She Found Motherhood Podcast

“Omg! I think I might be pregnant!?” This is often the first thought that crosses our mind in early pregnancy, before we have the chance to take a test or see our provider! So what are some early pregnancy symptoms to look out for?  Drs. Sarah and Alicia outline them all for you in this quick and handy episode! But moreover, here are links to episodes on each of the symptoms, discussed in gre...

This just in! The guidelines around the treatment of mastitis, a common complication of breastfeeding, have largely changed! On today’s episode, Drs. Sarah and Alicia provide an overview of the updated clinical protocol from the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine - and let us (possibly) be the first to tell you that the new guidelines are almost the exact opposite of what was previously recommended...

Did you know that men experience hormonal shifts during their partner’s pregnancy and into the postpartum period? While this biological change likely occurs to stimulate child / parent bonding, it can also cause postpartum depression in partners and is experienced by about 8%-10% of them - and is all too rarely talked about.  But Drs. Sarah and Alicia are here to spark the conversation! And e...

Should I be getting dental work while pregnant? Is it okay to get x-rays? What about filling cavities? Today’s episode is a must listen, as Dr. Sarah Lea interviews dentists Dr. Brin MacMillan and Dr. Sabrina Ma, co-owners of South Island Dental, on the do's and don'ts of dental work in pregnancy! They discuss if and when to get dental care, which procedures you might want to avoid, how the change...

Movement is medicine! What do we mean? Tune in to today’s episode featuring Nikki Johnson, mom, certified personal trainer, and pregnancy to postpartum fitness coach, where she discusses her thought out approach to pre and post natal fitness.  For more info on Nikki, check out her website at www.nikkijfit.com and give her a follow on Instagram @nikkijfitness and tune into the upcoming Nikki J...

Nicole’s birth story is chock full of experiences, from pre-fertility and an unexpected diagnosis, IVF, gestational diabetes in pregnancy, and a labour and delivery with unforeseen complications. But she managed to navigate it all successfully in large part due to the education she underwent in the process, allowing her to make informed decisions and take efforts to prepare herself for delivery an...

Birth is a complex event - both physically and emotionally for us and our partners. A good way to navigate those complexities is to discuss and note down your birth preferences to help manage expectations and create informed decisions, but what happens when birth goes differently than planned? Dr. Pip Houghton, family doctor with a passion for supporting new mamas and a special interest in perinat...

Today we are talking about all things fetal movement! What does fetal movement feel like? When should you begin counting it? Is there such a thing as too much movement? And what about hiccups!? In addition to today’s episode, be sure to download our Fetal Movement Hand-Out and Tracker , describing all you need to know about how to monitor your baby's health through fetal movement counting, includi...

On today’s episode, Drs. Sarah and Alicia looked back and compiled the most frequent questions they get about the first trimester of pregnancy and answered them all for you conveniently in this one podcast episode and blog post! Be sure to follow along to the extra resources and links for a deeper dive into each topic. For more info on skincare in pregnancy, check out our podcast on Skincare in Pr...

Does pregnancy affect the voice? Today’s special episode was produced by Jillian Mitchell, recording artist, vocal coach, author, mom, and founder of Voxana, a platform celebrating the interconnectivity of our human instrument in singing, speaking, and writing. She interviewed our own Dr. Alicia Power about the role pregnancy plays on our human instrument as it changes and grows, especially how it...

The experience of pain in labor can be influenced by a variety of factors such as previous experiences, and individual emotional, physical, motivational, cognitive, social, and cultural circumstances. Strategies for dealing with the pain can be medicinal and non-medicinal, both of which Drs. Alicia and Sarah outline today, with a particular emphasis on epidurals as we get frequent questions about...

Many of us spend a lot of time preparing for pregnancy, labour, and birth but we tend to neglect putting equal care into preparing for the postpartum period. This creates certain challenges, especially considering the postpartum period is relatively much longer and requires taking care of your newborn and yourself! This is where a postpartum doula can help. Join Dr. Alicia and Brittany Porter, Pos...

Have you ever seen those photos of a pregnant friend walking in a field, their two toddlers happily in tow, or a newborn baby wrapped up in a blanket sleeping like a sweet cherub? You may have had several thoughts, such as that your young children would never stay still long enough for a photo where all of you look good! Or you think, ‘I’d love to get shots with my newborn but I can barely get out...

You’ve probably had lots of people recommend what to pack in your hospital bag. Or perhaps you haven’t thought about it at all yet! Either way, this episode is for you. Drs. Sarah and Alicia have supported thousands of pregnant people through labor and delivery and have had five hospital births of their own, so they’re sharing today their Top 10 Things You Didn't Know You Needed in your Hospital B...

About one in three births are delivered by Cesarean Section, though this varies by province, country, and even community. About half of those are planned, also called “elective,” while the other half are emergency, or unplanned. Keep in mind that the term “emergency cesarean” is used to mean that delivery via cesarean section was not a birth preference, but does not always mean a true medical emer...

On today’s episode, you will learn how to become your own massage therapist! Joining Dr. Alicia is athletic and registered massage therapist Janette Yee from Ask Janette, who talks to us passionately about the exciting benefits of scar tissue massage after a c-section (or any other injury)! Whether you’re feeling numbness or hyper-sensitivity, Janette and Dr. Alicia describe how and why massage he...

Today we are very lucky to have Sarah sharing with us her story of becoming a surrogate. Well - surrogate-ish . Tune in to learn what we mean by that, as she shares with us her unique path to becoming a surrogate, and her pregnancy and postpartum journeys. As always, thank you to Sarah and all our birth story contributors for generously sharing their experiences that we hope speak to our listeners...

If you’ve just come from a pediatric check-up and you’re worried your baby is small and needs to gain weight, please don’t panic! It’s important to consider that if your baby falls into a low percentile, is this a new occurrence, or have they always been on the smaller side? Are they not meeting other developmental milestones, or are they following along their own growth curve?  It is only na...

Today we are helping you plan your ultimate baby shower! But spoiler alert, we offer no advice on picking balloons, what finger foods to serve, or the best party games. The concept of a baby shower has existed in some form for centuries, shifting in purpose and presentation over the years. Today, we encourage you to think of two main things when planning yours: what is your purpose for having one?...

Karlie is the co-founder of Jen & Keri , a former collegiate athlete, and a long-time wellness professional. With over 20 years of experience in fitness she is on a mission to empower postpartum athletes to reclaim their identity beyond motherhood! One of the most important things to remember is not to jump back into strenuous exercising too quickly as it can cause injury and provide more setb...

This is the final part of a three part mini-series on the top five gifts to give the pregnant, postpartum, and newborn people in your life! Yes, babies don’t need gifts themselves, but their parents sure could use a helping hand! We hope you find this list useful - and remember to follow these links for special discounts! Infant First Aid and Car Seat Safety from Safe Beginnings Course : Infant/Ch...

Today, Dr. Alicia chats with Dr. Stephanie Liu, a Family Physician and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Alberta, with a special interest in pediatrics and maternal health. Dr. Liu identified a need for accurate, evidence-based child and maternal health information for Canadian mothers and created Life of Dr. Mom , a blog where she shares her experiences as a first-time Mom and pro...

Here is Part II of a three part series on the top five gifts to give the pregnant, postpartum, and newborn people in your life! Today we focus on the needs of that newly postpartum mama! As usual, we share some physical products as well as courses that we love both for ourselves, and often recommend to our patients. Enjoy! Sleep is crucial to optimize as much as possible in that postpartum period....

Did you know that milk production begins during pregnancy, and that we can express (or discharge it) by squeezing the breast by hand? In fact, antenatal hand expression - as it’s more formally called - is considered to have lots of benefits, which we outline in today’s podcast, as well as what changes your breasts undergo during pregnancy, what colostrum is and why we call it liquid gold! Check-ou...

We thought we'd put together something a little special for the upcoming holiday season! This is Part I of a three part series on the top five gifts to give the pregnant, postpartum, and newborn people in your life! We share some physical products as well as courses that we love both for ourselves, and often recommend to our patients. We hope you find it helpful. First up - pregnancy! Check-out ou...