Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond
Welcome to the Active Mom Podcast — where real motherhood stories meet real science.
Hosted by Dr. Carrie Pagliano, double board-certified physical therapist, runner, mom of two, and internationally recognized expert in pregnancy, postpartum, pelvic floor, and perimenopause performance.
Whether you’re a mom navigating running with prolapse or leakage, a clinician supporting active women, or a lifelong athlete trying to stay strong through every hormonal season — this show gives you evidence-based guidance and real life mom stories without the fear, confusion, or shame.
Each week, Dr. Carrie brings candid conversations with researchers, clinicians, elite athletes, and everyday moms to explore what it actually takes to run, lift, jump, and live confidently through pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and beyond.
We talk about:
• Postpartum return to running & lifting
• Pelvic floor symptoms (leakage, prolapse, pain)
• Pregnancy exercise myths & safety
• Strength training at every age
• Perimenopause performance & hormone changes
• Mental health, identity shifts & motherhood
• The realities of being an active mom in a busy life
Real talk. Real science. Real moms.
Because you deserve to feel strong and supported — at every stage of your active life.
Active Mom Podcast: Pregnancy, Postpartum, Perimenopause, Menopause & Beyond
Latest Episodes
Everyone's calling it a 'tight pelvic floor'… but can we actually feel it? — with Gosia Starzec-Proserpio, PhD
You've heard it. Maybe you've said it. "Your pelvic floor is too tight." It's everywhere right now — on the socials, in the clinic, out of the mouths of people who've never assessed a pelvic floor in their life. But here's the question...
REWIND // Why Moms Leak When They Run: What Urinary Incontinence Research Gets Right (and Wrong) with — DR. LINDA MCLEAN
If you've ever accepted leaking as the toll you pay to keep running, this one's going to reframe it.Dr. Linda McLean (@mfm_lab) is one of the foremost researchers on the pelvic floor and urinary incontinence — a professor and Chair in Wo...
You don't have to look like a runner to be one — with Melanie Cote (@the.curvy.runner)
Melanie Cote spent years believing runners were a certain kind of person — thin, disciplined, elite — and she wasn't it. So when a coworker organized a 5K, she showed up to cheer instead of run, too embarrassed to try. A year later, sh...
REWIND The strength work that actually returns you to running — and what's just wasting your time — CHRIS JOHNSON, PT
Bringing this back because the "what exercises should I actually be doing?" question never gets old. Johnson cuts through the noise on rehab and strength work for runners — the movements that move the needle versus the filler. Practical, specif...
Can I Run with Prolapse? Solo Episode — with Dr. Carrie Pagliano, PT
Can you run with pelvic organ prolapse? In this solo episode, Dr. Carrie Pagliano takes on one of the most feared pelvic floor diagnoses… and why prolapse doesn't have to mean hanging up your running shoes.Carrie introduces your "prolaps...
Fan Mail
Hi Dr. Pagliano! So glad I started listening to your podcast. I'm a first time mom about 11 weeks PP navigating prolapse and return to athletics. I've only just started to scrape the surface of all the excellent content I'm finding from your podcast, but just wondering if you've ever focused on how we talk to our significant others or family about the mental load these pelvic floor issues create? I keep struggling to explain to my husband how difficult this all feels. Thought I'd throw the idea out there for a future pod! Thanks!!
Green Bay, Wisconsin