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.
Episodes
243 episodes
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...
REWIND // Doing all the pelvic floor work & still symptomatic? Your hips might be the missing piece — DR. ALISON GRIMALDI
This is the single most-downloaded episode in Active Mom Podcast history… and if you joined in the last two years, you've probably never heard it.Dr. Alison Grimaldi connects hip strength and stability to the pelvic floor symptoms so man...
What Load Actually Reaches Your Pelvis When You Run? The Data & a Guide Built for Postpartum Moms — with DR. MEGAN JAMES
What load actually reaches your pelvis when you run? For years we couldn't really answer that — we just said "wait twelve weeks, then go." Babe, we've come a long way.Dr. Megan James is back — and this time it's Dr. James. She f...
REWIND // Turns out Atomic Habits is a parenting book — Routines, mindset & making change stick in parenthood— JAMES CLEAR
Becoming a mom can take your lifelong habits, chew them up, and spit them out. So how do you build new ones when there's no such thing as a typical day in parenthood?In this Summer Rewind — our season one finale — Dr. Carrie Pagliano sit...
High-Altitude Climbing in Pregnancy… Thin Evidence, Loud Opinions, and Trusting Her Own Risk Tolerance — with LOTTA HINTSA
Thin evidence. Loud opinions. And a body that still wanted to climb. That's where professional high-altitude climber Lotta Hintsa found herself when she got pregnant — wanting to stay active and keep doing her job, in an area where ...
REWIND // How Swim Moms Make Time to Work Out: Real-Life Strategies from Busy Moms from Postpartum to Perimenopause
This one's for every mom whose week is built around practices, meets, and the pool-deck waiting game. It's honest, real-talk strategy for squeezing your own training into a life that runs on everyone else's schedule — across postpartum all the ...
Sports Medicine & the Pelvic Floor: We Don't Know Everything — But Here's Where the Science Actually Is — with GRÁINNE DONNELLY
Gráinne Donnelly is back — and this time she's the editor and primary author of a brand-new Elsevier textbook, Sports Medicine and the Pelvic Floor: Science to Practice. It's the book this field has been waiting for... and the honest t...
Is It Ever Too Late to Start Running? From Couch Potato to Grandma Athlete at 57 — with author HILDEE WEISS
Hildee Weiss didn't run her first full mile until she was 46. And honestly? She was convinced she'd look ridiculous doing it… like Phoebe from Friends, flailing around while everyone stared. (If you're Gen X, you already get it.)Fast for...
Running Injuries in Perimenopause: Recovery, Hormones & Real Mom Life — with WHITNEY HEINS
What happens when the body that carried you through marathons suddenly starts changing the rules on you mid-stride…?In this episode, I sit down with Whitney Heins — founder of The Mother Runners run community, host of the Mother Runners ...
Hormones, Bone Loss & Injury Risk: What Every Active Woman Needs to Know — with DR. JOCELYN WITTSTEIN
Your bones started changing before you noticed. Most women don't find out until something breaks.Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein — orthopedic surgeon at Duke and co-author of The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan — is here to change tha...
Is Childbirth Harder Than an Ultra? Running Myths, Postpartum Comebacks & the Honest Logistics of Racing as a Mom — with DR. ERIN DALISAY, PT
She's run ultras. She's survived pregnancy nausea. She's raced with a baby at home. And she has opinions about all of it.In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Erin Kennedy Dalisay — ortho & sports PT, run coach, marathoner, ult...
I Tried Everything… and Still Leaked. One Athlete's Road to Pelvic Floor Surgery — with AIMEE OLIVER (@bodyfitmums)
She was mid-serve at a volleyball match in Cyprus when the device fell out completely. It landed in her underwear. There was a crowd. She ran off the court, grabbed it, and ran back on—so fast her coach didn't even process what happened....
Wait… so which device is actually right for me? Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know with Dr. Christina Prevett
After interviewing 10 pelvic floor support device companies—6 internal, 4 external—Dr. Carrie Pagliano sits down with researcher and pelvic health physiotherapist and researcher Dr. Christina Prevett to do what she couldn't do alone: process it...
The Truth About Internal Support Devices: Uresta Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Lauren Barker, CEO & Co-founder of Uresta—a company developing a self-managed in...
A Modern Pessary for Prolapse? Reia Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Ariana Sopher, COO at Reia—a company developing a modern pessary for pelvic ...
Internal Pelvic Floor Support for Leaks? Revive Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Steve Bollinger, Founder @Revive—an internal pelvic floor support device company based...
Custom Pelvic Floor Support? COSM Gynethotics Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Goli Ameri, PhD (Head of Research) and Cara McDougall, MPT (Clinical Specialist, Fou...
Internal Resistance Training for Your Pelvic Floor? Pippa Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Melody Roberts, CEO & Co-founder of Liv Labs—a company developing a pelvi...
Flexible Internal Pelvic Floor Support? SomaFlex Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Sandra Whittle, pelvic health physiotherapist and inventor of SomaFlex—a devi...
Pelvic Floor Support Underwear for Prolapse HEM Support Wear Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Lauren Fleming, Founder @HEM Support Wear—an external pelvic floor...
Pelvic Floor Support Device for Prolapse? My Pelvic Bra Explained
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Jeanice Mitchell, Inventor @myPelvicBra—an external pelvic floor support ...
Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know -SRC Health
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-series Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Sinead O’Donovan, Founder SRCHealth—an external pelvic floor support garment company...
Inside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know -Everform Therapywear
In this episode of the Active Mom Podcast mini-seriesInside Pelvic Floor Support: Devices, Fit & What You Should Know, we’re speaking with:Rosie Dumbrell, physiotherapist and founder of Everform Therapywear—a company dev...