Join us in this special episode as I walk you through Jacobsons Relaxation.  This technique can help anyone manage stress, and alleviate discomfort, especially mothers in the delivery room.  1:49 - Introduction & Disclaimer 4:07 - Jacobsons Relaxation 23:52 - ClosingBlog Labor & Birth CourseWebsite | Instagram

Today we are answering questions that you asked us through our social media accounts!!Join me today as we discuss a couple of these topics: Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, Options for flipping a breech baby, When to start tracking fetal Kick, Massage do's & donts.  What is a mucus plug and what should I watch for?Two very painful symptoms in pregnancy that has to do with connective tissue and how to care for it.I love answering all of your questions and its nice to do them all at one time., keep them coming!Website | Instagram

I peed on the stick and Its positive,  I am pregnant!  What are my first steps to take?  How does this all work?Do I call the OB?Do I call the Family Doctor?Do I scream it from the mountain tops?I am not sure I am ready for this..I dont know what my options are..There are so many feelings and emotions attached to finding out you are pregnant and just because the test is positive does not mean you have to feel positive. This episode covers the above topics as well as all of the information you need in the first weeks of pregnancy!  Website | Instagram

Ever wonder how some women manage not to worry about finances during their maternity leave?  I know how they did it.... they hired Alynn Godfroy from Godfroy financial.   How did she enjoy her maternity leave without financial burden, the same way she is now enjoying her life, raising her baby boy Austin and making time for herself, her husband and her family life while owning her own business!  She did it with smart financial strategy!  I have admired Alynn's financial mindset since the day I was first introduced to her, and you will too.  She is  a smart, kind, loving individual & a mom of baby boy Austin and she enjoys helping others achieve their financial goals.  Alynn offers classes about finances, and hosts a podcast with a sweet name "achieve fire" with Fire being the acronym for  Financial independence retire early.  Cool ?  Yes it is!! Join us to hear a little about Alynns journey to getting pregnant, & a pretty simple  way to figure out your budget for maternity leave! .Alynn Godfroy is a graduate of the University of Windsor where shecompleted her Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree. She ownsGodfroy Financial Management Ltd., and has been a Financial Plannerfor 18 years, holding designations as a Certified Executive Advisor,Certified Life Underwriter, Elder Planning Counsellor and MasterFinancial Planner.She is happily married with a 3-year-old toddler, 4 stepchildren and theauthor of “Why You Need a Financial Advisor.”Alynn was a Rotarian for 11 years and served as the President of theRotary Club of Belle River and is currently the Charter President of thearea's newest club, the Rotary Club of Windsor-Walkerville. She hasparticipated in volunteer missions to Venezuela where doctors andnurses performed cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries. Alynn has alsobeen to Ghana three times helping to renovate two schools and ahealth clinic.Alynn just completed 7 years as a board member of Community LivingWindsor where she was the Treasurer of their board.You can find out more about Alynn on her website www.godfroyfinancialgroup.com Website | Instagram

Friends sometimes divulge things to each other what we wouldnt dare admit to anyone else!  Jaclyn and I have been friends for alot of years, we laugh about each others faults and the stupid things that run through our minds as women, wives & especially as Mothers! NOTE - We are friends and this conversation is not how we feel as professionals, we have to laugh at each other with friends, in order to survive motherhood. Jaclyn is one of the owners of Odyssey Wellness in Tecumseh.  She has an undergraduate in Psychology & a Masters in Social Work, with a certification in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders.   After having children of her own, Jaclyn developed a passion for providing support for birth parents and partners .   She is a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child,  although so many of us struggle with trying to do it alone.  Listen to us chat about how we have grown as mothers! You can find out more about Jaclyn @ www.odysseywellness.caWebsite | Instagram

Ever get all the balls in your life rolling smoothly, only to have them all go crashing to the ground?  Yeah me too!Here's what the %#@*  happened to all of the balls I was juggling last year!! Please join us today as I have a very vulnerable conversation with one of my closest friends about life, injury, mental illness & loss. While this story is about failure, at no point was I not okay with failing… in order to grow you sometimes have to fail, and fail miserably!   Alana -  is the daughter of one of my closest friends, she and her sister are like daughters to me and my love for them grows stronger every year.  I love that despite a major age difference Alana and I can share struggles about life, love,  health and we are just as comfortable crying together as we are laughing together.  Alana will be joining me once in a while as a guest host!  Thank you for listening! Love beams to you!! Website | Instagram

Ever wondered what the process is like to discharge your OBGYN?  Listen to Casey tell her story of having difficulty with the rules at her OBGYN's office during the pandemic and what steps she took to get the birth she wanted.   Casey is a fireball about her views on the pandemic and the guidelines involved at our local hospital during birth.. she feels like everyone should be treated as the individual humans that we are.  Casey talks us through her struggles with fertility, a miscarrige, getting pregnant again and finding out she is capable of a VBAC.  She shares the story of firing her OB, hiring a midwife and obtaining a medical mask exemption, all while we listen to her little Adeline gurgle in the background.   Join us as we laugh and talk about her beautiful Journey! Website | Instagram

Can you imagine travelling all over the world teaching and mastering your craft?  Thats exactly what Renee Meloche from Jelly Fish Pilates in Tecumseh Ontario did before deciding to settle down here in Windsor, Essex County and open her own studio.  Renee started her journey with Pilates in 1997 and has a full certification with STOTT Pilates, and has travelled all over the world teaching certifications. Renee is a business owner, the mom of three kids, an author and a brillant pilates instructor. I am very excited to talk with her today about all of those things and her special interest in pre & Post natal Pilates.  Renee has a team of amazing Pilates Instructors on staff at her wonderful studio to help you move forward in your health or to start you on the path to health and wellbeing.  You can learn more about Renee through her very own Podcast - Pilates Mom.Website | Instagram

Becoming a single mother by choice is an increasingly  popular path to motherhood.  As more women are making the decision to have a child on their own, whether through artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization,  adoption or other means, we are asking more and more questions.   What happens when you make the decision to do this alone?  How do you choose a donor in Canada?  What is the process?  What does the fertility clinics charge?  Will I need hormones?  How much does the donor cost?  and much much more... Listen to me talk with Tiffany about all of these things for her during the journey  of bringing her baby girl Jordan Earthside.  Website | Instagram

We can all use help with finding the right way to speak to our medical professionals of choice. Todays episode I make 5 suggestions that have helped me and others be a better case manager of their health.  Hope you find them helpful and can put them into play for you and your health! Good Luck!! Website | Instagram

For some people, motherhood comes naturally, it’s almost like they were born to be moms.  This is the case with today's guest Leigha Moravac.  Leigha has always known she wanted to be a mom and it's easy to watch her with her children and see that being a mom is a natural instinct for her.  Despite all of this - Parenting isn't always a clear and easy path, especially when health issues, car accidents, and a newborn who doesn't sleep well are playing a role.  Throw into all of this that we are in the middle of a world-wide pandemic and you will have a recipe for a few periods of crisis.  Finding the support you need from friends, family and the professionals in your community is always the right step, but can sometimes end differently than you planned.  We all need to be validated and supported through the first few years of having babies, so that we can find the trust in ourselves.  Join me today in talking with a beautiful mom, who shows us her path through challenging pregnancies and being on maternity leave during a pandemic.  Leigha tells us her journey of how she has prevailed during this unprecedented time, all while loving her two beautiful children, her husband and most of all herself! Website | Instagram

This episode I speak with one of our local hospitals Radiographic Imaging Experts Milena Lewis .  Milena has been in this field for over 20 years and is highly skilled when advising patients on the risks and benefits and how to ask for advice when X-rays have been requested by your Health professional.  Milena helps shine some light on what you can do to be more informed when you need an X-Ray Image both during pregnancy and everyday.  Ionizing radiation (x-ray) is composed of high-energy photons that are capable of damaging DNA and generating caustic free radicals, although we discuss this briefly in this episode we do not discuss the exact photon exposure involved with various Imaging methods.  If you would like to know the range of doses provided by common radiographs you can find them Here and also lots of other facts on exposure. Website | Instagram

Melissa Bishop Nriagu is a Canadian Professional Athlete from Eaganville Ontario,  she is a  2 time Olympic Athlete for the 800 metre distance.  She is only the 3rd woman to achieve a time under 2:00 minutes and is currently the record holder for this distance at an amazing time of 1:57.01.  Melissa is here to talk about Training and Exercise during pregnancy, as well as Postpartum.  We discuss the fact that no matter what other women have experienced or professionals say is typical, this may not be the journey for you.  Pregnant women often hear mixed information about what physical activity is safe or dangerous during pregnancy and when you SHOULD feel like exercising postpartum.   Melissa share’s with us that no matter how much you know and plan for - Your body sometimes doesn't respond the way you think it will.   We share Melissa’s journey of training during pregnancy and her path of finding the right professionals to guide her while keeping her baby girl Corinne safe.  We talk about returning to postpartum training and how that looked for her.  How would training during Covid look and attempting to qualify when there are no races and a very touchy topic of the lack of Maternity leave for Canadian Professional Athletes. You can find out more about Melissa Bishop Nriagu at this link and don't forget to follow her journey in this years Olympics in Tokyo.  GO CANADA!https://olympic.ca/team-canada/melissa-bishop/Website | Instagram

Most women are struggling with hormone issues in one way or another. Every woman is different and has a different story.  It is important to understand your overall health and why your hormones may be disrupted. Dr. Kristen Kupeyan at B Medical in Windsor Ontario, is certified in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and is highly sought after for her care with womens and mens hormone balance both in Canada and the United States.  Listen to us discuss some of the issues that might be indicating to you that there is an imbalance or disruption in your hormones and what is possible for you under her care. She will be talking about Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone and thyroid. What can happen if your disrupted hormones are left untreated and why getting a baseline of your hormones when you are feeling super can be highly beneficial.   You can find out more about Dr. Kristen Kupeyan through her website at www.bmedicalcenter.com Website | Instagram

Giving birth carries a lot of emotions for families, and moms sometimes have difficulty processing all of these feelings and emotions if they feel they didn't have a birth with choices.  Today we are talking to Nour Hachem Fawaz as she dives into her first birth that ended with a cesarean delivery and the feelings she had postnatal that she felt were connected to her feelings about her body and birthing team.  We discuss how different that looked with her second birth, where she felt supported and empowered to birth with choices and in control.  Even while birthing during a pandemic, developing cholestasis during pregnancy, building a team that supports your wishes, she felt like she was in control.  Nour expresses that when you get what you need during the birth process how it can change your physiological thoughts towards your mothering journey. Nour and the host share an intimate conversation about her journey through motherhood, Postpartum depression and the struggle that comes with all of it.  Note: There is a lot of crying and laughing during this episode but in no way shape of form are we laughing at the seriousness of these very intimate topics. You can find access to the beautiful Nour and her leadership role with being an advocate for women in skilled trades through her website  www.webuildadream.com . Nour also has her own podcast and you can find it under the name Perfectly Unfiltered. Website | Instagram

Deborah is a RMT in the province of Ontario and the CEO and founder of Pelvic Love Massage Therapy.  Deborah has owned her own business for 16 years.  The purpose of her podcast is try to bring awareness to the standard of care for women by sharing beautiful and traumatic stories of pregnancy, birth and health related issues.  We will be sharing stories by women willing to share their stores and talking with health professionals and service providers willing to work as a team to help women on their health journey.   Women struggle to find the help and care they need,  especially during times of difficulty in their lives like childbirth, postpartum, menopause and of course during a pandemic.  Listen to this interview of why we wanted a podcast as a platform for all women! Find out more about Deborah at www.pelviclove.com Website | Instagram