Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond

Welcome to the Active Mom Podcast — where real motherhood stories meet real science. Hosted by Dr. Carrie Pagliano , double board-certified physical therapist, runner, mom of two, and internationally recognized expert in pregnancy, postpartum, pelvic floor, and perimenopause performance. Whether you’re a mom navigating running with prolapse or leakage, a clinician supporting active women, or a lifelong athlete trying to stay strong through every hormonal season — this show gives you evidence-based guidance and real life mom stories without the fear, confusion, or shame. Each week, Dr. Carrie brings candid conversations with researchers, clinicians, elite athletes, and everyday moms to explore what it actually takes to run, lift, jump, and live confidently through pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and beyond. We talk about: • Postpartum return to running & lifting • Pelvic flo

Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond is a health podcast hosted by Carrie, with 263 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Carrie hosts Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond, a health show with 263 episodes published.

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  Episode #263

  Intra-Abdominal Pressure: Is Running Worse Than a Cough? Are We Even Measuring What We Think We're Measuring? | DR. SABINE VESTING

  Oct 2, 202657 minS5

  Send us Fan Mail Don't jump. Don't lift heavy. Exhale on the way up. Protect your pelvic floor from all that pressure. Funny thing, though. Nobody ever tells you not to cough. So where did the "too much pressure" advice actually come from? Dr. Sabine Vesting, a physio in Gothenburg, Sweden, and researcher with the MFM lab at the University of Ottawa, went back through studies dating to 1978 to find out. More than 4,000 papers screened. 52 that measured it. And not one measured it directly inside the abdomen. She's back on the show (Ep 184 was her first visit), and we get into: What a sensor in the vagina, rectum, stomach or bladder is really picking up when you move Why the scary jumping numbers don't mean what you've been told Coughing vs running, and why how LONG matters as much as how high What the pressure data can and can't tell us about leaking on the run How urethral support changes after a run, in runners who leak AND runners who don't Why passive support may matter more than strength for some runners who leak Pessaries for active women, and why "isn't that for old women?" needs to retire Over-the-counter devices, sizing kits, and why bigger isn't better If you've ever been told to skip something "because of the pressure," press play before you take that advice. What's one thing you've been told to avoid because of pressure? Find Sabine on Instagram: @BineVesting Research mentioned: -Vesting S, Rodrigues MP, McLean L. Measurement and interpretation of intra-abdominal pressure during physical activity: a scoping review. Int Urogynecol J. 2026. doi:10.1007/s00192-026-06635-2 -Rodrigues MP, Vesting S, Bérubé MÈ, Collins G, McLean L. The posterior urethrovesical angle in continent and incontinent women before and after a treadmill run. Int Urogynecol J. 2025. doi:10.1007/s00192-025-06460-z This episode is education, not medical advice. Talk with your own care team or pelvic floor PT about what's right for you. The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there. Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now). Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it. Questions or topic requests? DM me

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  Episode #262

  My Personal Pessary Search: 5 Miles Downhill in the Dark, Maybe Bears | Solo Episode

  Sep 25, 202647 minS5

  Send us Fan Mail In June, my very first mom friend texted me about a relay for her 50th. I said yes. THEN I asked what I'd signed up for. 3 running legs in less than 24 hours including night running. And I'm a morning runner, because over the years, evenings are exactly when leakage sneaks in for me, even on a walk. So I did what I'd do with any patient. I fit myself for a pessary. It took 4 devices, a lot of frustration, self-talk, and a brain trust of PT friends talking me off the ledge. This is a solo, fully TMI episode (you've been warned) about the whole process, start to finish line. What we get into: Why I stopped blaming "endurance" for leakage that shows up later in the day Support pessaries vs space-occupying pessaries, and why that difference ended up mattering for me The dish, the ring, the Soma and the cube: what each one did (and didn't do) for MY anatomy Why "that didn't work for me" says nothing about what will work for you What it was actually like wearing a cube through a relay, including the one gravel stretch where I wondered if I was about to lose it (literally) The running research out of Linda McLean's lab in Ottawa that changed how I looked at my own problem If you've ever been offered a pessary and thought "not for me," or tried one, hated it and quit... listen to this one. And clinicians, this one's for you too. Oh, and our team of masters women came in second. We also brought the music. Leave it to the moms to make it fun. Have you ever been offered a pessary? Tell me how that conversation went. Questions about my pessary journey, or trying to find someone near you who fits them? Email me at carrie@carriepagliano.com or DM me on Instagram @carriepagliano. I'm happy to help. This episode is education, not individualized medical advice. My anatomy, my solution. Yours may be completely different. Chapters (approximate) 00:00 Why a solo pessary episode 02:21 How I learned to fit pessaries 05:30 My history: 2 C-sections, perimenopause, evening leakage 07:40 Is later-day leakage really just endurance? 09:40 Support vs space-occupying pessaries 12:00 Trial 1: the dish 13:00 Trial 2: the ring 18:00 Trial 3: the Soma, and why "it didn't work for me" isn't a verdict 20:30 Trial 4: the cube 24:00 Race logistics: when to put it in and take it out 27:25 Night leg: 5 miles downhill in the dark 30:30 A 5:30 a.m. porta potty and posterior wall support 34:36 Final leg: 7 miles uphill 37:00 Awareness vs discomfort 38:30 The research that changed how I saw my own problem 41:54 Your story isn't my story, and where to get help 44:16 Next up: the DC half The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there. Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now). Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it. Questions or topic requests? DM me

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  Episode #261

  Kegels to CrossFit: A Pregnancy & Postpartum Exercise History | Crossover with Practice Brave, Brianna Battles

  Sep 18, 20261h 14mS5

  Send us Fan Mail Carrie was taught to go gentle. Brianna was taught to go harder. Neither one worked. Bri Battles reached out and said let's chat about history. I said okay. So here we are, two podcasts running as one episode, looking back at the last 10, 15, 20 years of how pregnant and postpartum athletes have been advised. And I promise you, we barely scratch the surface. Bri came up through the barbell side. I came up through the clinic side. Same women, opposite ends of the field, and for most of those years the two sides were not talking to each other at all. So we get into where we've come from and what's ahead. Which is funny timing, because I'm already in peri and Bri is over there hoping we get it figured out by the time she gets here. The Theraband-around-the-belly era of diastasis "rehab," and the logic that made grown clinicians think it would work Where the six week rule got its power (hint: it was a paperwork problem before it was a healing timeline) Kegels, SI belts, and what pelvic health looked like when it was its own silo The CrossFit video that pulled pelvic PTs into the conversation, and why "that's bad" was all we had Performative pregnancy, performative postpartum, and what I'm calling performative perimenopause Why some women need a kick in the ass to do MORE, while athletes need permission to adapt, and why those are two completely different conversations The trouble with "listen to your body" when you've trained yourself to override it What I'm screening for now that I wasn't asking about a year and a half ago The weighted vest conversation I had with my neighbor, and what it says about all of this History matters here because it repeats. If you want to know whether the rule you were handed is current or just old, you have to know where it came from. Bri is at @briannabattles and @pregnant.postpartum.athlete. Her show is Practice Brave. So what decade is YOUR advice from? Come tell us. The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there. Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now). Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it. Questions or topic requests? DM me

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  Episode #260

  The First Real Data On Climbing While Pregnant | JOY BLACK

  Sep 11, 20261h 15mS5

  Send us Fan Mail Three years ago Joy Black came on this show to talk about climbing in pregnancy and postpartum, and quite honestly, we had almost no research to point at. She came back this time as a published researcher. Two papers, both in Sports Medicine, both with Dr. Margie Davenport's lab at University of Alberta. So we sat down and broke them open. The first is qualitative: 11 elite climbers, Olympic and World Cup level, on how they actually made decisions while pregnant. Not "is climbing risky, yes or no." Something much more interesting. They're assessing risk continuously, move to move, inside a single climb. The second one is big. 692 climbers. Roughly 64,000 hours of climbing during pregnancy. And it gives us numbers we have never had before. More than half of those climbers were never given a single recommendation about climbing during pregnancy by a practitioner. Not "here's how to modify." Not "here's what to watch." Nothing. And fewer than 40% were offered any rehab at all postpartum. We did not tell them no. We said nothing. Which they heard, correctly, as we have no idea what you do. Why a fall in climbing is not what you think it is, and why that distinction changes everything What the fall rate and adverse event rate actually were across 64,000 hours The modifications climbers make on their own, top roping, vertical over steep, lower grades, not topping out Controlled impact versus chaotic impact, and why a six week okay is not clearance for either What to ask a climber in your clinic when you have never climbed in your life The prolapse story that made me want to stand up and cheer, and maybe throw something I promise you, you do not have to be a climber to help a climber. Joy says it better than I do, and she says it about halfway in. Guest: Joy Black, climbing coach for pregnant and postpartum climbers, @climbingwithjoy, trainedbyjoy.com. Her first time on the show was Season 2, Episode 12. Research collaborator: Dr. Margie Davenport, @drmargiedavenport Studies discussed: Davenport MH, Ray L, Black J, McHugh TL. "An Informed Risk Assessment": A Qualitative Exploration of Elite Climbers' Experiences During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. Sports Medicine. 2025. Davenport MH, Osachoff L, Ray L, Black J, Cheung NKY, McHugh TL. To Climb or Not to Climb: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Risks and Benefits During Pregnancy and Postpartum. Sports Medicine. 2026. The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there. Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now). Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it. Questions or topic requests? DM me

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  Episode #258

  12 Weeks to Return to Run isn't Set in Stone - Solo episode

  Sep 4, 202646 min

  Send us Fan Mail Somewhere between 2019 and now, "wait 12 weeks" turned into a rule. It is not a rule. It never was. I have been in pelvic health for 26 plus years, and right now I am watching that number get handed around in Facebook groups, on social, and quite honestly by a lot of professionals who are leaning really hard on it. I don't know that the foundation exists to do that. So this is a solo episode where I walk you back through how we got here. Why the six week visit was a medical checkpoint, not a green light to run What the 2019 UK document really is, and what it isn't The 2024 international Delphi: 95 professionals, 12 countries, seven professions, and what they actually agreed on Why "returning before 12 weeks is possible" is the line that keeps getting missed The one in a hundred outlier, and why I will not shut her down Gatekeeping. My own profession has been doing it, and I was a product of it The 2025 Canadian postpartum guidelines, including why sleep got named a movement behavior The four variables nobody puts on a timeline: sleep, fueling, support, mental health What you control and what you absolutely do not The line a kindergarten teacher gave me that I now use with patients If you are a mom trying to figure out when, this one gives you better questions than a date on the calendar. If you are a pro who has been leaning hard on 12 weeks, this one is an invitation to step back. And if what you really want to know is where YOU are right now, that is what the free Return to Run Readiness Screen is for. Balance, strength, impact. https://course.carriepagliano.com/R2Rreadyscreen IN THIS EPISODE (00:00) Why we are talking about 12 weeks right now (02:44) Where the six week mark came from (03:55) The 2019 UK document that was never a guideline (05:22) ACOG moved off six weeks in 2018 (08:50) The 2024 Delphi: what 95 professionals agreed on (11:16) The one in a hundred outlier (14:07) Gatekeeping movement in pregnancy and postpartum (16:08) The 2025 Canadian postpartum guidelines (18:06) Phase based instead of date based (20:26) All roads end up in the same place (22:03) Sleep (22:50) Fueling and energy availability (25:13) Support, childcare and logistics (28:32) Mental health, and what is going on physically (31:51) What you control and what you do not (39:28) Episodes to listen to next STUDIES MENTIONED Christopher SM, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2024;58(6):299-312. Deering RE, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2024;58(4):183-195. Davenport MH, et al. Br J Sports Med. 2025;59:515-526. Schulz JM, Thornton JS. Br J Sports Med. 2024;58:511-512. Christopher SM, Cook CE, Snodgrass SJ. PLoS One. 2021;16(8):e0255383. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 736. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131(5):e140-e150. The Active Mom Podcast — a real mom's guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond, for active moms and the professionals who help them get there. Quick-hit conversations with moms, providers, and researchers... because you don't have a lot of free time (you're probably listening at 1.5x right now). Follow so you don't miss an episode. Rate & review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — it's how the next mom searching for these answers actually finds them. Share it with the friend who needs it. Questions or topic requests? DM me

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