The MamasteFit Podcast

In this episode Gina, a perinatal fitness trainer and birth doula, and Roxanne, a labor and delivery nurse and student midwife, delve into the importance of tailored prenatal workouts beyond pregnancy-safe exercises. They emphasize movements that strengthen the body, relieve pain, and physically prepare expectant mothers for the birthing process.  The duo cover the benefits of exercise during preg...

Are you feeling anxious about the potential use of Pitocin during your birth? Listen to this episode!  Gina and Roxanne delve into the topic of Pitocin, a synthetic form of oxytocin used to induce labor. They discuss what Pitocin is, why it may be administered, its effects compared to natural oxytocin, common concerns and misconceptions, and strategies for managing anxiety around its use.  The hos...

In this episode of MamasteFit Podcast's Birth Story Friday, Megan shares her experiences with two hospital births with epidurals. Megan shares about the challenges of having a short pregnancy interval (finding out she was pregnant again at 5 months postpartum with her first), and how it impacted her birth preparation for her second child. Megan recalls how prenatal workouts and a childbirth ed...

In this episode Gina and Roxanne delve into the subject of Group Beta Strep (GBS) testing in pregnancy, discussing what GBS is, why pregnant women are tested for it around weeks 36 to 38, the treatment options available for those who test positive, and the general anxieties surrounding the test.  They offer insights into the risks of GBS for baby, and the importance of understanding the statistics...

This week, Gina and Roxanne sit down with ObGyn, Dr. Sterling, to discuss what it REALLY means to be advanced maternal age. What are the qualifications, what are the risks, and what are the often unsung benefits of giving birth past the age of 35? Equally importantly, the ladies discuss how you can navigate these conversations with your provider, and what you should be wary of when consuming socia...

In this episode of the MamasteFit podcast, hosts Gina and Roxanne, along with C section mom x2 and physical therapist Casey, delve into the crucial topic of scar mobilization after a Cesarean birth.  The discussion covers why scar mobilization is essential for recovery, signs you need to start mobilizing, and the anatomy of a C-section to understand the layers involved and their impact on postpart...

In this Birth Story Friday, Carmen shares her comprehensive birth journey across 11 pregnancies, including her decision-making process between a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) and a scheduled C-section for her most recent birth.  Having experienced a range of outcomes from missed miscarriages and early losses to live vaginal birth and emergency C-sections, Carmen sheds light on her evolving p...

In this episode of the MamasteFit Podcast, hosts Gina, a perinatal fitness trainer and birth doula, and Roxanne, a labor and delivery nurse and student midwife, discuss the polarizing views on birth. They emphasize the importance of understanding and balancing the extremes of both highly medicalized births and no-intervention births. Sharing insights from their professional experiences and their p...

Gina and Roxanne delve into the 'magic moves' during labor, explaining how different positions can significantly progress labor or address stalls. The discussion covers the importance of utilizing specific movements based on the baby's position within the pelvis, including moves that can create more space at the pelvis's top (inlet), middle (mid pelvis), and bottom (outlet) to facilitate labor pro...

This episode of the MamasteFit Podcast features an in-depth conversation with Leslie, who shares her experiences with three different home births and her postpartum journeys. Leslie discusses the decision-making process for choosing home birth, particularly for her first child, which was influenced by her desire to avoid interventions and her comfort in her own home. She details each birth story,...

Welcome to part two of a two part, in-depth conversation with Hayley Kava, a pelvic floor physical therapist, focusing on perineal lacerations or tears related to childbirth.  The focus shifts to the effects of operative vaginal delivery methods like episiotomies, forceps, or vacuums, and their potential impacts on perineal health after birth. The hosts cover recovery strategies after a vaginal bi...

In this episode of the MamasteFit Podcast, Lakeesha Murphy Spencer, a mom with a background in both nursing and midwifery, shares her unique experiences of giving birth to her second and third babies.  During her second pregnancy, Lakeesha was a nurse determined to have a birth experience different from her first birth with an epidural, and is surprised by a precipitous labor, barely making it to...

This episode of the MamasteFit Podcast is part one of a two part, in-depth conversation with Hayley Kava, a pelvic floor physical therapist, focusing on perineal lacerations or tears related to childbirth.  The discussion covers what to expect if you experience a tear during childbirth, preventative measures, and recovery strategies. It is part of a two-episode series, with the subsequent episode...

Alesha, mom of 4, shares her 4 different birth stories, including her two VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) stories following two C-sections! As someone who experienced both C-sections and VBACs, Alesha delves into the preparation, challenges, and recovery processes of each birth, highlighting the importance of a supportive medical provider and team. Her first two pregnancies ended in C-sections...

Gina and Roxanne delve into the purpose of and steps for creating a birth plan. They emphasize that while you can't control every aspect of labor, understanding your options and preferences at different stages can empower you through your birth to ultimately have a more positive experience. They cover various birth scenarios, including unmedicated and medicated births, C-sections, and inductio...

Cailyn, a pelvic floor physical therapist and owner of Lotus Pelvic Health shares her birth story involving a difficult labor that ended with an empowering unmedicated home birth. She switched from a hospital birth with midwives to a home birth after discovering her hospital didn’t accept her insurance nearly 30 weeks in! After a long labor and pushing phase, she finally met her baby at home!  Unf...

In this episode Gina and Roxanne delve into the topic of labor stalls associated with power- including both the effectiveness of contractions as well as your mental/emotional state, as part of their labor stalls series. They discuss signs of labor stalls due to insufficient contraction strength and offer various solutions. They give advice on how to maintain adequate contraction strength through r...

Kerri shares her journey through two unmedicated births, including her experiences with miscarriage, induction, her dream birth center experience, and her postpartum recovery.  Kerri's first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, her second involved an induced unmedicated hospital birth due to low amniotic fluid, and her third was an unmedicated birth at a free-standing birth center, which ended wi...

Gina and Roxanne discuss labor stalls related to a baby's position within the pelvis. They cover some of the most common reasons for the different types of labor stalls, with a focus on the importance of understanding specific movements that open each pelvic level to facilitate labor. They explain the interplay between a baby's position, the space within the mother's pelvis, and the co...

In this episode Wanda shares her unique experience of transferring care from Germany to the United States at 32 weeks pregnant, finding new providers, translating all her existing paperwork from German to English and ultimately pivoting a bit on her original birth plan to have hospital birth with an epidural. Although the birth did not occur as she had anticipated, she emphasizes how positive the...

Gina and Roxanne sit down with registered dietitian nutritionist and author, Lily Nichols, for a comprehensive discussion on gestational diabetes and prenatal nutrition. Nichols shares her insights on preconception planning, gestational diabetes testing, and management methods during pregnancy. She highlights the long-term effects of gestational diabetes on both mother and child, and explains the...

Jessica shares the story of her unmedicated vaginal breech birth in a hospital setting. She discusses the numerous challenges she faced during her pregnancy, including finding a provider who was supportive of a vaginal breech birth, and the immense amount of research she conducted to feel safe and confident in her choice. She references resources such as Breech Without Borders and expert Dr. Stuar...

Gina and Roxanne share their tips for ensuring labor progress and the best chance at a vaginal birth with an epidural. Roxanne explains how epidurals work, what the procedure entails, and the risks and benefits. They emphasize the value of movement and changing positions during labor, sharing how to do this safely with an epidural, to help facilitate labor progress. Key topics include how an epidu...

In this Birth Story Friday, Megan shares her experiences of having two pregnancies with preeclampsia. During her first birth, Megan discovered she had severe preeclampsia at her 37 week check up, and underwent a Cesarean birth after an induction led to complications for her baby. She felt uninformed and out of control during her first birth, leading her to educate herself further for her second bi...

In this episode Gina and Roxanne discuss fitness in the first trimester. They address concerns about exercise during this stage and debunk myths related to potential risks of working out in early pregnancy. They share the science on the benefits of exercise, particularly in promoting placental development and function. However, they also emphasize that expecting mothers shouldn't force themsel...