Pelvic Health and Fitness Podcast

In this episode, Dayna shares her top 5 tips to prepare for birth. There’s a lot that is out of our control during birth. But there are also a lot of things we can do to mentally and physically to prepare for this challenging event! If you are pregnant, or hoping to become pregnant one day, this episode is for you!

===============================

If you liked this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness, share it with a friend, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts!

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE:

🔹Frida Mom Pregnancy Lotion
🔹The Fourth Trimester Book
🔹Dayna’s Birth Prep Class at Rebirth Wellness

SHOW NOTES:
(0:49) - Episode intro
(01:56) - Tip #1 - It’s never too early or to late to begin preparing for birth
(04:21) - Tip #2 - Perineal massage
(09:40) - Tip #3 - It might be helpful to attend a birthing class
(13:47) - Tip # 4 - Prepare for the mental/ emotional aspects of birth
(18:59) - Tip #5 - Prepare for the first 12-weeks postpartum during pregnancy

Today, Rhonda welcomes her friend - 1st ever staff member of her business - Cassandra Vedder! You’ll get an introduction to our new team member, her journey in fitness and parenthood, and ideas to help you in your parenthood journey!

Cassandra Vedder is a Physiotherapy Assistant with close to 10 years of experience.
She is a wife and mom to 3 kids (ages 11 months - 4 years). She worked at
Since graduating from the OTA & PTA program in 2013, she has been working at Cambridge Memorial Hospital, as well as Conestoga College.
Outside of work and mom life, Cassandra enjoys date nights with her husband,
coffee with a good friend, and planning Women’s events at her church. She has always played sports and loves camping. She is a motherless mother and has had to navigate the grief that came along with learning all the beautiful and difficult adventures that motherhood brings.

===============================

If you liked this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness, share it with a friend, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts!

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE

Cassandra is now taking on virtual clients on Thursday evenings from 7-9pm!
Her rate is $70 per 30-minute virtual session (billed as physiotherapy for Ontario residents).

How to book with Cassandra:
New 1:1 clients - Please book a new assessment with Rhonda first
Former 1:1 clients - Please book a 30-minute follow-up session with Rhonda first
Existing 1:1 clients - Feel free to book directly with Cassandra

After seeing Rhonda, she will create and communicate your individualized treatment plan with Cassandra and book you into her schedule!

PODCAST LINKS & RESOURCES

Follow Rhonda on IG
Rhonda’s Website
Check out Rhonda’s FREE Resource Library
Pelvic Health and Fitness Podcast
Book with Dayna (Rebirth Wellness)

SHOW NOTES:

(0:49) - Rhonda welcomes Cassandra!

(2:06) - Why we are having this conversation, today!

(4:15) - Cassandra shares more about herself, and what led her to a career as an OTA/PTA!

(5:24) - Cassandra outlines her role, and what she does at the hospital

(8:15) - Cassandra shares about her kids (3!), pregnancies and postpartum experiences

(13:00) - On how we SHOULD have the knowledge to understand and rehab our bodies

(15:00) - Cassandra shares her journey with sports/fitness/exercise - before AND with kids!

(19:33) - How Cassandra’s mindset has shifted since joining Strong at Home

(29:56) - How life has been for Cassandra navigating motherhood after losing her mom (on grieving while mothering)

(35:50) - Cassandra shares what she’s learned from parenting three kids - and fitting in exercise while doing it!

(39:49) - We were not meant to do things alone - and the ladies discuss the concept of “body doubling”!

(41:10) - Cassandra’s biggest take home message, today

(42:10) - Cassandra shares where you can find her, and how you can work with her!

(43:10) - Episode wrap up!

In this episode, Rhonda has the pleasure of chatting with her friend and colleague, Bronwyn Addico all about doula care.

Bronwyn Addico (she/her) is the owner of Balancing Birth to Baby, a support company for expecting and new parents that offers prenatal education and Doula support in Southern Ontario, Canada. She has been a Childbirth & Early Parenting Educator since 2015 and a Birth & Postpartum Doula since 2016.

After a difficult birth experience in 2013, she embarked on a journey to become a Birthing From Within childbirth mentor, and spent time in California in the Spring of 2016 to further her in-depth training.

She has supported more than 100 families during their births and early parenting journey. Bronwyn is also a single mother to two wonderful kids.

We’re so grateful to Bronwyn for sharing her story and passion with us!

===============================

If you liked this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness, share it with a friend, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts!

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE:

🔹 Check out Rhonda’s Strong at Home Membership
🔹 Spinning Babies Program
🔹 Insight Timer
🔹 Balancing from Birth to Baby Website
🔹 Follow Bronwyn on IG

SHOW NOTES:
(0:49) - Episode intro
(03:27) - What lead Bronwyn down the path to becoming a doula
(05:23) - She shares about her home birth experience with her first child
(07:51) - How her decision to become a doula was cemented after her 2nd birth
(11:45) - How Bronwyn prepared for her births
(12:40) - What is a doula and how do they support clients in their pre/postnatal experience?
(15:46) - The difference between a midwife and a doula
(17:33) - Doula support options in the postpartum period
(20:26) - How doulas fit into the support team with midwives/OBs
(21:44) - How her path to starting her doula business Balancing Birth to Baby started
(25:01) - What gave Bronwyn the confidence to start her own business
(25:49) - How she struggled to adjust to business ownership in the early days
(27:13) - The moment she knew she needed to hire help in her business
(29:09) - How her business has grown in the last several years
(30:47) - What discussions Bronwyn has with clients during pregnancy
(32:40) - Bronwyn’s top birth prep advice
(41:50) - Birth is not just a transformation, it’s a transmutation
(43:48) - Bronwyn and Rhonda chat about the identity shift in the postpartum phase
(49:32) - Discussions Bronwyn has with clients in the postpartum phase
(53:30) - Do her clients struggle to ask for and accept health from a doula?
(1:01:30) - Last tidbits of advice
(1:06:45) - How people can find Bronwyn

In this episode, Rhonda has the pleasure of chatting with her friend and colleague, Bree Nacarrato.

Bree is the owner of Loved Momma Fitness. She is also a CrossFit coach and also has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.

She has worked with the pre and postnatal population for almost three years before she gave birth to her second daughter who sadly was stillborn.

Since the death of her daughter in April 2021 she has begun working with loss mothers who have experienced tragic pregnancy or infant loss.

Bree recently launched her first return to exercise program, the Recovery After Loss Program, which is a completely trigger free, 6-month program that walks with mothers through both their physical and emotional healing.

We’re so grateful to Bree for sharing her story with us. We touch on a lot of topics in this episode including:

🔹What got Bree into the pre/postnatal fitness world
🔹Her fitness journey through 2 pregnancies
🔹Her 2nd daughter, Rainey’s story
🔹How her faith helped her throughout her stillbirth experience
🔹Why it was important for her to share her story on social media
🔹Her recovery and return to fitness journey after losing Rainey
🔹How Bree turned her tragic loss into a much needed return to exercise program for other loss moms
🔹All about her Recovery After Loss Program

➡️ We would LOVE if you would share this episode with a friend, drop a star rating or leave us a review!

Mentioned in this episode:

Follow Bree on IG
Bree’s website
Link to get 10% off Bree’s Recovery After Loss Program (code podcast10 already applied)

Get on the Waitlist for the next 2 for $22 trial of Rhonda’s Strong at Home Membership
Reach out to Rhonda on IG for $30 off your first month of the Strong at Home Membership

Rhonda’s clients come to her with symptoms like leaking, heaviness, low back pain, hip pain and more (including frustration). In today’s episode, Rhonda shares 5 strategies and markers she walks her clients through to help them see the big picture and recognize the road of their own healing journey.

===============================

If you liked this episode of Pelvic Health and Fitness, share it with a friend, leave us a review onApple Podcasts, or subscribe anywhere you listen to your podcasts!

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN EPISODE

Sign-up for the 50% off 1-month trial of the Strong at Home Membership (*discount automatically applied at check-out)

Listen to Episode #46: 7 reasons your pelvic floor symptoms may have changed recently

Listen to Episode #24 - 6 ways to relax the pelvic floor

Check out Rhonda’s Strong at Home VIP(One-on-One)

Check out Rhonda’s Strong at Home Membership

PODCAST LINKS & RESOURCES

Follow Rhonda on IG

Rhonda’s Website

Check out Rhonda’s FREE Resource Library

Pelvic Health and Fitness Podcast

Book with Dayna(Rebirth Wellness)

SHOW NOTES:

(0:51) - Strong at Home Membership with Rhonda - Discount Offer

(3:59) - What I’m talking about today!

(5:03) - How healing works

(6:52) - #1 Strategy: Noticing your symptoms less often throughout the day

(8:45) - #2 Strategy: Notice symptoms that are less intense, overall

(10:12) - #3 Strategy: Look at what you are able to do functionally in your workouts, and day, without symptoms

(13:32) - #4 Strategy - Notice when you are feeling stronger with your workouts and within your day

(14:52) - #5 Strategy - Notice if/when you are feeling more confident and having more trust in your body

(16:28) - Episode overview and wrap up!