There’s a lot more to a healthy pregnancy and post-pregnancy than just eating the right food and working out, according to Lindsey Mathews, the founder of BIRTHFIT.  Ashleigh catches up with Lindsey during a trip to Austin to chat with the founder (also a chiropractor and doula) about the company’s mission to cultivate awareness and enhance education throughout the parenthood transition through in person classes and coaches and workshops as well as online learning resources so moms and moms to be and their families can make informed and intuitive choices about their health and their pregnancy and their birth. They chat birth experiences, good and bad exercises for pregnant women, how to get sleep (and sex) post-partum, and above all how to feel empowered to make intuitive, informed choices during your pregnancy, birth, and life in general.  

Lindsey Mathews is a doctor of chiropractic, birth doula, NLP practitioner, and strength and conditioning coach. Lindsey started BIRTHFIT in 2011 as a blog with a deep desire to support and educate women throughout the motherhood transition. BIRTHFIT started expanding in 2014 and since then has doubled in size each year. 

Minute Breakdown: 

6 - 23 Intro to Lindsey and her travels, her experience as a doula and doctor of chiropractic, and her experiences with the first births she helped facilitate  

23 – 38  Differences between midwives and doulas and what they can do; why BIRTHFIT focuses on the total experience from conception to post-partum; the problems in a goal-oriented culture where delivery is seen as the “end goal,” with little direction afterwards  

38 – 50 How to get started with BIRTHFIT and a discussion of some of their offerings business   

50 – 56 Ways to take care of yourself so you’re more resilient during challenging times in your life, and the importance of cultivating regular experiences that bring you pleasure  

56 – 1:01 A conversation about the pressure on women around when and how to give birth; how to recognize and address post-partum depression  

1:01 – 1:09 The importance of sleep post-partum, and how to actually get it  

1:09 – 1:13 How to get back into sex post-partum 

1:13 – What you’ll be doing if you work with a BIRTHFIT coach, addressing the changes in core (diastasus recti) and hip mobility. Which exercises pregnant women should skip  

Follow Lindsey on Instagram @lindsey_k_mathews, @birthfit, and learn more About the BirthFit programs and coaching at birthfit.com  

Reach out to me on Instagram @themusclemaven to say hi and tell me what you thought of the podcast, head to ashleighvanhouten.com to sign up for my weekly health and fitness newsletter, and if you enjoyed the episode please share on social media and leave me a nice rating and review on iTunes! 

Learn more about Beekeeper’s Naturals and their raw, enzymatic honey products – including a delicious cognitive enhancing nootropic and a honey + hemp product, and how they can support your mental and physical performance: head to www.beekeepersnaturals.com/musclemaven and use the code MUSCLEMAVEN at checkout for a 15% discount!  

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Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/mmr-birthfit

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Shrugged Collective is a network of fitness, health and performance shows that help people achieve their physical and mental health goals.  Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first Barbell Shrugged podcast and have been putting out weekly free videos and podcasts ever since.

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