We Go There Podcast

S6 | E61 The Truth on Pelvic Girdle Pain with Dr. Sinéad Dufour

Dr. Sinéad Dufour is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Health Science at McMaster University. Her current research interests include: conservative approaches to manage pelvic floor dysfunction, pregnancy-related pelvic-girdle pain, and interprofessional collaborative practice models of service provision to enhance pelvic health. Dr. Sinéad Dufour gives us the tools we need to combat SPD pain. She debunks myths, gives advice, and shares hope for the future with new breakthroughs in research. 

 

Sinéad Shares:

1. Explanation of  SPD, lightning crotch, pubic bone pain, etc. 
2. Sinéad debunks pelvic-girdle pain myths
3. True causes of Pelvic-Girdle Pain & new info we need to know
4. What to do when Pelvic Girdle Pain is affecting your daily life and mental health.
5. Risk factors
6. This is physiology we can change, Sinead tells us how. 
7. It’s NOT in your head. Here’s your top 3 tips. 
8. How to set your brain and mindfulness up to help 
9. What to look for when finding a PT/physiotherapist 
10. Red flags in treatment
11. Where to go for help

 

Show Notes: 

For more of Sinéad, please visit instagram.com/dr.sinead  on Instagram

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E60 Plus Size Pregnancy + Birth with Jen McLellan

Jen McLellan helps people navigate the world of plus size pregnancy, shares tips for embracing your body, and laughs her way through the adventures of parenthood. Jen is also a certified childbirth educator, wife, and mother to a charismatic twelve-year-old. In this episode Jen shares tips for those living in larger bodies - from preconception to postpartum - as well as how we can all be allies and create space for EVERY BODY. 

 

Jen Shares:

1. Jen’s experience with plus size pregnancy + birth
2. Misconceptions about plus size pregnancy and birth
3. How we can all be allies and create a safe place for all sizes
4. Healthcare bias and how to find support
5. The importance of a supportive midwife and birth team
6. How to advocate for yourself so you can have a positive birth experience
7. How to navigate hurtful comments about plus size pregnancy
8. Relative vs. actual risk 
9. The true safety of plus sized pregnancy 
10. Wellness vs. weight

 

Show Notes: 

For more of Jen, please visit instagram.com/plusmommy  on Instagram and plussizebirth.com on the Web

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E59 Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Not the Postpartum Recovery You Expected with Dr. Margo Kwiatkowski

Margo Kwiatkowski had her first child, a boy, in the summer of 2021 and soon after discovered she had pelvic organ prolapse. She has spent the last 6 months sharing her personal experience and professional knowledge about prolapse on Instagram. Prolapse affects a large group of women but can feel taboo to talk about. You’re not alone if you’re experiencing prolapse and there is hope! You can get back to the things you love and you don’t have to lose the activities you used to enjoy. Margo shares hope for all who may be experiencing prolapse and those who are worried they may develop prolapse. 

 

Margo Shares:

1. How Margo knew something wasn’t right down there
2. Treating prolapse is beyond the specific area, it is the whole person
3. Margo’s personal birth experience and experience as a new mom - how it did/didn’t go to plan
4. Margo “did all the right things” and still ended up with pelvic organ prolapse, she shares how she showed herself grace and how you can too
5. There is hope with prolapse
6. Genetic causes & impacts on prolapse
7. Medical interventions that can help
8. How to rehab and  heal
9. Pregnancy after prolapse
10. What Margo wishes more people knew
11. How to be proactive with prolapse
12. Specific things to do to improve prolapse/what to do if you’re worried about developing prolapse

Show Notes: 

For more of Margo, please visit instagram.com/postpartum_prolapse  on Instagram and p4moms.com on the Web

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E58 Surviving the Newborn Stage with Sharon Mazel

From overcoming new mom anxiety to dealing with judgments around your parenting decisions, parenting expert Sharon Mazel tells all! Sharon is an author, speaker, and mom of four with over two decades of experience in this field - she’s the co-author of bestselling book, What to Expect When You’re Expecting 4th and 5th Edition and shares advice on how to conquer the newborn stage with new tried and true strategies. 

 

Shannon Shares:

1. How to bring calmness & confidence into parenting
2. How to navigate the judgment you feel around parenting decisions
3. How to prepare yourself for the newborn stage
4. The importance of having a tribe and people who support you (as well as getting info from good experts)
5. TOP questions Sharon receives including feeding, sleeping, and milestones
6. Feeding baby - different approaches, breastfeeding, formula, baby led weaning, purees, allergies, etc.
7. Survivors bias, co-sleeping, safety, SIDS 
8. How to find confidence in yourself and your relationship with your baby
9. How to be supportive of yourself as a new parent and also the other new parents around you
10. The uniqueness of every baby and also the importance of early intervention
    
    

Show Notes: 

For more of Sharon, please visit instagram.com/sharonmazel  on Instagram and sharonmazel.com on the Web

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E57 Bathroom Anxiety Is a REAL Anxiety with Megan Marsiglio

After being diagnosed with Crohn's disease and IBS in 2009, Megan felt extremely isolated and humiliated about having digestive issues. She was always in pain, always running to the bathroom and avoided a lot of situations so that she didn’t have to talk about what she was experiencing, or risk not being able to make it to the bathroom in time (aka bathroom anxiety). 

 

As Megan slowly began opening up about what she was dealing with, she learned that many others dealt with the same issues—they just weren’t talking about them. The stigma around gut issues is what ignited her passion to increase the conversation, push awareness, and create a community. We talk to Megan about her journey being diagnosed with Crohn’s and how she has overcome her anxiety today. She hopes others will join her on the other side of bathroom anxiety.

 

Megan Shares:

1. Her experience being diagnosed with Crohn’s
2. How to advocate for yourself when you’re having bathroom and gut issues
3. Validation in a diagnosis and how that changes things
4. What remission looks like (management, diet, etc.)
5. How to advocate and be diligent after a diagnosis
6. What bathroom anxiety looks like for different people
7. Tools that helped Megan manage bathroom anxiety
8. How important it is to have a community

 

Show Notes: 

The apps Megan references in the episode are Go Here and Flush. 

For more of Megan, please visit instagram.com/thegutgazette  on Instagram and thegutgazette.ca on the Web

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E56 The Truth About Proper C-Section Recovery with Nicole Alfred

Planned vs. emergency, singleton vs. multiples, first vs. repeat… There's a lot that makes your c-section journey unique. That’s why all c-section recoveries shouldn’t look the same! Nicole talks about the different cesarean birth experiences, the importance of having a plan, the bullshit that surrounds recovery, mental health during healing, and SO much more - tune in even if you don’t plan to have a c-section, these tips resonate for all of us.

 

Nicole Shares:

1. Aftercare of c-sections and how it’s different from vaginal delivery
2. The differences in c-sections and recovery around the world
3. How to reclaim your power after a cesarean birth
4. How to have a postpartum plan & handle multiple children at home after a major surgery
5. The bullshit around “Bounce Back Culture”
6. Unpacking birth trauma with healing techniques
7. C-section scar massage tips
8. Complications that can arise
9. How to keep realistic expectations on recovery and accept your postpartum body

 

 

Show Notes: 

Join the [Free] C-Section Prep & Recovery workshop co-hosted by Nicole @C-sectionrecoverymethod and Nikki @thebellemethod here: https://the-belle-method.ck.page/c-birth

For more of Nicole, please visit

instagram.com/csectionrecoverycoach on Instagram

 c-sectionrecoverymethod.com on the Web

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E55 Posture for Sexual Wellbeing with Dr. Janelle Howell

There’s so much information floating around about pelvic floors. Dr. Janelle Howell, DPT, WCS shares her top tips for ensuring your posture is supporting your pelvic floor. This affects more than you think including arousal, sex, and orgasms! Janelle discusses how our mindset can affect our pelvic floor and what to do about it. Tune in to chat about pelvic floors, sex, orgasms, God, and the things our mama never taught us! 

 

Janelle Shares:

1. How does pelvic health impact us  (beyond leaking and pregnancy)?
2. Her thoughts on religion & sex
3. How your posture affects your sexual health, libido, and more
4. Orgasms! You’re not alone if you’re not having them
5. Tips on sex after giving birth
6. How to know if your pelvic floor is healthy
7. How stressors, body image, muscular imbalance, and more affect your pelvic floor
8. Nutrients that help with arousal

 

Janelle treats urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, painful sex, constipation, and postpartum perineal trauma at the Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago, IL. For more of Janelle, please visit

instagram.com/vaginarehabdoctor on Instagram

vaginarehabdoctor.com on the Web

 

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit

instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E54 What Lexi Wishes She’d Known About C-Birth

Lexi had 3 vaginal deliveries and delivered her fourth baby via emergency Cesarean. From the quickness of the experience, being tied to the table, feeling the first cuts, and 7 layers being separated to welcome her baby… Lexi is sharing what she wishes she would have known about the surgery itself and the recovery. Hear how a mom of 4 (and newborn twins) manages C-birth recovery: Lexi talks about how she’s healing, her experience with recovery, and her top tips.

 

Lexi Shares:

1. Early C-birth recovery
2. How to prep older siblings for bringing home baby/babies and how to help them understand your recovery
3. How to get back to feeling like yourself
4. What happens if you overdo it?
5. Details about a “T” incision & incision care
6. How to cope with a Cesarean birth mentally

 

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit

instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S6 | E53 Lexi’s Twin Birth Story: Cesarean + Vaginal Delivery in the Same Day

One pregnancy, two babies and two very different stories! Lexi is a mom of 4 and her first two deliveries were uncomplicated vaginal births -  she did everything to prepare for two more. Baby A arrived as planned, but Baby B had an alarming birth that ended in an emergency cesarean and resuscitation. Lexi is working through the lasting effects of that day while juggling being a mom of 4, 4 and under, healing from vaginal & cesarean births, getting back to running her business and processing her journey. 

 

Lexi Shares:

1. How she and the twins are doing today
2. The story of her twins coming into the world
3. Where things went wrong and what a Bandl ring is
4. What it was like to go from meeting and feeding Baby A to emergency delivery of Baby B
5. How she’s coping with the trauma of that day
6. What she would have done differently had she known how the story would play out
7. Advice for anyone whose birth plan didn’t go to plan…

 

For more of We Go There Podcast, please visit

instagram.com/wegotherepodcast on Instagram

wegotherepodcast.com on the Web

*Warning- this podcast is completely unfiltered. If you are around young children, we suggest headphones.*

S5 | E52 The Twins Are Coming!

Description:  

Lexi is about to have 4 kids under 4 - EEK! She’s expecting twins any day and she’s feeling the pressure of the change to come. Fainting, peeing, epidurals and so much more… Nikki and Lexi are breaking down how Lexi is managing at the end of her twin pregnancy. Lexi is feeling confident and excited about her twins arrival and she tells us how she’s juggled being a wife, a CEO, a mom, and a pregnant mom of two. In this episode you'll receive advice about advocating, all the deets on twin pregnancy, how stepping away can make you come back stronger, and hope for an empowered birth. We can’t wait to check in with Lexi after the twins arrive!

What We’re Chatting About:

1. 4 under 4! Are you ready?
2. How is pregnancy different when you already have a child (or two or more) vs the first time?
3. How are Piper and Clark handling getting ready for 2 new siblings?
4. We need an update on you peeing your pants…
5. What was your greatest fear about becoming a mom for the first time? Has that changed?
6. How do you manage it all? From work to motherhood to relationships to pregnancy?
7. What are the most annoying things you’ve heard this pregnancy? Is it different from your previous pregnancies?
8. Tell us about your hernias and how that affects pregnancy + labour?
9. Epidurals and C-Section assumptions that come with twins - what are your options?
10. How do you plan to ensure you have the birth you’ve planned? 
11. What do you want to tell your future self?