Strong as a Mother: Redefining Strength & Running in Pregnancy and Postpartum — with Jessica Dorrington & Shannon Rowbury
In this episode, I’m joined by Olympic bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury and physical therapist Jessica Dorrington for an honest, research-informed conversation about strength, running, and motherhood. Shannon is one of the most accomplished middle-distance athletes in U.S. history and an Emmy Award winner for her work with NBC’s 2024 Olympic coverage. Jessica is a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor health, orthopedics, athletics, and sports performance, and a runner herself who brings a deeply practical lens to pregnancy and postpartum fitness. Together, they co-authored Strong as a Mother and founded 4Two, a platform dedicated to empowering mothers with clear, accessible guidance from pregnancy through postpartum.
We Talk About:
-Writing a book that fills real gaps in pregnancy and postpartum care
-Searching for return-to-sport guidance, even as an elite athlete
-Why bite-sized, practical information matters
-Improving systems and conversations for the next generation
-How each pregnancy and postpartum experience can be different
-Learning to understand and trust your body
-Letting go of rigid ideas of “right” and “wrong” in pregnancy
Time Stamps
1:00 Introduction
5:24 Strong as a Mother book
13:50 comparison and the algorithm
19:04 busting common myths
27:40 pregnancy as a professional athlete
33:53 domino effect of progress
41:54 overcoming fear in pregnancy
46:25 filling in the gaps
52:46 getting support
56:16 favorite parts of the book
61:35 rapid fire questions
CONNECT WITH CARRIE
IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/
Website: https://carriepagliano.com
CONNECT WITH SHANNON AND JESSICA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4twomom/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessica.w.dorrington/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonrowbury/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taibethanypt/
Website: https://4twomom.com/about-us
Website: Shannonrowbury.com
Website: https://www.therapeuticassociates.com/locations/oregon/portland-metro/bethany/
The Active Mom Postpartum Podcast is A Real Moms’ Guide to Postpartum for active moms & the postpartum professionals who help them in their journey.
This show has been a long time in the making!
You can expect conversation with moms and postpartum 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!
If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)
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