that specializes in childbirth cases. For over two decades, she has analyzed the mistakes that are made during labor and delivery. Drawing on this knowledge, she has authored the book "A Parent's Guide to a Safer Childbirth" to help parents prevent these mistakes and have a healthy baby. Rather than merely getting inv...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am speaking with Sophie Power, a mum of 3 most known for breastfeeding my 3 month old baby during the 106 mile UTMB ultramarathon in the Alps, (you may be familiar with the photo). She also represents Great Britain on the 24 hour running team. Sophie also founded SheRACES, a campaign for equality for women in racing, including deferrals for pregnancy.  We talk about: -preg...

Send us Fan Mail Today I am speaking with Elizabeth Waterstraat, the founder of Multisport Mastery, Inc. and a certified multisport coach with over 20 years of competitive and coaching multisport experience. Since the inception of Multisport Mastery in 2007, Elizabeth has worked with hundreds of athletes, beginner to advanced, all ages, from all around the world. Through a detailed approach aiming...