No two births are alike. Just as no two mother’s perception of her birth experience is alike. Trauma related to birth is in the eye of the beholder as Kayleigh Summers, licensed clinical social worker and birth trauma therapist, shares with us today. Kayleigh experienced a traumatic birth which she details in today’s episode. This experience is what led her to helping other moms process and work through their birth traumas and change the trajectory of their healing. Society leads us to believe that if we end up with a healthy baby, we should be grateful.

As we discuss with Kayleigh in today’s episode, your feelings of being traumatized are valid. Yes, you may have a healthy baby, but your experience and feelings matter. Those two emotions, grief and thankfulness, can coexist. Your thankfulness for your baby does not diminish your sadness around your traumatic experience. Kayleigh explains that early intervention with a therapist can drastically change the outcome of the feelings towards the birth. Processing the trauma properly with a professional can help make the triggers less triggering, especially if you plan on having more children, and therefore more birthing experiences, in the future. Kayleigh’s last encouragement is that no matter how long ago your trauma occurred, whether it was 20-30 years ago or more, it is never too late to seek help.

If you found today’s episode helpful, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @thebirthtrauma_mama and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their postpartum journey!

Follow Kayleigh Summers on Instagram

Kayleigh’s Website

Kayleigh’s Podcast

Schedule a consultation with Kayleigh (and you live in PA or FL) at Holding Hope Perinatal

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

Social media seems to be flooded with the new fad diet of “counting macros”...or is it a fad? And is it even a diet? Dani Patton, nutritionist, macro coach, and face of Mindin’ My Macros on Instagram, is on the podcast today to discuss this phenomenon. Dani wants all of you to know that macros are a tool, not a restricting fad diet, used to help you achieve your health goals and enjoy a well lived life. The idea is to fuel your body with the macronutrients it needs, not restrict it!

After graduating college, Dani was looking for something that wasn’t another yo-yo diet to help her find a sustainable lifestyle to help her look and feel her best. Dani researched and concluded that macros were the answer! Macros are the simple makeup of the food we all eat; protein, carbs, and fat. Manipulating these three main macro categories is the key to sustainable eating habits that will help you reach your health goals.

Through her work with over 1,000 women, Dani has found that protein is the macro the majority are lacking the most. Logging your daily macros in a free macro counting app is a great way to check in on your current eating habits. If macro counting seems daunting for you, Dani suggests focusing on simply upping your daily protein intake. Currently pregnant or soon to be? Dani is pregnant currently too and knows it can be difficult when morning sickness kicks in. Her suggestion is to find what food works for you while sick and try to focus on that protein intake!

If you loved today’s episode, don’t forget to share it and tag @mindinmymacros and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their motherhood journey!

Follow Dani on Instagram

Dani’s Podcast, Mindin’ My Wellness

Download MyFitnessPal on AppStore and GooglePlay Store

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

Having a baby is one of the most exciting times of our lives. We prepare months in advance for the baby's arrival. We take labor and delivery classes, parenting classes, and read all the books…but do we prepare enough for how we are going to feed our baby? Jessica McKee, a seasoned NICU RN, mom, and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), is on the podcast today to discuss everything breastfeeding and pumping.

From our own experiences with breastfeeding, it isn’t always easy. Taking the time during your pregnancy to study up on what “normal” looks like can help you know if there is an issue to address. And while in-person appointments with an IBCLC are great, online services from someone like Jess can be exceptionally helpful too! Jess has a number of tips for us today including proper body mechanics while breastfeeding, things the non-feeding parent can do to bond with baby, and how to utilize the InfantRisk Center Hotline and MommyMeds App if you have questions about medications or supplements you want to take while breastfeeding.

If you are going back to work and will need to pump, you’ll want to listen to this episode. Jess talks with us about when the right time to order your pump is, knowing your rights as a pumping mama, and what to keep with you to have a successful pumping session at work. We also run through some popular baby products and Jess gives us her opinion on if they’re worth using or not! We know being a new mom is hard, but feeding your baby shouldn’t have to be. By preparing before birth, you too can enjoy the newborn stage!

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @goodbabylactation and @expectingandempowered. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their childbirth and parenting journey!

Follow Jessica on Instagram

Jessica’s Website

Links & Resources

InfantRisk Center Website

MommyMeds App on Apple Store and Google Play

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

Today we are hosting our first mother/daughter duo! Candace Burch is a Hormone Health Educator with over 30 years of experience and her daughter, Jess Suchan, is a board certified Holistic Health Coach. Together, they educate and coach women on how to holistically support their bodies through healthy hormone practices. During our discussion, Candace and Jess share with us the concept of cycle syncing, hormone focused nutrition, and other ways to support healthy hormone habits.

After going through her own personal hormone struggles, Jess decided to leave her corporate job and go to nutrition school. Meanwhile, her mother Candace, having a background in the lab side of the hormone world, wanted to start her own venture doing client consulting. They decided to team up, and with some help from Candace’s other daughter, created their family business to help women feel their best.

Candace and Jess understand that we, as women, wear many hats and have full schedules. They share suggestions on how to use “mindful moments” to show up for ourselves and improve our health and hormones through exercise, nutrition, and cycle syncing.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us both; @expectingandempowered and @yourhormonebalance.

Follow Candace & Jess on Instagram

Follow Jess on Instagram

Candace and Jess’s Websites; yourhormonebalance.com, bodyblissbyjess.com

Links & Resources

My Sexy 6 Formula - free when you sign up for Jess’s email list!

Hormone Level Testing - use code ‘EMPOWERED’ for $50 off of your own “Build Your Own Test Package”

Jess’s Podcast - Solo 2.0

Candace’s Podcast - Women Talking Frankly

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

Elisabeth Emmerich is the mom to three boys, a play therapist, a licensed registered therapist in the state of Minnesota, and hosts her own podcast; Experience Motherhood. Today, Elisabeth is talking with us about the importance of embracing your individuality in motherhood and finding what matters most to you. We both share personal experiences of navigating motherhood and the challenges that come along with it.

Knowing who you are as a mom, first and foremost, is so important to the impact it has on your child’s development. Elisabeth encourages us to flip that narrative and think about the negative impact that not being yourself could have on your kids. She shares that by finding what matters the most to you in your motherhood journey will help you feel like what you are doing is enough.

Oftentimes, when we are first starting off in our parenthood journey we find that we have different values than our partner or our in-laws. Elisabeth explains that this is okay! And she helps us navigate how to have conversations with our loved ones about what we value most in parenthood to help ensure everyone is on the same page.

If you’re feeling like you’ve lost yourself in motherhood, need to take better care of yourself, and are looking for ways to do so - you’re going to want to listen to this episode. If you enjoy it, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag both of us; @expectingandempowered and @experiencemotherhood.

Follow Elisabeth on Instagram

Elisabeth’s Website

Listen to Elisabeth’s Podcast

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

We are so excited to have Ashton Whitmoyer-Ober from @enneagramashton on the show today. Ashton is the mom of two and the author of The Enneagram Made Simple: A No-Nonsense Guide to Using the Enneagram for Growth and Awareness. She is passionate about helping people understand their enneagram type and themselves better.

Knowing your enneagram type can be so helpful when it comes to understanding why you are the way you are and why others act the way they do. It can also be helpful to understand what intrinsically will help you create healthy habits around diet and exercise.

Ashton walks us through each enneagram type and explains where you can take the enneagram test to figure out what number you are if you aren’t sure. She also explains the impact that knowing your enneagram can have on motherhood.

Be sure to send this episode to a friend who you know will be interested to learn more about all nine enneagram types!

Follow Ashton on Instagram

Ashton’s Website

Ashton’s Favorite Enneagram Test

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram

What if someone told you they have one thing that can reduce your stress, increase your energy, and enhance your mental clarity? You would do it, right?! Well, what if we told you it’s something you do everyday and don’t even realize - but you might not be doing it correctly.? It’s breath.

In today’s episode I, Krystle, walk you through all of the benefits that our breath has. Our bodies have so much power to restore and help themselves however, during pregnancy and postpartum, our breathing patterns change so much. If we take a little bit of time and focus our energy back on our breath, it can have huge benefits.

We cover everything from breaking down the basics of how breathing works, to how to know if you have dysfunctional breathing patterns, and finally offer five tips you can try if you are a dysfunctional breather. If you focus on breathing correctly, before you know it you’ll be feeling and living better. It takes time and practice but the benefits are amazing!

If you have an anxious friend or know a mama whose bra line is too tight, we would love it if you shared this episode with her. There is so much we are not taught about the power of our breath and we want to help expand this knowledge to as many mamas as possible!

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'BREATHE' at checkout
Breathing Freebie
Mouth Breathing Tape
Expecting and Empowered Website
Expecting and Empowered Instagram

We get to learn from Dr. Tasha D of @physiodoula today. She has her doctorate in physical therapy and is a birth and postpartum doula. Dr. Tasha is passionate about providing holistic care for women throughout the entire pregnancy, birth, and postpartum periods.

Bringing a baby home from the hospital for the first time can be an overwhelming experience. In our conversation with Dr. Tasha, she explains what a postpartum doula actually is and the services they can provide to help ease this major life transition. Being able to afford or have access to a postpartum doula can be unattainable for some, so Dr. Tasha gives some suggestions on what to do if you don’t have access to these services.

She also covers some of the common issues she sees arise for women postpartum, including moms not setting firm boundaries, the dynamic between couples drastically changing, and the mental and physical healing of mom not going according to plan. She offers advice on what you can do if you recognize these issues popping up in your postpartum journey.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, we would love it if you could share it to your Instagram stories and tag us both; @expectingandempowered and @physiodoula. As we like to say, knowledge is power, and we just really want to give more people the information that they may need on their postpartum journey!

Follow Tasha on Instagram

Tasha’s Website

Links & Resources

Expecting and Empowered App - Enter code 'PODCAST25' at checkout

Expecting and Empowered Website

Expecting and Empowered Instagram