34: Pelvic Floor Facts Most Women Ignore | Allison Germundson

What if peeing your pants after kids isn’t normal at all, but a sign your body’s asking for help?

In this episode, we sit down with Allison, owner of One Strong Woman Therapy and host of the Vaginally Speaking podcast. After her own traumatic birth experiences, she refused to accept that pain, leakage, and dysfunction were “the new normal.” She built a practice that specializes in pelvic floor and lactation services, and she’s on a mission to say out loud what most women have been told to whisper.

We get into the myths around kegels, why breathing is the foundation of pelvic floor health, and how trauma, birth, and even childhood bathroom habits shape our bodies today. Allison brings the kind of straight talk that cuts through shame and silence, opening up a conversation every woman deserves to hear.

You’ll Learn:

• The reason peeing your pants after kids isn’t normal and what your body is actually signaling
• What happens when high pelvic floor tone gets reinforced by doing endless Kegels
• The link between breathing mechanics and pelvic floor coordination
• The damage of childhood bathroom habits like “just in case” peeing and pushing out poop
• What it feels like when jaw tension or butt clenching translates directly into pelvic floor tension
• Why purple pushing during birth increases the risk of tearing
• How pelvic floor therapy can support fertility by calming the nervous system out of fight-or-flight
• The connection between ab separation, C-section scars, and pelvic floor dysfunction
• What an internal pelvic floor exam actually looks for and why tone, mobility, and coordination matter

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[06:15] Why kegels can make pelvic floor problems worse

[09:45] Breathing patterns and how they impact pelvic floor health

[13:12] Safer ways to approach pushing during birth

[15:32] Pelvic floor therapy and its role in fertility support

[18:44] Ab separation, C-section scars, and their connection to core weakness

[21:18] The lack of real education about women’s bodies and periods

[24:11] Orgasms, clitoral function, and the gap between men and women

[27:45] What actually happens during an internal pelvic floor exam

[36:12] Trauma, generational patterns, and how the body holds onto them

[39:02] Post-birth heaviness, prolapse, and the importance of scar work

[41:00] How Allison shifted from pediatric OT to pelvic floor therapy

You can connect with Allison on her website and hear more from her on her podcast here.

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