The MamasteFit Podcast

Gina (perinatal fitness trainer/doula) and Roxanne (certified nurse midwife) share their very different pelvic organ prolapse stories—Roxanne’s symptomatic grade 2 rectocele postpartum (including heaviness, splinting, panic, PT, pessary, and symptom relief after weaning) and Gina’s mostly asymptomatic grade 1–2 prolapse discovered later in her chart. The sisters discuss how both returned to lifting, running, and having more babies without prolapse “getting worse every time.” They challenge the idea that one workout, one push, or one mistake causes prolapse, explain how symptoms can reflect tension, healing, load tolerance, constipation, or menstrual cycle changes, and outline practical supports (PT, pessaries, newer devices, supportive underwear/bands) and strategies (progressive return, walk-runs, breathing, mobility/release work, and strengthening). 

Check out our Pelvic Foundations course here!: https://mamastefit.teachable.com/l/pdp/pelvic-floor-foundations-course-pre-sale-launching-september-18

00:00 Welcome and Episode Setup
01:14 What Prolapse Really Means
02:24 Roxanne’s Postpartum Symptoms
05:16 PT Pessary and Recovery
07:17 Myths About What Causes Prolapse
08:05 Gina’s Silent Diagnosis
11:14 Reassurance About More Babies
12:55 Bad Advice About Exercise
14:16 Support Tools and Devices
17:34 Lifting Heavy With Prolapse
20:23 Running Mechanics and Pelvic Floor
22:11 Roxanne’s Return to Running
25:43 Managing Symptoms After Runs
27:41 Quick Symptom Relief
29:19 Cycle Related Flare Ups
30:45 Returning to Training
32:59 Marathon Reality Check
34:59 Training With Baby
37:06 Pelvic Floor Asymmetry
39:18 Release Then Strengthen
42:48 Choosing Better PT
45:59 Program Plus PT
48:54 Final Takeaways

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🎉 Grab Your Copy of Training for Two → https://amzn.to/3VOTdwH
Your go-to guide for prenatal fitness, birth prep, and postpartum recovery.

👇 Start Preparing for Birth Today
📥 Download our free Birth Prep Circuit Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-for-birth-circuit
📥 Grab our free Pelvic Floor Prep Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-your-pelvic-floor-for-labor/
Learn how to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor to support a smoother labor and pushing phase.

💻 Explore Our Online Programs:
Whether you're pregnant or postpartum—we’ve got you covered with expert-led fitness and education:
🏋🏻‍♀️ Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Programs
🎓 Childbirth + Postpartum Education Courses
→ https://mamastefit.com

🤱 Just Had a Baby?
📥 Grab our free Postpartum Core Workouts → https://mamastefit.kit.com/core
Start reconnecting with your core and feeling strong again—safely and confidently.

———

📲 Follow Us on Instagram for Daily Tips + BTS
https://instagram.com/mamastefit

———

✨ Shop Our Favorites:
⚡️ Electrolytes we love → https://drinklmnt.com/mamaste
🌿 Supplements we trust – 20% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://thisisneeded.com/ginaandroxanne
👖 Maternity clothing we actually wear – 10% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://rstr.co/lovesteady/3500
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Certified nurse midwife Roxanne explains common postpartum vaginal changes—including dryness, itchiness, discharge shifts, reduced rugae, and feelings of laxity—and why they often occur due to a steep drop in estrogen and progesterone after birth, with prolactin keeping estrogen low (especially while breastfeeding). She outlines comfort measures such as water- or silicone-based lubricants for intimacy, daytime moisturizers, and sometimes vaginal estrogen cream, plus vaginal-care tips like avoiding scented soaps, breathable cotton underwear, no douching, using a peri bottle, and considering probiotics. The video reviews normal lochia progression and when cycles may return (often 4–6 weeks with formula feeding; variable with breastfeeding). Red flags to contact a provider include concerning odor (fishy/foul), abnormal discharge colors/consistency, persistent itchiness despite treatments, possible infection, laceration-site concerns early postpartum, and evaluation for lichen sclerosus.

————

🎉 Grab Your Copy of Training for Two → https://amzn.to/3VOTdwH
Your go-to guide for prenatal fitness, birth prep, and postpartum recovery.

👇 Start Preparing for Birth Today
📥 Download our free Birth Prep Circuit Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-for-birth-circuit
📥 Grab our free Pelvic Floor Prep Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-your-pelvic-floor-for-labor/
Learn how to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor to support a smoother labor and pushing phase.

💻 Explore Our Online Programs:
Whether you're pregnant or postpartum—we’ve got you covered with expert-led fitness and education:
🏋🏻‍♀️ Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Programs
🎓 Childbirth + Postpartum Education Courses
→ https://mamastefit.com

🤱 Just Had a Baby?
📥 Grab our free Postpartum Core Workouts → https://mamastefit.kit.com/core
Start reconnecting with your core and feeling strong again—safely and confidently.

———

📲 Follow Us on Instagram for Daily Tips + BTS
https://instagram.com/mamastefit

———

✨ Shop Our Favorites:
⚡️ Electrolytes we love → https://drinklmnt.com/mamaste
🌿 Supplements we trust – 20% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://thisisneeded.com/ginaandroxanne
👖 Maternity clothing we actually wear – 10% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://rstr.co/lovesteady/3500
——

On the MamasteFit Podcast, perinatal fitness trainer/doula Gina and certified nurse-midwife Roxanne interview Madalynne, a military mom, about her two births—especially her wildly fast second labor. With her first, she prepared intensely, went overdue with gestational diabetes, chose an induction (Foley bulb and Cytotec), labored with strong pushing urges before full dilation, delivered a 7 lb 14 oz baby, and recovered from a third-degree tear with helpful doula support (before her husband deployed 21 days postpartum). Pregnant again at eight months postpartum, she did pelvic floor therapy, felt great, and expected to go late—until dehydration and “not-labor” turned into five-hour labor at 37+4, ending with a roadside birth in downtown Savannah where her husband caught the baby with midwife guidance over the phone, paramedics arrived, and she had a barely second-degree tear plus newly christened “birthing stocks.” The episode wraps with car-birth prep tips (towels/blankets, a barrier for fluids, and calling L&D/911).

00:00 Podcast Welcome
00:20 Meet the Hosts
01:07 Madalynne Joins In
01:23 First Pregnancy Pivot
04:01 Birth Prep Deep Dive
06:21 Overdue and Induction
09:30 Labor Urge to Push
12:58 Birth and Recovery
14:16 Doula Support Postpartum
15:56 Second Pregnancy Reset
20:06 Early Labor Warning Signs
25:26 Contractions and Denial
29:59 Tub Labor and Go Time
34:14 Fifty Minute Reality Check
35:16 Rerouting to Closer Hospital
37:25 Water Breaks on Freeway
39:15 Ring of Fire Downtown
40:43 Baby Born in Yard
43:08 Ambulance and Cord Cut
46:38 ER Triage and Tear Repair
49:35 Processing the Wild Birth
52:25 Postpartum Life with Two
54:11 Car Cleanup and Neighbors
55:46 Advice for Fast Labor
57:53 Wrap Up and Car Birth Tips

————

🎉 Grab Your Copy of Training for Two → https://amzn.to/3VOTdwH
Your go-to guide for prenatal fitness, birth prep, and postpartum recovery.

👇 Start Preparing for Birth Today
📥 Download our free Birth Prep Circuit Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-for-birth-circuit
📥 Grab our free Pelvic Floor Prep Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-your-pelvic-floor-for-labor/
Learn how to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor to support a smoother labor and pushing phase.

💻 Explore Our Online Programs:
Whether you're pregnant or postpartum—we’ve got you covered with expert-led fitness and education:
🏋🏻‍♀️ Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Programs
🎓 Childbirth + Postpartum Education Courses
→ https://mamastefit.com

🤱 Just Had a Baby?
📥 Grab our free Postpartum Core Workouts → https://mamastefit.kit.com/core
Start reconnecting with your core and feeling strong again—safely and confidently.

———

📲 Follow Us on Instagram for Daily Tips + BTS
https://instagram.com/mamastefit

———

✨ Shop Our Favorites:
⚡️ Electrolytes we love → https://drinklmnt.com/mamaste
🌿 Supplements we trust – 20% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://thisisneeded.com/ginaandroxanne
👖 Maternity clothing we actually wear – 10% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://rstr.co/lovesteady/3500
——

This episode shares practical labor relaxation tips to help the pelvic floor soften so baby can navigate more easily, especially when contractions make it hard to drop into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” mode. It covers the jaw–pelvic floor connection (via fascia and the nervous system), using a soft jaw/open mouth, deep low vocalizations (instead of high “eee” tension), “horsey lips” and pursed-lip breathing, and a simple head-to-toe relaxation sequence partners can cue. It also highlights breathing options (box breathing or long exhales), comfort techniques that break the fear–tension–pain cycle (jiggling/massage, hip circles/shifts, hydrotherapy), and notes an epidural can sometimes help if tension won’t release. Finally, it explains why the toilet can be the “dilation station”—unless it makes contractions too intense to cope.

00:00 Pelvic Floor Relaxation
01:22 Four Key Tips
02:10 Jaw Pelvic Floor Link
03:48 Vocal Sounds Practice
05:41 Relaxation Sequence
09:00 Breathing For Softening
10:45 Fear Tension Pain Cycle
11:46 Jiggling Massage Movement
14:23 Hydrotherapy And Epidural
16:17 Toilet Dilation Station
19:03 Final Recap And Outro

————

🎉 Grab Your Copy of Training for Two → https://amzn.to/3VOTdwH
Your go-to guide for prenatal fitness, birth prep, and postpartum recovery.

👇 Start Preparing for Birth Today
📥 Download our free Birth Prep Circuit Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-for-birth-circuit
📥 Grab our free Pelvic Floor Prep Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-your-pelvic-floor-for-labor/
Learn how to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor to support a smoother labor and pushing phase.

💻 Explore Our Online Programs:
Whether you're pregnant or postpartum—we’ve got you covered with expert-led fitness and education:
🏋🏻‍♀️ Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Programs
🎓 Childbirth + Postpartum Education Courses
→ https://mamastefit.com

🤱 Just Had a Baby?
📥 Grab our free Postpartum Core Workouts → https://mamastefit.kit.com/core
Start reconnecting with your core and feeling strong again—safely and confidently.

———

📲 Follow Us on Instagram for Daily Tips + BTS
https://instagram.com/mamastefit

———

✨ Shop Our Favorites:
⚡️ Electrolytes we love → https://drinklmnt.com/mamaste
🌿 Supplements we trust – 20% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://thisisneeded.com/ginaandroxanne
👖 Maternity clothing we actually wear – 10% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://rstr.co/lovesteady/3500
——

Certified nurse midwife Roxanne explains what it means when your water breaks (rupture of membranes), what amniotic fluid does, and why for over 90% of people it’s not the first sign of labor. She reviews SROM (water breaks during labor after 37 weeks), PROM (water breaks before contractions after 37 weeks, occurring in about 6–9% of pregnancies), PPROM (before 37 weeks), and the rare en caul birth. Using the TACO/COAT acronym, she covers what to note: time, amount (gush vs trickle), color (clear/pink normal; green meconium; bright red concerning), and odor (distinct from urine; foul odor may signal infection). She explains provider tests (nitrazine, ferning, point-of-care tests, speculum/vaginal exam) and emphasizes limiting vaginal exams to reduce infection risk, especially after 24 hours; discusses monitoring, antibiotics, induction options, and Dilapan for PROM.

----------------------🎉 Grab Your Copy of Training for Two → https://amzn.to/3VOTdwHYour go-to guide for prenatal fitness, birth prep, and postpartum recovery.👇 Start Preparing for Birth Today📥 Download our free Birth Prep Circuit Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-for-birth-circuit📥 Grab our free Pelvic Floor Prep Guide → https://mamastefit.com/freebies/prepare-your-pelvic-floor-for-labor/Learn how to relax and lengthen your pelvic floor to support a smoother labor and pushing phase.💻 Explore Our Online Programs:Whether you're pregnant or postpartum—we’ve got you covered with expert-led fitness and education:🏋🏻‍♀️ Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Programs🎓 Childbirth + Postpartum Education Courses→ https://mamastefit.com🤱 Just Had a Baby?📥 Grab our free Postpartum Core Workouts → https://mamastefit.kit.com/coreStart reconnecting with your core and feeling strong again—safely and confidently.———📲 Follow Us on Instagram for Daily Tips + BTShttps://instagram.com/mamastefit———✨ Shop Our Favorites:⚡️ Electrolytes we love → https://drinklmnt.com/mamaste🌿 Supplements we trust – 20% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://thisisneeded.com/ginaandroxanne👖 Maternity clothing we actually wear – 10% off with code MAMASTEFIT → https://rstr.co/lovesteady/3500