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
Postpartum Running, Diastasis & Leakage: What Really Happens to Your Pelvic Floor — with DR. SABINE VESTING
In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Sabine Vesting, a pelvic health physiotherapist and researcher whose work explores how exercise impacts the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles postpartum. Her research dives into common symptoms like urinary incontinence, pelvic girdle pain, and vaginal heaviness, and how they affect daily life for new moms.
Now based in Ottawa, Dr. Vesting leads cutting-edge studies at the Motor Function Measurement (MFM) Lab, including research on running-induced urinary incontinence, pelvic floor responses after a single run, and the use of intravaginal devices to reduce leakage in female runners. She’s also writing a review on how to best measure intra-abdominal pressure during exercise.
We talk about:
-Does diastasis actually matter?
-Coning and doming explained
-Finding exercise you enjoy postpartum
-Urinary incontinence and new solutions
-Intravaginal devices to understand the pelvic floor in sport and running
Time Stamps
1:00 Introduction
6:05 work as a PhD
10:40 does diastasis even matter?
16:24 pelvic girdle pain after pregnancy
21:00 changes over the last 15 years
28:58 being comfortable with activity postpartum
34:21 looking at pain and causes
40:18 getting better measurements
51:42 intra-abdominal pressure
55:32 doing what works with patients
58:28 rapid fire questions
CONNECT WITH CARRIE
IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/
Website: https://carriepagliano.com
CONNECT WITH SABINE:
Website: https://mfmlab.ca
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabine-vesting-aa4317135/?originalSubdomain=se
We are currently recruiting participants for our RCT, aimed at evaluating whether readily available intravaginal devices, such as off-the-shelf pessaries or tampons, can effectively reduce or eliminate urine leakage during running, enabling active women to remain physically engaged. The study offers a remote option and welcomes female runners from all of North America who experience urine leakage while running.
https://mfmlab.ca/portfolio-items/running-induced-urinary-incontinence-rct/
The Active Mom Podcast is A Real Moms' Guide to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause & beyond for active moms & the professionals who help them in their journey.
This show has been a long time in the making!
You can expect conversation with moms and professionals from all aspects of the industry.
If you're like me, you don't have a lot of free time (heck, you're probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!
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