Mum's The Word: Recent Episodes
WiSP Sports
Dr. Kirstin Lauritzen returns this week to discuss the nutritional needs of pregnant women. We begin with pre-pregnancy and prenatal vitamins and supplements, how will pre-pregnancy nutrition change for athletes vs non-athletes, pre pregnancy balancing gut health before you even think about conceiving, and folic acid. Pregnancy needs are divided into different trimesters nutritional needs. How to cope with morning sickness with tips for getting the right nutrition in. Weight gain or weight loss during the 2nd trimester and how cravings tell you what your body needs. Kirstin then takes us through a number of other important considerations when preparing for birth and recovering from breastfeeding and also calorific needs during, and post pregnancy. Lots of valuable information and useful tips for moms to be.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
Kimmy Fasani has been a pioneer in women’s snowboarding since she became the first female snowboarder to land a double backflip in the park and the powder in 2011. A powerhouse in the sport, her career includes incredible highs and the inevitable lows like a pelvis injury that would make most people hang up their board and retire. After becoming a mom to her son Koa in 2018, Kimmy who is expecting her second child this year, has become a trailblazer and voice for women walking that tightrope between career and family.
Podcast length: 60 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
Welcome back to season two of Mum’s the Word. Thanks for joining us again for another series of interviews with pro athlete moms, health professionals and fitness experts. This week’s guest Sarah Wassner Flynn grew up as a very athletic woman. She competed in Division 1 cross country and track and field in high school, and went on to compete in college. Her student athlete experience was not wholly positive with lots of transition in coaches, lack of guidance and programming so Sarah stepped away from competing for a while. Still wanting to achieve her athletic goals, Sarah had a burning desire to pick up sport again. Her sisters, Rebeccah and Laurel, are pro triathletes and they encouraged her to get back into sport, even going so far as to become her coach.
An All American USA Triathlete, Sarah, picked up the sport of triathlon after her third child Nelly was born and started racing when Nelly was about 15 months old. The biggest barrier was the bike section of the triathlon. Learning how to clip in to the pedals and how to navigate the bike course felt intimidating—Sarah was initially a very timid cyclist. She was passed by everyone on the bike, and then would spend the majority of the run trying to catch up with people.
The running theme with most of our guests is that in order to make training and competing work as a mom, you need structure and a good support system. Sarah’s husband provides a lot of that support, taking on the duties of chief pancake chef on the weekends. It is something her kids really look forward to and that gives Sarah peace of mind and space to work on her sport.
After baby number three she knew she wanted a fourth, but kept qualifying for future races so had to find a time to fit in trying for a baby. Sarah fell pregnant with twins but heartbreakingly after a scan, they were told that one baby did not have a heartbeat. The family then had an agonizingly long week of waiting to see if the other baby would survive, tragically it did not.
Her miscarriage threw her through a loop and for a while she was not sure whether to keep competing. Sarah shared that it was the hardest thing to ever go through, made worse by the taboo that still surrounds miscarriage. She felt as if her body failed her, and it has been winning and serving her for so long. She needed time for healing, and signed up for lots of races as a way to distract herself.
Still wanting to have another baby, Sarah was blessed with a healthy pregnancy after that and it helped her scale back training and rest some more, though still training enough to compete in two triathlons whilst pregnant!
Outside of triathlon and wrangling her four children, Sarah is an author of some National Geographic Kids books. For those experiencing miscarriage or infertility, Sarah shares these words of wisdom; “there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even though you are in the dark right now”.
41 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
For the season finale of Mum’s the Word, Sarah Newberry Moore and Pamela Relph Jones look back on what was a jam-packed season with a wonderful selection of inspirational and empowering sportswomen talking about wearing two hats; being an athlete and a mother. It was an emotional journey to get to this point, and Pam and Sarah recall some of their favorite moments from season one. An d later in the show we have a surprise in store so we hope you enjoy this final episode of 2020. If you haven't had a chance to leave a review of the podcast yet, please go ahead wherever you listen to the show as this helps others find us. We want to ensure that as many women as possible can get access to these stories of women who lead the way to being successful in parenting as they are in sport.
Run Time: 45 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
On this week’s episode our guest is Kaylin Richardson, a two-time Olympian in Alpine Skiing, four-time National Alpine Champion, and a member of the U.S. Ski Team fo ten years. Kaylin was raised in Minnesota and followed her brothers into ski racing. After she retired from professional racing in 2010 she moved to Utah to focus on free-skiing and backcountry touring when she discovered the magic of the backcountry and went on to win the Free-skiing World Tour’s North American Championship in Snowbird in 2012. After this win she accrued a few sponsors and was invited to take part in a Warren Miller film. She recently wrapped her eighth Warren Miller shoot and is looking forward to the upcoming winter.
Retiring from ski racing at the early age of 25 surprised people in the sport but Kaylin was satisfied with what she had achieved in alpine skiing and wanted to explore other options on skis. The regimented structure of training with the Olympic team was something she felt ready to move on from and the agility and speed skills she learnt during her alpine skiing career are useful for big mountain skiing.
At that time, children were not in the plans and it was interesting to hear her perspective of motherhood in her sport as a new mother. Kaylin was able to stay very active during her pregnancy and had an easy time of it — something all expectant mothers hope for. We also hear Kaylin’s birth story so stay tuned to the end for that.
And while you’re here, please leave a review of the podcast and let us know what you thought of this episode. It will help others find us.
Run Time: 54 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
Music: Destino by Paula van Hissenhoven
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
This week we are joined by pro athlete and women’s fitness expert Lisa MacDonald. Lisa’s interest in women’s health and fitness started during her own athletic upbringing in equestrian sport. She moved into the fitness industry through the painful all-in-one exercise of kettlebells. Her story of how her body image has adapted and changed through her journey is so inspiring and she is very candid on her social media about the struggles so many women face when it comes to their self image and confidence. Lisa was not sure she wanted to have children when she got pregnant for the first time, and just like other women we have interviewed who felt this way, once she had her son Jax she knew it was the best thing to ever happen to her. So much so that she had another! Lisa has risen to become a leading expert when it comes to pregnancy and postpartum fitness, especially in weightlifting. She reveals some excellent tips for women looking to continue to lift weights during pregnancy and how to build back up after childbirth.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 43 mins
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
We welcome Molly Dickens from &Mother as our guest this week. Molly is a PhD stress physiologist, maternal health advocate, co-founder of &Mother, a non-profit organization dedicated to breaking down some of the barriers that keep women from ‘having it all’. Molly co-founded this organization with Alysia Montano, who you might know as one of the leading voices working for equal representation in sport for women and for mothers. Alysia started the #dreammaternity movement and her oped in the NY Times on her experience as a pregnant athlete dealing with a crumbling sponsorship deal with shoe wear giant, Nike, glaringly exposed the rampant bias and inequality toward women in sport.
&Mother envisions a world where women have the choice to pursue both career and motherhood without penalty or barriers. They want to see a workplace where mothers are leaders and sought after as employees, where motherhood is not a secret and women can openly express their needs without retribution. A society that is healthier and more productive because it values mothers and reflects the needs of modern families.
We discuss breaking down the stereotype of “mother” and building awareness about the barriers currently faced by mothers in the workforce in all industries. The motherhood penalty is explained in some detail, &Mother is working to create safe spaces for women in sport, including lactation stations at major sporting events.
This is our #GivingTuesday episode and we are delighted to be highlighting this non-profit as one of the many option for the Mum’s the Word followers.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 66 mins
Music: Volver by Paula van Hissenhoven
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson, ‘The Comeback Queen’, join Pam and Sarah this week to share her inspirational story. Laura competed for the USA at the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympic Games, retiring at age 30 to start a family. When the world had watched the best of pro diving, Laura announced her comeback, making a bid for the 2020 (now 2021) Olympics in Tokyo. Since Beijing, Laura has expanded her family, adding four children into the Wilkinson tribe; two of whom were adopted.
Laura grew up inspired to one day go to the Olympics. She recalls watching the famous gold medal win for Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 Olympics and quickly fell in love with the sport of gymnastics. By the time she was 13, Laura realized that this sport was not going to be the one that took her to the Olympic Games and decided to find another sport. This is when she discovered diving.
A rising star in the sport within two years she had won senior nationals. Even after decades in the sport she still gets nervous jumping in the pool the regular way but somehow diving in headfirst does not rattle her. Laura’s career highlight was her epic rise to Olympic glory, winning gold in the 10 meter board at the Sydney Olympics, having broken her foot that season and getting her cast off less than three weeks prior to the Olympic trials. The mental training and visualization work was her secret weapon, as she was forced to build up the mental resiliency she would need to climb from eighth in the final to first. So that is exactly what Laura did…and it worked.
We hear about her adoption of two children, her two pregnancies, the ups and downs through her second pregnancy and how her perspective has changed now competing as an athlete with a large, young family.
The major takeaways from the interview:
- sport is 90% mental, but no one trains 90% on their mental ability;
we are not superwoman, even though we wish we were;
let your kids hold you accountable.
Laura also hosts her own podcast—The Pursuit of Gold—where she hosts variety of guests from Olympic medallists to coaches and sports journalists. If you enjoyed this episode, you will love Laura’s podcast.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 54 mins
Music: Paredes Invisibles by Paula van Hissenhoven
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
This week’s guest is one that Pam and Sarah have been looking forward to for a while. Jessica Phoenix is a top-ranked Canadian Eventer and member of the Canadian Eventing team, representing Canada at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as three World Equestrian Games and four Pan American Games.
Jess grew up riding horses, started jumping at the age of ten and has never looked back. She tells us about the time she was preparing to travel to the UK with her horses for some international competitions when she found out she was pregnant for the first time. After gathering some advise from her doctor, she felt confident that she could continue to train right through her pregnancy, and did so with ease. She was keen to share with our listeners that we should not see pregnancy as an illness and so long as you are safe and receive guidance from health professionals, not to be deterred from exercising whilst pregnant.
Even though she had initially not seen herself having children, she now knows it was the best thing to ever happen to her and believes it actually enabled her to step up her game. Jess feels that with kids you have to be so much more efficient and focussed when you are at training, a skill that she takes around the world when she competes.
Of course, in a sport like eventing there are a lot of expenses and Jess felt some concern about her continued support from sponsors. (This is a topic in and of itself which will be covered on future episodes in more detail.)
Living in Ontario, Canada and traveling to Florida to train and compete for up to four months of the year, it takes a bit of a balancing for her family to manage but with the right support system, Jess has made history competing for Canada and is training towards the Tokyo 2021 Olympic games.
A short trip into Jess’s birth story left our hosts holding back the laughter as it was definitely one of the funnier—though surely not at the time—birth stories on the show so far.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 46 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
This week’s episode is coming to you on the eve of Veteran’s Day 2020 and we are very honored to share the inspiring story of veteran-patriot-athlete-author-mother Melissa Stockwell. Melissa grew up with big dreams, she knew she wanted to serve her country from an early age and in 2002 she was commissioned into the United States Army as an officer in the Transportation Corps. In 2004, Melissa was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with the 1st Cavalry Division. It was during this deployment on a routine convoy that her vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. Melissa became the first women to lose a limb in active combat and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for her Service and Sacrifice. For Melissa, losing a leg, going through her rehab and recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center gave her a lot of perspective, and she remembers feeling lucky that she only lost one limb. This mindset was a pillar of strength for her as she went on to represent the USA, in a different uniform, at two Paralympic Games.
Inspiring us and so many on her journey, Melissa didn’t skip a beat when she and her husband decided to start a family. They had a window of time that worked for Melissa’s racing schedule and in true Army fashion, she made it happen. She has two children who have taught her that being an athlete and a mom is about progress, not perfection.
What have you done today that has been progress towards a goal? Even the smallest acts or decisions can still get you a step towards where you want to be. For more inspiration read Melissa’s new book, The Power of Choice: My Journey from Wounded Warrior to World Champion.
Melissa also co-founded Dare2Tri, an Illinois-based 501(c)3 non-for-profit organization with the mission to enhance the lives of individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments by building confidence, community, health and wellness through swimming, biking, and running.
Podcast length: 49 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
This week’s guest is a new mother, an American record holder and powerlifting national champion—Becci Holcomb is a force to be reckoned with. Shooting to the top of the field in just four years in the sport, Becci took to powerlifting very naturally. She was raised on a farm and has always been naturally strong and powerful. Her father was an Olympic wrestler. After a friend suggested she try powerlifting, she took an introductory class and was just lifting a PVC plastic pipe. The next day despite her body being sore and tired, she was hooked. Powerlifting is a sport where you might only compete three times a year, as it takes a long time to build up to a competition and to recover. Becci is the ultimate competitor, normally only hitting personal bests during a competition.
Becci and her boyfriend Jay found out she was pregnant in October 2019 and two weeks later she told her coach, knowing she was due to compete in Dubai just a month later. Following the advice from her coach and the team around her, Becci felt safe to compete so she went ahead.
Lifting weights through pregnancy is safe so long as you are able to stay within a safe range, no more than 80% of your 1rep max. Becci found she needed to take longer rests in-between sets to recover, needed extra snacks to help hold off the nausea, and critically take extra care not to aggravate old injuries. The hormone that prepares your body to hold a baby—and eventually push it out—is called relaxin and this can make you more susceptible to over-stretching.
Her birth plan was always to try to do it as natural as possible, even knowing her baby was breech throughout the whole pregnancy. Becci found an obstetrician who would supervise a vaginal delivery of a breech birth, and tried External Cephalic Version (ECV) which involves gentle manipulation of the baby in utero to change its position. Alas, it did not work. Just before her due date, Becci realized something was not right and following tests, she decided to undergo an emergency c-section. For someone who puts a lot of stress on their core muscles, this was naturally a a major concern for Becci. Fortunately all went well and she gave birth to her daughter Xoë Grace.
We asked Becci for some top tips for moms-to-be when it came to continuing their weight training during pregnancy.
Listen to your body
Be patient with yourself - everything feels different when you are pregnant and afterwards so don’t rush back.
Podcast length: 49 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
On this week’s episode the hosts of WiSP Sports Mum’s the Word meet the host of Sound Bites, Dr Kirsten Lauritzen. The result is an insightful discussion about nutrition and functional medicine as it applies to pregnancy. Kirstin practices in Oregon and helps us start to understand a little more about the role food can play in removing toxins from the body, as well as the difference in vitamin sources; pre-natal vs. dietary vitamins.
Morning sickness can make it hard to get calories in or keep them down, so Kirstin recommends eating ginger as a natural anti-nausea and really… anything. If you can find anything that you can stomach and keep down, eat it. The importance of folic acid in early pregnancy was covered as well as the history behind folic acid fortification in foods. Fermented foods, pro-biotics, pre-biotics and gut health were explained as being essential to remain in good health, pregnant or not. So get down to your local farmers market and find yourself a big pot of kimchi. There is so much great information on this topic that we only managed to get from pre-pregnancy through to around the second trimester so Kirstin will be back for another episode to help us navigate through birth, recovery and the post-partum time.
Podcast length: 34 mins
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pamela Relph Jones
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
Pam is on vacation this week so WiSP Sports President & Exec. Prod. Chris Stafford joined Sarah to host this awesome episode as we head back into the world of the Winter Olympics to discuss the game of “chess on ice,” known more commonly as Curling. It’s a game with a lot of family appeal in places around the world that have a lot of ice and snow, but it’s also a sport that is a lot harder than it looks. To discuss curling we have one of our favorite teams back on the show: Team Scheidegger of Canada. We talk “throwing rocks,” what it’s like to be on an athletic team with other moms, babies on the road, pelvic floor health, and sisterhood.
Not only are the girls of Team Scheidegger some of the best curling players in the world, but all four of the team members are mothers. This is the second of two episodes we have on Team Scheidegger and in this edition we interview the sisters of Team Scheidegger - Casey Scheidegger and Jessie Haughian.
Casey is the team “Skip”, which is the strategic leadership role on a curling team. In this role Casey spends a lot of time communicating with the other athletes on the team about what the right moves might be to get the best score.
Casey has two children. Kayden is four and Ryker almost ten months. When she is not training Casey is a PE teacher. She loves her profession and curling actually led her to it. Casey ran a junior curling program in Lethbridge, Alberta and found that she loved working with kids and planning activities for them to do.
Jessie Haughian, known as “the other Scheidegger sister”, has a B.A. in Kinesiology and for the last five years has worked with Alberta Health Services. She competed in curling until her sciatic pain got the best of her and in March 2020 welcomed her first daughter Rylee.
Sarah, Chris, Casey, and Jessie covered some incredible topics. Jessie and Casey were recently pregnant at the same time and were able to share a lot of their experiences as moms. They even bubbled up as a sports team and as a family during COVID.
If you want to know what it’s like to take grandma on the road to help out with the kids, how important it was to find a pelvic floor health specialist for Casey, and what “it takes a village” really means when you’re an athlete this is an episode.
Host: Sarah Newberry Moore
Guest co-host: Chris Stafford
Podcast length: 53 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
Sonya Looney is a world champion mountain biker, podcast host, blogger and a mom. This week’s episode is an inspiring look into the depth of knowledge and information that is out there if you are willing to do the work That is exactly what Sonya did, and she shared some interesting facts and figures.
Sonya discussed the importance of self care, pelvic floor health* calorific intake for breastfeeding moms and a lot of other crucial topics for the active mom or mom-to-be. Her first pregnancy sadly ended with a miscarriage. As an athlete she knows her body so well and she could tell prior to taking a pregnancy test. The world champ trained through her pregnancy and said she had a “built in governor” meaning that she knew she wasn’t over-doing it during her pregnancy because she couldn’t go harder, her body told her when to stop. Returning to her bike, albeit gently, one week postpartum, Sonya encourages all women to listen to their body. If it feels good, keep doing it. If you notice a decline in healing then stop. It’s that simple.
The episode also discussed the challenge of female athletes losing sponsors when they decide to start a family with the general consensus that this is a huge issue in sport. We hope you all feel empowered to share your thoughts and experiences on this topic on our social media because this is the next frontier in equality in sport.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 44 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Write to us at info@wispsports.com.
This week on the show, Pam and Sarah are joined by offshore sailor Joan Mulloy, just three weeks after giving birth to her son Xavier. She is the first Irish woman to compete in La Solitaire and, prior to getting pregnant, she was planning on competing in the 2020 Vendée Globe, which starts on November 8, but 2020 turned out very differently for her.
The Vendée Globe is a solo race around the globe and there have only been seven women in the race since its inception in 1989. This lack of representation left Joan feeling like she had limited role models in the sport, especially in an event as unique and lengthy as the Vendée Globe. Entering the race would mean months at sea, away from family, so Joan sought advice from other female offshore sailors who had paved the way. They recommend that she do what her body told her. So once Joan hit her second trimester she made the decision to scale back her on ocean training, instead opting to stay onshore. In offshore sailing races, you often have to go from zero to hero in a few short seconds, from grabbing a few minutes rest—of which you might only get 15 minutes over a few days of racing—to being up on deck making a quick maneuver. These conditions make it less than ideal for an expectant mother.
Joan’s passion for her career was clear and starting her family only strengthens her passion, knowing that she is going to be the best mum if she is happy and fulfilled in her sailing career. As with all the sportswomen we have talked to, the importance of your support network is key to success as an athlete, and for the child’s wellbeing. We are very grateful that Joan shared her birth story with us because it’s our hope that these personal accounts will help other women on this journey.
And before you go take a listen to Joan talking about the sport on the WiSP Sports The Sailing Show with Abby Ehler and friends.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 50 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
On this week’s episode we feature another expert guest to dig deep into a subject that’s important during pregnancy and beyond – core and pelvic floor health with Celeste Goodson. Celeste started her journey into health as a personal trainer, and after starting her own family quickly realized how neglected women’s core muscles and especially the pelvic floor was post-partum. When trying to get back into running Celeste spoke of feeling heavy and after a trip to the doctor, and a possible surgery on the cards, she took control of her core rehabilitation. Your core and pelvic floor have to deal with a lot of strain and stretching during pregnancy, so expecting them to bounce back with no effort is a fallacy that a lot of new mom’s realize once they start struggling.
Another fallacy is the idea that doing your “kegels” is all that you need to do to get your core back into shape after carrying a baby. Kegel muscles run from the pubic bone through to the sacrum, and controls incontinence and supports the bladder. In the words of Celeste, “they work like a hammock and need to respond like a trampoline” so after 40 weeks of carrying an ever increasing-in-weight fetus, it is no wonder that so many women have work to do on their core and pelvic floor post-partum.
The issues of a weakened core after birth can present itself in many ways including urinary incontinence (losing control of your bladder), fecal incontinence (same thing, but with your bowels) and pelvic organ prolapse (weak muscles leading to organs “dropping” onto the vagina). Other common concerns include pain with intercourse, over-active bladder and constipation. We learnt that ongoing core and pelvic floor damage might not present itself immediately post-partum and that it is never too late to start rehabilitating your core.
We also learnt that breastfeeding causes hormones to be released that can cause a little bit of laxity in the ligaments, but you can still strengthen the muscles before stopping breastfeeding. Of particular interest to Pam; working on your pelvic floor and core strength can help with childbirth of a second child. When women specifically strengthen the core muscles, it can assist in labor length. It is also a great thing to be thinking about whilst you are still pregnant.
Giving birth is a marathon, not a sprint (at least for most moms) and you’d be crazy to enter a marathon with no training. The idea of seeing labor as something you need to train for was discussed and definitely aligns with our hosts’ competitive natures. So hopefully this episode has given you some tools and things to think about when entering into pregnancy, or after having a baby.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 40 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
In this week’s episode, Sarah and Pam were joined by two members of Team Scheidigger, the 2019 7th world ranked Canadian women’s curling team. Guests Kristie Moore and Cary-Ann McTaggart make up two of the four members of the team alongside sisters Casey Scheidigger and Jessie Haughian (who will also be guests in an upcoming episode). All four women on the team are mothers and this episode is a deep dive into the team dynamics in Team Scheidigger that allows them all to commit themselves to their sport and their families.
Kristie shared her experience of going to the Olympic Games whilst pregnant—only the third women to have ever done it—and the attention she received. Cary-Anne is the newest member to become a mother, giving birth just a few months ago to her son Eddie. Cary-Anne shares her wonderful journey to motherhood, feeling supported by not only her family but also her team, and how important that all the team are on the same page when it comes to putting family first. And we also hear her birth story.
Although curling is a relatively low impact sport, there are still lots of challenges to consider when training and competing pregnant and we hear about their experiences of training through pregnancy.
Having all members of the team having kids is a huge inspiration and example to women out there that it can be done. Both Kristie and Cary-Anne freely discuss the importance of their support system in enabling them to continue competing. They also offer some top tips for active moms; for example, if you are planning to breast feed, get a good breast pump. Being able to share the feeding for your little one gives you a lot more freedom.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry-Moore & Pamela Relph-Jones
Podcast length: 50 mins.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
WOW. That is what we have to say about this week’s episode. Elana Meyers Taylor embodies Mum’s the Word and did not hesitate to get into the tough conversations about balancing motherhood and being a US team athlete. In a sport like bobsled where a lot of the training and competing focusses on explosive power, we heard about how Elana, under the coaching of her husband Nicholas Taylor (also a USA bobsled athlete) adapted her training to monitoring her heart rate and keeping her power lifts capped below maximum. Morning sickness sometimes reared its ugly head during training runs so they adapted the program to fit with what Elana was capable of that day.
This powerhouse of an athlete was instrumental with the recent rule changes for female USA Olympic athletes maternity stipend payments and insurance coverage through pregnancy and one year post pregnancy. This is a momentous step in the right direction in the fight for equality between male and female elite athletes.
Ever the competitor, Elana and Nic never went into birth expecting complications and planned for a totally natural birth to match their natural lifestyle of organic food, gluten and dairy free diet, limited medications...a self confessed “crunchy”. After 48 hrs of labor and hours in the 2nd stage (the pushing stage) the couple and medical team made a game time decision to proceed with an emergency C-section.
Having experienced her baby spending time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Elana expressed how these was some of the hardest moments of her life and the impact it’s had on her. Elana also explained the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on her competition schedule which Sarah could relate to in sailing.
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Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 45 mins
Subscribe to WiSP Sports or WiSP Sports Mum's the Word on your podcast app.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million plays and downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
This week on Mum's the Word, hosts Sarah Newberry Moore and Pam Relph Jones dive a little deeper into their own journey through sport and into future motherhood. The need for a good support system, from spouse to grandparents, to even your team mates, is a point that’s come up with previous guests, and it’s giving host Sarah a lot to think about and plan for when she hopefully embarks on her journey into motherhood.
Sarah wants to have a child and continue her sailing career; in her words: 'have it all' and is striving to ensure her support system is in place for when she and her husband start their family. Hearing advice from Pam, other guests on previous episodes, it is clear that a lot of planning needs to happen to ensure smooth sailing.
The hosts will be sharing stories that will inspire other active mothers or future mothers, a narrative that was missing for Pam when she started trying to have a baby. This show will share those stories from around the sports world.
We also start a new feature in this week’s podcast that will have listeners (especially aspiring mothers) captivated is mother’s Birth stories. Pam kicks off this series by sharing her experiences and emotions of the day when her son Harrison joined the family, under the care of a midwife at home in Virginia.
Hopefully this episode will inspire you to start planning your family support system.
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
Sarah and Pam's guest is GB Paralympic Sport legend Dame Sarah Storey. Sarah is Great Britain's most decorated female Paralympian with 14 Paralympic gold medals (and counting!). Sarah spoke about her experience competing at the top in track and road cycling whilst starting a family with her husband Barney. Training through both pregnancies and having c-sections for both births, Sarah built a team of support around her that helped her get back in the saddle, winning a world titles just months after giving birth. The women discussed breastfeeding and how Sarah made it work through training and competition by training around both her children’s schedule and picking her moments to get out on her bike so that she could still be there when her kids needed their mum. Sarah gave insightful and empowering advice for all mothers, not just the athlete ones.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry-Moore & Pam Relph
Producer: Sarah Newberry-Moore
Duration: 45 mins
For complete shows notes and more information, links and resources as well as other conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
Sarah and Pam were joined by double Olympic medalist for Team USA in Sailing JJ Fetter. JJ shared her journey through sport and into motherhood, and talked about the support she received from teammates and family that enabled her to be both a top class athlete and a mom. JJ and her family lived all over the world when she was competing and she shared stories about leaving her kids for the first time for training and competitions, and the emotional toil that took. A lot of quality advice and tips were shared for aspiring athlete moms.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry-Moore & Pam Relph
Producer: Sarah Newberry-Moore
Duration: 33 mins
For complete shows notes and more information, links and resources as well as other conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.
Welcome to the first episode of Mum’s the Word as hosts Team USA Sailor Sarah Newberry-Moore and Double Paralympic Gold Medal British Rower Pam Relph introduce themselves and their careers as pro athletes and talk about how a pandemic inspired them to start a podcast about motherhood. They explore some hot takes on questions about the “right time,” “work/life balance” and what it really means to “have it all.” Hear what they have in store for the show with a fantastic line-up of guests and a vast array of topics they will be covering. This is going to be The Podcast for aspiring mums and those coping with being an athlete and motherhood.
Duration: 21 mins
Producer: Sarah Newberry-Moore
For more information, links and resources plus conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles, blogs, videos and podcasts visit wispsports.com. WiSP Sports is the World’s First and Only Podcast Network for Women’s Sport with more than 60 hosts, 1300+ episodes across 50 shows and over 7 million downloads. WiSP Sports is on all major podcast players. Follow WiSP Sports on social media @WiSPsports. Contact us at info@wispsports.com.