027: Protecting Your Core and Pelvic Floor During Pregnancy & Postpartum with Kim Vopni

Today I am chatting with Kim Vopni aka The Vagina Coach. Kim specializes in pelvic health and coaches women in pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause. The information we cover in this episode is so powerful and helpful to women. Whether you are having a baby, had a baby, or just going through the stages of life as a woman, your pelvic floor needs some love!

Highlights from this episode:

• What inspired Kim to get involved with pelvic health
• Kim shares her birth story from pregnancy, labour, and recovery
• Understanding the pelvic floor
• The role of the pelvic floor muscles
• Why all women should see a pelvic floor specialist
• Organ prolapse is very common
• Pelvic health should be introduced in school
• Pre-book your pelvic health exam 8 weeks postpartum
• What to expect when you see a pelvic floor specialist
• How to do core breathing/kegel
• Visualization techniques help core breathing
• Exercises during pregnancy to strengthen the core
• What types of exercise you should avoid during pregnancy
• The benefits & many uses of a birthing ball
• How to prepare the perineum for birth
• What is the Epi-No?
• The best birthing positions to prevent tearing/damage
• Explaining the side-lying position
• How the blossom breath helps during crowning
• Grunting and making noise during labour
• Watch how people give birth outside of the media
• Honour the 40 days postpartum recovery period
• Replenish the body with healing foods postpartum
• Prepare for recovery - week by week
• Belly wrapping is recommended for up to 6 weeks
• Core retraining can up to 1 year or longer after pregnancy
• Comparing vaginal delivery vs. cesarean delivery recovery
• Why a pelvic floor specialist is still recommended after c-sections

Show sponsor:

Bellies Inc. - use the promo code ULTIMATEBABY for 10% off your order of the AB System, AB Wrap or AB Tank

Related links:

Follow @marniwasserman and @ultimatehealthpodcast on Instagram for Sarelle (baby TUB) updates

Kim Vopini website (The Vagina Coach)

Follow Kim Vopni on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Kim Vopini - Prepare To Push (book)

Prepare To Push (course)

Birth Like A Boss (course)

Jen Oliver - The LoveFit Mama Way (book)

Posterior pelvic floor release for people who sit a lot, have tailbone pain and who are pregnant (YouTube)

The KR Curve

Epi-No

Ina May Gaskin - Ina May's Guide To Breastfeeding (book)

Joanne Stone MD, Keith Eddleman MD - The Pregnancy Bible (book)

Evidence Based Birth (YouTube)

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