The Barbell Mamas Podcast | Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pelvic Health

The New Year avalanche of challenges and “perfect morning routines” can feel brutal when you’re sleep-deprived, healing, and parenting on a hair trigger. We take a kinder path for pregnant and postpartum athletes and active moms: small, repeatable wins that respect your season while still building real momentum. I share the mindset shifts that changed everything for me and for the moms I treat: wh...

New years can feel loud and demanding, especially when you’re juggling motherhood, training, and a nervous system running hot. We’re choosing a different path: intentions over resolutions, performance over punishment, presence over perfection. In this candid reflection, we map out eight intentions for 2026 that help active moms and pregnant or postpartum athletes build progress that lasts. You’ll...

What if the advice you’ve been handed about training through pregnancy and after birth is more fear than fact? We close out a bruising year with honesty about grief, miscarriage, and the quiet ways movement held us together—then channel that hard-won clarity into a smarter 2026 playbook for active moms and moms-to-be. We unpack culture shifts that finally stuck: pregnant lifters drawing fewer trol...

The loudest voices on the internet say “don’t lift heavy when you’re pregnant.” We say: let’s look at what the body does, what the research shows, and how to train with confidence. Christina Previtt, pelvic floor physical therapist, researcher, and mom of two, unpacks three persistent myths—weight caps, benching on your back, and never holding your breath—and replaces them with clear, symptom-led...

What if the six-week postpartum rule is more tradition than science? We take you inside a smarter, kinder approach to early recovery—one that blends evidence with real life so you can move your body sooner, safely, and with confidence. Christina shares the research on moderate activity at two to three weeks postpartum, explains why vigorous intensity may be too much for healing tissues, and lays o...

Most advice about training through pregnancy and postpartum gets boiled down to catchy lines that spark more fear than clarity. We take those mantras head-on and replace them with something better: a body readiness approach that respects training age, context, and real signals your body sends while it adapts. We start by unpacking “just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” a phrase that often...

Stop earning your workout. We make the case that exercise is the tool for healing during pregnancy and postpartum, not a prize you unlock after perfect recovery. From lifting to running, we unpack how smart, scaled training can reduce pelvic symptoms, rebuild capacity, and restore confidence without waiting on arbitrary timelines. We dig into the cultural and clinical biases that shape advice for...

What if the “wait six weeks” rule after a C-section is holding you back more than it’s keeping you safe? We unpack a smarter, kinder approach to recovery that treats movement like medicine—careful, progressive, and tailored to your body and your birth story. We start by confronting a hard truth: post-cesarean recovery is wildly variable. Some moms coast, others struggle, and most get blanket restr...

The first sprint after birth can feel like your body forgot the map. We get honest about that moment, then build a smarter route back to running, lifting, and sport with real tools you can use today. We start with the emotional shock of early returns: missing your old speed, feeling awkward under a bar, and wondering where your core strength went. From there, we lay down clear buoys—simple checkpo...

Think you “caused” your diastasis by breathing wrong or lifting heavy? Let’s retire the blame. We dig into what the research actually says about diastasis recti, core tension, and the real impact of progressive strength training after birth. No magic fixes, no fear-mongering—just practical steps to feel stronger, lift smarter, and trust your body again. We also unpack the hormonal rollercoaster of...

A wave of excitement hit social media over a perimenopause hormone therapy “study” that hadn’t even cleared peer review. We pull back the curtain on how posters at medical conferences actually work, why methods and nuance matter, and how hype from massive accounts can eclipse the careful voices of the researchers themselves. It’s a candid look at women’s health misinformation, how it spreads, and...

Conflicting rules about pregnancy exercise can make even seasoned athletes second-guess their training. We cut through the noise with a practical framework that honors your history, your symptoms, and your goals—so you can keep moving with confidence. Christina Previtt, pelvic floor physical therapist and researcher, digs into why guidance still conflicts, what the latest research actually support...

Imagine your daily choices in pregnancy quietly shaping your child’s metabolism, stress responses, and emotional regulation for years. That’s the compelling throughline from our time at the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology pre-conference, where leading researchers shared how movement and food quality during pregnancy build health that lasts well beyond birth. We break down what the latest...

Fear thrives where facts are fuzzy—especially around pelvic organ prolapse. We open the blinds with clear explanations, zero scare tactics, and a practical path back to the barbell. You’ll hear why the vagina isn’t a hollow tube, what normal movement of vaginal tissues looks like when you bear down, and how providers actually assess prolapse across the anterior, posterior, and apical walls. More i...

The room got quieter when the number landed: HCG at 5,000—far too low for nearly thirteen weeks. From that moment, everything we’d been planning—the crib shuffle in our three-bedroom house, the baby names our kids were arguing over, the assumption we’d crossed into a “safe zone”—shifted into the harsh clarity of a missed miscarriage. We’re sharing the story we needed to hear: what the ER limbo fee...

The internet turned pelvic floor training into a turf war—“always Kegels” on one side, “never Kegels” on the other. We cut through the noise with a clear, evidence-backed framework that shows how to build strength, practice relaxation, and keep moving with confidence through pregnancy. We start by grounding the conversation in what the research actually supports: pelvic floor muscle training can r...

Cesarean delivery affects one in three births in America, yet many expectant mothers remain unprepared for this possibility. As a pelvic floor physical therapist and athlete who has competed while pregnant, I'm pulling back the curtain on C-sections with compassion and expertise. The journey begins with addressing the emotional landscape. If you experienced an unplanned cesarean, hear this: y...

Exercise during pregnancy has long been shrouded in caution and confusion. What if many of the modifications we've been taught are unnecessary? Drawing from both cutting-edge research and personal experience through multiple pregnancies, this episode challenges conventional wisdom about prenatal exercise. The fitness landscape for pregnant women has dramatically evolved over the past decade....

Pregnancy fitness has undergone a revolution. What was once a landscape of caution and restriction has transformed into one of empowerment and evidence-based freedom. In this candid exploration, pelvic floor physical therapist Christina Previtt shares both personal experience and cutting-edge research showing just how dramatically prenatal exercise recommendations have evolved. Remember when lifti...

That positive pregnancy test changes everything—suddenly you're questioning your exercise routine, wondering if you need to modify, and trying to navigate the world of first trimester symptoms while maintaining your identity as an active person. For athletic women, this period can be especially challenging as you balance your love for movement with new physical limitations. The nausea, fatigu...

Motherhood transforms our bodies, our fitness routines, and our expectations – especially when we're thinking about adding another baby to the mix. That second pregnancy truly "hits different," and preparing for it requires special consideration if you're an active woman who loves to exercise. Drawing from my experience as both a pelvic floor physical therapist and an athlete w...

Ever wonder if all those interrupted workouts and chaotic fitness sessions while raising little ones will ever pay off? In this deeply personal episode, I share a breakthrough moment that brought tears to my eyes and validated years of persevering through the challenges of maintaining fitness as a mother. My six-year-old daughter recently joined me for a 5.7-kilometer run (her biking alongside me)...

Every active mother has heard the warnings: "Be careful with exercise while breastfeeding." But what does science actually tell us about nursing and injury risk? A groundbreaking new study from our research team has finally addressed this question—and the results might surprise you. Breastfeeding itself does not increase injury risk during postpartum exercise. This finding demolishes one...

Are you fueling properly for your active lifestyle through pregnancy and postpartum? The answer might surprise you. In this eye-opening conversation with registered dietitian and sports nutritionist Mel Sulaver, we dive deep into the critical yet often misunderstood world of nutrition for athletic women navigating motherhood. Recent research has revealed a disturbing connection: women with histori...

Challenging long-held beliefs about diastasis recti, this episode dives deep into groundbreaking research that's transforming how we understand abdominal separation during pregnancy and postpartum recovery. As a pelvic floor physical therapist and researcher, I've watched the online conversation around diastasis recti create unnecessary fear and restriction for active mothers. The truth?...