Podcasts & Guest Appearances

From Naples to the DC Suburbs: Nechumah on Two Births, a Military Life, and Pelvic PT at 50

Nechumah was a military spouse living in Naples, Italy when she had her first child in a 20-bed Navy hospital with two OBGYNs. She woke up in a pool of blood in the middle of the night, went to the hospital, and had a C-section during which a medication reaction caused her to fully dissociate -- watching herself from above the operating table, certain she was dying. She refused pain medication for the rest of her stay because of it. Her second birth was in the US, and marked by a different set of complications. Twenty-five years later, she found a pelvic PT and discovered the chronic back pain she had been managing her whole adult life was connected to core dysfunction that started with those births, and that lumbar PT, which she had been doing for years, had been treating the wrong thing the whole time. See more of Nechumah’s betteroutsidetogether.com Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

From Unheard to Unstoppable: Molly on Two Very Different Births and Finally Getting Pelvic PT

Molly had a very high pain tolerance and warned everyone involved in her first birth that they weren't going to believe she was actually in labor. She was right. She arrived at six centimeters, got an epidural she wouldn't have gotten had she been checked first, pushed for three hours with an OB threatening a C-section, and ultimately delivered her daughter by vacuum. She left feeling unseen and unheard. Her second birth was the opposite: a birthing center, a chiropractor who told her a few days before her due date she should expect a baby soon, and a son delivered 12 minutes after she walked in the door, in the water bath she had always wanted. This is what she wishes someone had told her to set up right after each birth. Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

From Breech to Home Birth to Pandemic Baby: Marnina Walks Through All Three

Marnina grew up with a mother who was a childbirth educator and doula. Birth education classes happened in her basement. So she came to her own pregnancies knowing more than most. What she didn't anticipate was her first son flipping to breech during active labor, spending 18 hours barely progressing, and ultimately delivering him vaginally in a room full of hospital staff who had never seen it happen. Her second son was born at home amid heart-wrenching personal tragedy. Her third -- a pandemic baby -- arrived in a world where her first postpartum pelvic PT appointment was cancelled because of COVID protocols, and she never went back. She's still working through the compounded effects of that gap. Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Six Weeks Is the Beginning, Not the End: Maya on Birth, Depression, and What Recovery Actually Takes

Maya had multiple miscarriages before her two full-term pregnancies, and by the time her first son arrived after a 24-hour labor and a hospital transfer with her midwife, she already had a complicated relationship with pregnancy and fear. What followed postpartum was harder than she expected. Depression and anxiety that lingered for years, an autoimmune flare triggered by pregnancy that required her to completely restructure how she ate, and a return to sports that happened too quickly. Her first pregnancy was in Canada, where she had a year of maternity leave. Her second was in the US. She noticed the difference immediately, especially in the mental health of the moms around her. This a story of two postpartum recoveries and how much policy shapes it. Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

A Surprise Pregnancy at 44, COVID in the Hospital, and the Perfect Storm: Kelli's Story

Kelli had never been pregnant in her life. At 44, she got pregnant naturally, and had what she would describe as a fairly uneventful pregnancy and a scheduled C-section. Forty-eight hours later, she tested positive for COVID. The hospital kept her in isolation, the baby had already had a brief NICU stay, and by the time she was ready to go home, her blood pressure was beyond high. She stayed in the hospital for a week. What followed at home -- a C-section recovery, long COVID effects, perimenopause, and postpartum depression and anxiety that hit her hard -- was a lot for a first-time mother to navigate on her own. Her mom, a retired mental health professional, was the one who recognized what was happening and helped her get support. A candid conversation about what happens when everything lands at once. Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Postpartum Without a Baby: Dr. Julie Bindeman on Pregnancy LossTPY Julie V3

When you lose a pregnancy, your body doesn't know that. It still goes through the hormonal shift, and depending on how far along you were, your milk may still come in. Dr. Julie Bindeman is a psychotherapist who specializes in reproductive mental health, and she joins Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp to talk about what pregnancy loss -- from failed embryo transfer to stillbirth -- actually does to a person: physically, psychologically, and socially. They cover the "reproductive story" we build long before we ever conceive, the grief of losing a future you had already written, the painful experience of the untelling, and what people around someone who has lost a pregnancy can do instead of disappearing. Disclaimer:The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Learning to Be a Mother Alone at 20, and What She Would Tell Every New Mom Now

Julia was 20 years old when she had twins, alone in her recovery while her husband worked and her mother was still in another country. She figured out postpartum the hard way, by herself. It wasn't until her babies were nearly a year old that anyone named what she had been going through. In this episode, she walks through four pregnancies and two very different postpartum experiences, and makes a case for the one thing that actually changed her outcomes: the village. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Living with Diastasis Recti Before and After Repair

postpartum recovery deserves attention

Women do not understand that a lot of what they go through postpartum can be helped.

Intense, Guilty, and Not in Your Head: Jennifer Steiger on Postpartum Rage

Postpartum rage isn't in the DSM, doesn't have a clean clinical definition, and almost nobody talks about it - which is exactly why Jennifer Steiger wanted to. In this episode, she joins Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp to define what postpartum rage looks like, why it happens, what contributes to it, and what actually helps. She also makes the case for why women specifically are least likely to name it: because we are taught from the start that anger is not ours to have. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

The Trauma Doesn't Disappear When the Baby Arrives: Jennifer Steiger on Fertility and Postpartum

Jennifer Steiger is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in perinatal and postpartum mental health. In this episode, she and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp dig into the part of the fertility conversation that often gets skipped: what happens after the baby comes. The anxiety, the trauma that didn't disappear, the pressure to feel grateful at all times, and why telling someone who struggled to conceive that it all worked out misses the point entirely. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

What is a diastasis

Diastasis recti is common after a pregnancy. It is not normal and can have major consequences. Unfortunately, it is treated as if it is just cosmetic. Dr Shirin Towfigh explains what it is.

always seek a second opinion

Surgery is important. Your body is very important. Even doctors get second opinions and so should you.

A Miscarriage, a Popeyes Parking Lot, and Six Units of Blood: Bev (Part 2)

After a pregnancy loss and a new marriage, Bev's third pregnancy ended at 38 weeks in a Popeyes drive-through. Her third birth went fast and smoothly. Two days postpartum, she hemorrhaged. After six units of blood, a bag of platelets, emergency surgery for a cervical tear, and a Covid-era delay her OB refused to allow, Bev woke up in the ICU thinking about how women used to die from exactly this. Part 2 closes with Bev learning, for the first time in this conversation, that the symptoms she has been quietly managing for years are things pelvic PT can actually treat. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

From Hemorrhage to Quarantine: Bev's First Two Birth Stories (Part 1)

Bev's first birth ended in a postpartum hemorrhage she didn't know was happening, and her first postpartum period ended with a hospitalization and quarantine that forced her to stop breastfeeding after weeks of hard work. Her second birth was an accidental unmedicated delivery she wasn't planning, followed by a postpartum period complicated by a struggling marriage and a mental health journey she worked through in therapy. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Breastfeeding Shouldn't Hurt: Dr. Kellie Soltis on the Thompson Method and Getting Real Support

Breastfeeding pain is common. It is not normal, and you don't have to push through it. Dr. Kellie Soltis is a pelvic PT who found the Thompson method after a painful first breastfeeding experience with her own child, and has been helping other moms ever since. She and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp talk through the Thompson method, what pelvic PTs can actually do for breastfeeding support and mastitis prevention, how to find the right kind of provider, and why so many women are being talked out of trusting what they already know about their own bodies and babies. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Two Births, Two Completely Different Outcomes: Amanda's Story

Amanda's first birth left her with a significant tear, an infection, mastitis, and two years of assuming urinary incontinence was just her new normal. Her second birth - after pelvic floor PT, birth prep work with Dr. Mary Ellen, a doula, and acupuncture - ended with three pushes, a baby born with the membranes still intact, and a postpartum recovery that was so much easier. Learn why she now tells everyone she knows to go see a pelvic floor therapist. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Getting Back to Intimacy After Baby: A Pelvic PT's Honest Guide

Getting back to intimacy after having a baby is one of the most common things Liz Jones and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp see in their practices - and one of the least talked about. In this episode, Liz brings 20 years of treating both women and men to a candid conversation about postpartum libido, the fear and guarding that can build around returning to sex, what couples aren't saying to each other and why, and the practical tools that actually help. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

The Goddess of Hemorrhoids: Liz Jones on the Postpartum Symptom Nobody Wants to Talk About

Dr. Liz Jones, DPT is a pelvic floor physical therapist in Bismarck, North Dakota who accidentally became the region's go-to hemorrhoid specialist - and she is very okay with that. In this episode, she and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp get into everything people don't know about hemorrhoids: how common they are, the wide range of symptoms they cause that nobody connects back to them, the treatment Liz specializes in, and what people can do to prevent and manage them. If you've been told it's just tailbone pain or just IBS, this one's for you. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

What Every Postpartum Woman Should Know About Hernias, with Dr. Shirin Towfigh

Dr. Shirin Towfigh is a hernia specialist and one of very few women in her field. She joins Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp to talk about what actually happens to the abdominal wall after pregnancy -- what gets missed, what gets misread on imaging, and what patients are told to just live with that they absolutely don't have to. From diastasis to hidden hernias to mesh, this is the conversation most postpartum women never get to have with a surgeon who actually specializes in this. Resources mentioned: HerniaTalk.com and Beverly Hills Hernia Center. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Pregnancy Loss, Birth Injury, and the Long Road Back: One Pelvic PT's Personal Journey

Audra Zastrow is a pelvic floor PT who spent the better part of a decade navigating pregnancy loss, a major birth injury, prolapse, and four very different deliveries. All while working in the field she was simultaneously failing to benefit from herself. She joins Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp for a candid conversation about what it looks like to have the clinical knowledge and still not have the right information, the right team, or the right support when it matters most. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

The Issues Are in the Tissues: A Pelvic PT's Own Postpartum Story

Stacey Gayer is a holistic pelvic health physical therapist, and her own postpartum story is one she is only now putting fully into words. After an emergency C-section and a psychiatric crisis six months postpartum, Stacey spent years in recovery before eventually finding her footing and building a practice around the very work that helped heal her. She and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp dig into birth trauma, somatic healing, the long tail of postpartum recovery, and what it means to still be working through a 25-year-old birth on the treatment table. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

Postpartum Through a Therapist's Eyes

Pamela Newman is a therapist who spent her first postpartum experience deep in anxiety, envisioning worst-case scenarios, refusing help, convinced she had to manage everything alone. All without recognizing what was happening until it lifted over a year later. In this episode, she and Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp walk through three very different pregnancies and postpartum periods, the breastfeeding journey nobody warned her about, and what she wishes she had known about asking for help. A conversation with someone who had all the clinical knowledge and still had to learn these lessons firsthand. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.

50 Hours of Labor, a C-Section, and the Breastfeeding Dream That Didn't Happen

After nearly 50 hours of failed induction and a C-section, Kate Harris came into the postpartum period with two dreams: holding her baby right away and breastfeeding. Neither went as planned. In this episode, Kate shares the honest, sometimes messy reality of those first weeks -- the feeding challenges, the delayed bonding, the grief of letting go of expectations -- and what support actually looked like for her family. A refreshingly candid conversation about giving yourself grace when nothing goes according to plan. Disclaimer: The thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to those saying them. This podcast is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing in this podcast establishes a patient care relationship with you, the listener. The host(s) and guests of this show are NOT your healthcare provider and if you need medical attention, seek an appropriate and qualified professional.