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The Expecting and Empowered Podcast
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The Expecting and Empowered Podcast

Author: Amy Kiefer + Krystle Howald

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We’re Amy and Krystle, sisters, mamas and co-founders of Expecting and Empowered. We built this business because we saw a HUGE gap in information given to women who were pregnant or postpartum. During the incredibly demanding and challenging years of early motherhood, we wanted to create a safe space for women to learn, grow and feel supported.We wholeheartedly believe in serving every woman no matter where they are in their motherhood journey. Through our professional background, real life experiences and mamas in our community, we are opening up the conversation around common issues that women experience during pregnancy and postpartum, sharing birth stories and giving women the knowledge and resources they deserve to put their best foot forward in motherhood.
70 Episodes
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One of our goals here at Expecting and Empowered is for women to feel empowered going into the fourth trimester! We hope this episode helps you pinpoint some spots where you can prepare before the birth of your baby to be set up to heal well and feel more like yourself during your fourth trimester experience! We prepare for 9 months for our babies! We plan the perfect nursery, buy all the cutest clothing, we take baby courses and classes…but have you prepared yourself for postpartu...
We are so excited to bring back Mackenzie from Mackenzie.On.Motherhood on Instagram. She was with us for episodes 27 and 28 where we talked about what an L&D nurse wants you to know about labor and what actually happens after a hospital birth. So we thought it would be perfect for her to come back and educate us about epidurals! Whether your birth plan will include an epidural or not, this episode will be a great opportunity to educate yourself on the option of an epidural and what that p...
Today is a solo episode from one of your hosts, me, Amy! As a trained doula, Registered Nurse, and mom of three, I feel confident we can provide you with some strategies in today’s episode to help you create a positive mindset around your upcoming labor and delivery. Mindset is aways trainable! Something we encourage you to do is to learn about the birthing process. We’ve linked some of our previous episodes for you below about the different stages of labor and women’s birth stories. I a...
We are so excited to have Diane Boden from the Minimalist Moms on the podcast today. After feeling like she wanted to live more intentionally and simply, Diane pursued sharing her experience through Minimalist Moms Podcast, which has become a top rated podcast and resource for women! Diane doesn’t want the term “minimalist” to scare you - she really just means living your life more simply, with less clutter taking up space in your mental load and taking time away from really enjoying you...
As you already know, here at Expecting and Empowered, we don’t mind covering topics people are scared or shy to talk about. And today is no different! Today’s episode is all about sex during pregnancy. Some women love sex while pregnant and some want nothing to do with it! Either is okay. We are going to dive into this topic through the lens of a physical therapist and mamas of three. First of all, is sex during pregnancy safe? Unless your provider specifically tells you to abstain, YES,...
The creator behind the Instagram account @babysettler, Hillary Sadler is a labor and delivery nurse, feeding specialist, and mom of 4. She also is the author of the book “Babies Made Simple”, a roadmap to the baby stage! Hillary fills the information gap between your OB’s office and baby’s pediatrician. She gives evidence-based guidance to new moms, as she would to any friend, without the high cost burden you’d incur in a traditional healthcare setting.Well fed babies sleep better, so Hillary...
Today on the podcast we are happy to host Chelsea Swopes. Chelsea is a baby and toddler speech language expert (SLP) with over 15 years of experience. Chelsea is known on her Instagram page as @playtalklove and is a mama herself! Chelsea’s goal is to help families build strong connections in order for those kiddos to grow into functional communicators. Reading to your baby isn’t just a sweet thing to do as part of a bedtime routine, it’s also a great way to build a strong bond and expose...
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 believ...
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 grad...
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 eas...
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 goin...
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 i...
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 und...
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 p...
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...
Mom rage. Is this something you’ve ever experienced? Today, I (Amy) get behind the mic with Dr. Ashurina Ream, the woman behind the well known Instagram @psychedmommy. We discuss both our personal experiences and clinical expertise with having these feelings. Dr. Ashurina is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified in perinatal mental health. She is an incredible resource over @psychedmommy and is a mom herself which is a huge reason why she added perinatal mental health to her educatio...
Dr. Emily Jamea is a sex therapist and an expert on love & relationships. She is also the author of the upcoming book - Anatomy of Desire and hosts her own podcast, Love & Libido. Emily is also a mom which was really important to us when we were looking for someone who understands what our bodies go through as we experience pregnancy + postpartum and how that can impact our sex life.Growing up in a sex positive household paved the way for Emily and the career she’s so passionate about...
Shanna from @wellnessforthewin on Instagram is on the show today. She is a dietitian, an Expecting and Empowered ambassador, and a mom to two beautiful boys. Shanna is going through an incredibly tough situation after the birth of her second son, Levi. He had an unexpected stay in the NICU and we hope that by sharing Shanna’s story we are able to help other NICU moms feel seen, understood and less alone.Not only did Shanna’s son Levi have an extended stay in the NICU but Shanna herself had to...
Diastasis recti (also known as DR) affects ⅔ of women during pregnancy and continues into postpartum for most women. The separation of your abs as a result of pregnancy and/or postpartum can be really frustrating and cause women to feel self-conscious. In this episode we are talking all about what diastasis recti is, how to know if you have it, and what to do to improve it.I, Krystle, walk you through a test you can do on yourself to see if you might have DR. I also share my own personal expe...
We are excited to have our first OB/GYN on the show today, Dr. Nicole Rankins! She is a board certified practicing OB/GYN, a wife, a mom of two, host of The All About Pregnancy & Birth Podcast, and has been serving pregnant women for over 20 years.Dr. Nicole explains to us the difference between an OB/GYN and a Midwife. She also talks about how we can make sure our OB/GYN is a good fit and stresses the importance of advocating for ourselves throughout the entirety of this episode.We also ...
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