The MamasteFit Podcast

Episode 24: Top Two Movements to Prep for Birth! In this episode, we discuss the two important movement patterns: internal rotation at the hip and a posterior pelvic tilt. These two movement patterns may be more difficult to achieve during pregnancy, and the inability to find these movements can cause issues during your labor! Listen to this episode to learn more on how we can incorporate these tw...

14: Genesis’s Two Birth Stories: Hospital Births with Epidural and then Unmedicated In this birth story, Genesis shares her two hospital birth stories! Genesis had Gina as her doula for both her births and worked out at the MamasteFit gym throughout both her pregnancies and postpartum periods. Genesis first birth was a long labor, and eventually she decided to get an epidural after several days of...

Episode 23: Is your pelvis too small for a vaginal birth?? Likely not! The pelvis has a lot of movement capability to change shape and increase diameters to fit your baby. Plus, your baby's skull will mold and change shape to fit through the pelvis too! Listen to this episode as we break down why your pelvis is NOT too small, and how you can use movement to create more space in your pelvis. --...

In this Birth Story Friday episode, Audrey shares her two scheduled Cesarean birth stories.  Towards the end of her first pregnancy, Audrey found out that her baby was breech, and after an unsuccessful. ECV, she opted have a scheduled Cesarean birth. At four months postpartum, she found out that she was pregnant with her second child, so she opted for another schedule Cesarean birth (which was a v...

In today's episode, Roxanne is going to be sharing how she is preparing for the postpartum period in the final month of her third pregnancy. Listen along as she shares what she will need to care for herself, her baby, and her family, in those early weeks after the birth of her third child. Get all of the tips, tricks, and brands these two seasoned moms can’t live without while navigating the e...

Molly shares the story of her unmedicated birth at a freestanding birth center, after a previous first trimester pregnancy loss. In Molly's birth story, she had a "retained placenta" and because of some risk factors that she had during pregnancy with anemia, they took more of an active management approach to delivering her placenta in order to minimize the amount of postpartum bleedi...

*Trigger Warning* In this episode, we will be discussing first trimester pregnancy loss, navigating conception with secondary infertility, and navigating pregnancy after loss. If you find that these topics are sensitive for you, please proceed with caution or skip this episode of our podcast! Tarrah is a senior manager in the technology industry, mom of two (soon to be three), military spouse, and...

Mary shares her two birth stories and the differences in pain management techniques. Her first birth was an induction at 41 weeks with an epidural leading to a vaginal birth. Her second was unmedicated after spontaneous labor, where she received IV pain relief. We discuss what Mary wished she knew about IV pain relief and the effects that it can have on baby, the concerns with IV pain relief too c...

In today's episode, we will be interviewing Dr. Puja Shah, about epidurals and spinals, two pain management techniques for labor and birth, and how her own Cesarean birth has shaped how she approaches her career as an anesthesiologist. Dr. Shah is a double board certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain management specialist based out of New York City. Approaching wellness from the in...

Listen as Rebecca shares her unmedicated hospital birth where she had a Trisomy 21 diagnosis (more commonly known as Down's Syndrome) after having genetic screening and then diagnostic testing done. Find out how she navigated not just having that high risk pregnancy due to her diagnosis, but also finding a supportive provider who would support all of her birthing desires. Follow Rebecca's...

Dr. Amelie is a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in gross motor development and wellness. She has worked in all areas of pediatric health, from hospitals to outpatient clinics, as well as home visits. Her own experience as a first time mom brought to light just how little education and support parents are given with regards to developmental milestones, gross motor skills, and essential...

Birth Story 9: Christina: Unmedicated Induction Hospital Birth Christina shares her unmedicated hospital induction birth with Gina as her doula! Christina was induced towards the end of her pregnancy due to some suspected complications, but thanks to her prenatal and birth education from MamasteFit, went to her induction confident that she could still have a positive birth experience. Want to shar...

In this episode, we will be talking all about induction. What is it? Why and when is it recommended? What is involved with an induction of labor? What are some of the risks and benefits? We will also be discussing some common fears that people have associated with being induced, including Gina's own personal experience from her first birth! In this episode: What is Induction? What are some nat...

Birth Story 8: Ashley's Home Births One of Gina's doula clients, Ashley, will be sharing her two home birth stories. Ashley shares how her first birth was a precipitous labor, which left her feeling like she didn't get to enjoy her birth and felt out of control. Due to COVID fears and protocols, Ashley and her husband made a last minute switch to a home birth with Gina and a midwife. H...

Episode 17: Birth Partner Support: Barron's Story of Supporting Gina in Birth Gina’s birth partner and husband, Barron, shares his perspective on their three pregnancies and births! They discuss how Barron was able to support Gina during their births and tips for birth partners on how to advocate for, and provide comfort to, their partners during birth. In this episode: Navigating their first...

Birth Story 7: Raquel: Vaginal Breech Birth (HBAC) Join us as Raquel shares her birth story! In this episode, Raquel shares her home-birth after Cesarean (HBAC) with a planned vaginal breech birth, attended by Dr Stu of Birthing Instincts. Raquel shares her four birth stories. Her very first one was a scheduled C-section due to breech positioning when she was 19 years old. Her next baby was head d...

Episode 16: Breech Birth with Dr. Stu Fischbein In this episode, we will chat with Dr. Stuart Fischbein of Birthing Instincts and Vaginal Rebirth about his experience transitioning from an obstetrician in a hospital setting to a private practice supporting home births. We will discuss how breech positioning should be treated as a variation of normal vaginal birth, but finding skilled and like-mind...

Birth Story 6: Madeleine: Induction for Hypertension with an Unmedicated Hospital Birth Join us as Madeleine shares her birth story! In today's birth story, Madeleine will be sharing her story which involves an induction due to hypertension, leading to an unmedicated hospital birth. She developed gestational hypertension towards the end of her pregnancy, which required a medical induction. Rox...

Episode 15: Pushing: Understanding the Second Stage of Labor In this episode, we discuss the second stage of labor: pushing! You may feel afraid or worried about how pushing will go; it's not something we do or witness very often, so there is a lot of unknown with it! In this episode, we discuss: Our personal fears with pushing before we had our first babies! Overcoming the fear of pooping and...

Birth Story 5: Annie's Birth Story: Breech Positioning, Successful ECV, and Complications Leading to A Positive C-Section Join us as Annie shares her birth story! In today's birth story, Annie will be sharing her story of how she planned for an unmedicated, vaginal birth at a midwife-run birth center, but ended up being transferred to a hospital and ultimately needing a C-section. In her t...

Episode 14: Tongue Ties: Fad or Fact with Dr. Jordan Hubbard, Functional Dentist In this episode, we interview Dr. Jordan Hubbard, a dentist in Southern Pines, North Carolina, on tongue ties and their impact on not only breastfeeding but long-term airway health and the implications for our overall health! Casey Backus, physical therapist and yoga teacher, shares her expertise on myofascial connect...

Birth Story 4: Mackenzie's Birth Story: Breech, ECV, and Prenatal Transfer of Care from a Freestanding Birth Center to Hospital Birth Join us as Mackenzie shares her birth story! Mackenzie was planning a birth at a freestanding birth center, but found out that her baby was breech! The birth center could not support a breech vaginal birth, so Mackenzie transferred care to a local hospital in ho...

Episode 13: Breastfeeding Journeys: Exclusive Breastfeeding, Pumping, and Struggles with Nursing with Gina, Roxanne, and guests Casey and Jordan! In this episode, we share our personal breastfeeding journeys, both the joy and struggles as we learned how to nurse our babies. All four of us exclusively breastfed for at least the first year of life (and for three of us over 2+ years), but each had ou...

Birth Story 3: Laura's Birth Stories: Unmedicated Hospital Births with PROM and an OP Baby Join us as Laura shares her two birth stories, that Gina luckily was able to support as a doula! Laura and Gina met through mutual friends after Laura started doing the MamasteFit Prenatal Programming. Laura hired Gina as her birth doula for both of her births, and discusses how MamasteFit has positively...

Episode 12: Postpartum Return to Fitness: Birth to Return to Lifting Progression In this episode, we will be discussing how to approach your postpartum recovery from day 1 after birth to getting back to lifting weights. We share how to approach your early postpartum recovery, and how important it is to take it slow and honor the process. When we do TOO much too soon, we could prolong our healing p...