The Expecting and Empowered Podcast

We get asked often in our community about preparing for labor and delivery, which is why we are focusing on this topic today. We want to provide moms listening with tangible tips, so that you can set yourself up for success. We hear from people that are really excited about the labor and delivery experience, others that are terrified, and everything in-between, and no matter which describes you, i...

It’s Amy here, and today I am sharing the story of my second son’s birth. His name is Trey Daniel, and I will say that out of my three births, this one was my favourite labor and delivery experience (and you’ll hear why that is)!  In this episode, I reveal some of the important discussions that I knew I had to have with my OBGYN, the way that I prepared myself for this birth, and how it differed f...

A huge part of this podcast is about helping women be more prepared for postpartum, and we’re so excited to bring you this conversation with Doctor Cassidy, LMFT, where she shares her expert tips and advice for how we can better equip moms, from the beginning! In this episode, you’ll hear Dr. Cassidy’s fertility journey advice, the way to set boundaries, and how to mentally prepare for becoming a...

We’re so excited to sit down with our dear friend Jacquelyn Brennan today to talk about all things core after baby!  Jacquelyn is the owner of Pilates + Coffee in Chicago, Illinois, and a certified personal trainer and perinatal corrective exercise specialist. In this episode, she shares the ways that the body changes when you’re pregnant and how that can affect your core, the importance of breath...

In the last episode, we revealed everything that you need to know the first two weeks after a vaginal birth, and today we’re sharing what you need to know the first two weeks after a C-Section.  One-third of babies in the United States are delivered this way, yet by hearing from you, we feel that there is still a gap in the information that women need for recovery versus the information they are g...

With recovery from a vaginal birth, there is a lot going on that is often unspoken, a taboo topic, or considered as just “normal”. Today we are here to give you some proper recovery tips from a mom who has had three vaginal births and pelvic floor physical therapist, and you’ll want to tune in for our next episode where we talk about what you need to know the first two weeks after a C-section!  If...

Today is a special episode, as Krystle is sharing all about her first C-section birth with her beautiful baby, Brooke. As you’ll hear, Krystle has never shared the whole story all at once, and in this episode, she opens up about a lot of things that moms typically don’t talk about. This is a very personal account of the way she processed the emotions that came up for her immediately after having h...

If you feel your relationship has unhealthy patterns and you need some tangible relationship support, you’re not alone. Today’s expert guests are Rachel Facio and Stacey Sherrell, the duo behind Decoding Couples . They are both licensed marriage and family therapists with a combined 20 years of experience in the field of relationships and marriage, and they are here to help provide you strategies...

We recently asked our community who they wanted to join us on the podcast when it comes to sharing their birth story, and they told us we had to talk with Kayleigh Medeiros!  Kayleigh is the mom of two and owner of Heritage Baby Designs , a company she created to design babywearing ring slings for the everyday mom. She has a pretty wild birth story about her second child that just might involve gi...

How would you like to go from conflicted to centered as a mom in today’s super busy world? We are so excited to speak with Dr. Whitney Casares of Modern Mommy Doc , a pediatrician who helps moms thrive in their roles as mothers, while also finding joy in the process. If you are a working mom who is trying to juggle it all during the busy days of motherhood, and you want to discover how to do it wi...

Our special guest today is Shayla from Hey Shayla, a content creator who has gained a loyal following on Instagram and YouTube for her relatable, honest, and hilarious motherhood content. If you aren’t following her already, you definitely should be, because as Shayla says, child development is her jam and she actually likes nerding out and reading about it (she’ll give you the cliff notes so you...

It’s Amy here, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Molly Chesterson, who is a member of the Expecting and Empowered community and a mom to 3 beautiful little girls. Molly and I have a really special connection, because I got to be there for her third birth, which is the one that she shares about today on the podcast.  In this episode, you’ll hear all about Molly’s third birth story and...

For today’s show we wanted to look at why C-section empowerment matters, which is why we’ve brought a special guest on to share her wisdom and experience on this topic with you. Olena Gudz Danko of C-Section Strong™️ empowers mothers to OWN their cesarean birth, and she is shifting the C-section conversation! In this episode, she reveals what C-section experiences can look like, along with the com...

Hi, I’m Amy, half of the Expecting and Empowered co-founder duo, and in this episode I’m honored to be telling the story of the birth of my first child, Maxwell Todd Kiefer.  Today I reveal all the details of the beautiful experience, starting at 11:30 am that day when I was 40 weeks pregnant, up until 11:04 pm when our first baby entered the world and we became a family of 3! You’ll hear my minds...

Childbirth, and the time immediately following it, can be a difficult journey for new mothers, so the goal of today’s episode is to give you really understandable and accessible information about nutrition, breastfeeding, and exercise during this time. Our special guest is Brooke Miller , a Registered Dietitian and Certified Lactation Counselor, wife and mom who is passionate about helping other m...

We’re so excited to be here talking to the community that we love so much for the very first episode of the Expecting and Empowered Podcast! Today we thought we’d jump right in and talk about how we envision this podcast being different from all the other podcasts that are available, and the ways that we would like to make it fun and user friendly. Best of all, we’ll be taking some deep dives into...

When we started Expecting and Empowered in 2017- we knew a huge cornerstone of the business would always be FREE information.   So here we are- with another way to give women the information they need during their pregnancy and postpartum journey.    As you might know- we have a pregnancy and postpartum workout app that guides you through exactly what to do.    You might also know- we’re two siste...