The Lady Birds

Acupuncture is one of those things that many people have heard of, plenty of people swear by, and yet most of us still aren't entirely sure how it works. In this episode, Becky sits down with Sadie, co-founder and Clinical Director of Sage Acupuncture in Austin, to explore how acupuncture can support people through pregnancy, labor preparation, and postpartum recovery. They discuss what acupun...

Appropriately and inappropriately, episode 69 starts with a very unexpected deep dive into the cultural phenomenon that is Heated Rivalry before shifting into an incredibly honest conversation about preparing for a second baby. Becky and Jessica talk about queer parenting, pregnancy from both the carrying and non-carrying partner perspective, the emotional whiplash of going from one kid to two, an...

If you’ve had a difficult prolapse recovery after a previous birth, getting pregnant again can feel emotionally and physically overwhelming. In this episode, Becky dives into what actually happens to prolapse symptoms during subsequent pregnancies, what tends to aggravate symptoms, and what you can do to feel stronger and more supported throughout pregnancy and postpartum recovery. This conversati...

Returning to running after a prolapse diagnosis can feel overwhelming — especially when so many people are told they’ll never run, lift, or move the same way again. In this episode, Becky and Jessica break down the real factors that influence returning to running postpartum (or anytime after prolapse), including symptoms, strength, fitness history, healing timelines, and why the grade of your prol...

This episode takes a clinical but very real-world look at anorgasmia, what it is, why it happens, and why it’s almost never just a pelvic floor problem. Jessica and Becky unpack the research, the limitations of traditional sexual response models, and how factors like medication, stress, relationships, and pelvic floor function all intersect. They also walk through how pelvic floor PT fits into the...

In this solo episode, Jessica breaks down one of the most common questions people don’t necessarily voice but want to know - what does my prolapse grade mean? This episode goes beyond the basic “grade 1 through 4” definitions and explains what’s physically happening in the body when prolapse occurs. Jessica walks through the difference between muscular weakness versus structural/fascial support ch...

This episode breaks down how strength training actually supports a return to running in the postpartum period—especially when symptoms like leakage, heaviness, or pain are present. Rather than isolating the pelvic floor, this conversation reframes recovery through the lens of load tolerance and whole-body strength. Jessica walks through common mistakes runners make, how to progress strength traini...

This episode takes a clear, evidence-informed look at one of the most polarized topics in pelvic health: kegels. We break down what a kegel actually is (a pelvic floor muscle contraction), why the conversation around it has become so confusing, and how both the “always prescribe” and “never prescribe” camps miss the nuance. Drawing from clinical experience, we explain how pelvic floor rehab has ev...

In this solo episode, Jessica breaks down one of the most common (and frustrating) postpartum experiences: feeling like your core just isn’t “back,” despite consistent effort. This episode takes a clinical, evidence-informed look at why core dysfunction persists beyond the early postpartum phase, highlighting issues like poor pressure management, loss of automatic core activation, and mismatched e...

This episode explores the intersection of sexual dysfunction, pelvic health, and purity culture through a clinical and psychological lens. Jessica and Becky sit down with a licensed psychologist, Dr. Kristy Money, to unpack how early messaging about sex, particularly shame-based or fear-based frameworks found in purity culture, can directly impact arousal, orgasm, and pain with sex. The conversati...

It’s time for Becky and Jessica to catch up on life! (We really do save some conversations to have them realtime on the podcast!) Today we talk about what it actually looks like to raise 21–22 month olds—chaotic energy, unpredictable eating, early potty training signs, and the ongoing mental load of feeding choices. We also get into a more nuanced, evidence-informed conversation around breastfeedi...

In this episode, we sit down with Kim Borchert, birth and postpartum doula and IBCLC intern, to unpack what birth preparation actually looks like. With over a decade of experience and hundreds of births attended, Kim brings a perspective that challenges the belief that preparing for birth is mostly physical. We dig into why birth is largely mental and emotional, how unprocessed expectations can sh...

In this episode, we break down De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, aka “mom thumb”, a common and often debilitating wrist condition in pregnancy and postpartum. We walk through what’s actually happening anatomically, why it shows up when it does, and how to treat it effectively (often faster than people expect). This is a very practical, evidence-informed conversation focused on early intervention, reali...

Many of the women we work with are having babies later in life, which means postpartum recovery and the early stages of perimenopause can start to overlap. In this episode, we talk with functional nutrition practitioner Amber about why symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, sleep disruption, mood changes, and cycle irregularities can show up during both phases — and why they can be so confusing to unta...

Pelvic floor dysfunction is often framed as a pregnancy or postpartum issue—but that’s far from the full story. In this episode, we talk about an overlooked population we’re seeing more and more in the clinic: teenagers. From urinary urgency and constipation to painful periods and tampon intolerance, pelvic health symptoms can start long before someone ever thinks about pregnancy. We walk through...

In this episode, Jessica sits down with Lindsey DiCello, founder of Austin Yoga Lounge, to talk about what prenatal yoga actually does for a pregnant body. They dig into the difference between a typical yoga class and one designed specifically for pregnancy, how pelvic mobility and breathwork influence labor, and why nervous system regulation matters more than most people realize. The conversation...

Up to 70% of women report bowel changes across their menstrual cycle and yet, no one really talks about it. In this episode, we break down what’s actually happening physiologically during your luteal and menstrual phases, why progesterone slows things down (hello constipation), why prostaglandins speed everything up (cue diarrhea), and how those shifts connect. We cover practical, evidence-informe...

In this week’s episode, we brought on one of our actual patients, Amber, to talk about what pelvic floor physical therapy feels like from the other side of the table. Amber shares how she developed really distressing symptoms postpartum (including arousal and UTI-like symptoms), how alone she felt, what it was like to ask for a referral, and what her first pelvic floor PT visit was actually like....

In this episode, Becky and Jessica dig into the often-oversimplified advice around breathing and weightlifting — especially for postpartum folks and anyone dealing with prolapse symptoms, stress urinary incontinence, or pelvic pain. Using both anatomy and real clinical scenarios, they break down how breath mechanics actually influence pelvic floor function, why pressure management matters more tha...

In this episode, we sit down with lactation consultant and perinatal mental health coach Heather from The Lactation Expert to unpack the very real, very under-discussed relationship between mental health and feeding. We dive into how anxiety, birth trauma, hypervigilance, and societal pressure directly impact lactation outcomes — and why feeding struggles are often an early warning sign of deeper...

In this solo episode, Jessica breaks down how pelvic floor physical therapy has evolved over the past decade — and how that evolution directly impacts postpartum recovery, pelvic pain treatment, and birth preparation. Drawing from updated research, shifting clinical guidelines, and real-world practice changes, this episode covers why outdated “no crunches, only Kegels” thinking no longer holds up,...

Second and subsequent pregnancies often come with earlier symptoms, faster belly changes, and more physical strain — and it’s not “just in your head.” In this episode, Becky and Jessica break down the biomechanical, tissue-level, and lifestyle factors that make later pregnancies feel so different from the first. From connective tissue changes and cumulative load to sleep deprivation and deconditio...

Regulation and co-regulation are increasingly used terms in pediatric and parenting spaces, yet they’re often poorly defined or oversimplified. In this episode, we sit down with neuroaffirming, pediatric occupational therapist Caitlin Sanschagrin, owner of BrightSpOT Pediatric Therapy to break down what nervous system regulation actually means, how co-regulation supports emotional development and...

In this solo episode, Becky reflects on how pelvic health care has evolved and how her own clinical beliefs have changed over nearly a decade of practice. As patients return for second and third pregnancies, old advice resurfaces… and sometimes we have new research that has shown us that advice should be different. From breath mechanics to postpartum exercise, perineal massage, and prolapse, this...

In this episode, we do something a little different — Becky brings her mom (a recently retired clinical psychologist and Becky’s personal parenting coach) onto the podcast to answer the questions we all ask ourselves in the toddler years. Are we traumatizing our kids with diaper changes? Is screen time ruining everything? How do we set boundaries without being assholes? We talk tantrums, timeouts,...