The New Playbook for Pregnancy and Performance: Shannon Rowbury and Jessica Dorrington on Strong as a Mother
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 821 Ratings
🗓️ 18 November 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Three-time Olympian Shannon Rowbury knows firsthand the strength and resilience it takes to train at the highest level, especially through pregnancy and motherhood.
Now, she’s bringing that same elite mindset to a new arena: women’s health. Alongside her co-author, Jessica Dorrington, a leading pelvic floor and orthopedic physical therapist, Rowbury has created the definitive guide for expectant and new mothers seeking to stay active, confident, and empowered in every stage of pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
Their upcoming book, Strong as a Mother: Your Complete Pregnancy-to-Postpartum Health Program, launching February 17, 2026, blends Olympic-level athletic insight with evidence-based medical expertise.
Drawing on years of research and personal experience, Rowbury and Dorrington challenge outdated advice that tells women to slow down or avoid movement. Instead, they show that pregnancy can be a time to build strength, connection, and confidence–when guided by the right science and support.
With clear, medically-grounded guidance, Strong as a Mother addresses the questions every pregnant athlete and active woman asks: “What’s actually safe? How can I keep training?” From strength training and mobility to recovery and mental health, Rowbury and Dorrington offer a comprehensive, empowering roadmap rooted in both athletic performance and women’s health.
Endorsed by Allyson Felix, Jordan Hogan, and Dr. Rachel Goldman, Strong as a Mother is already being hailed as a must-have resource for mothers and mothers-to-be. This will mark the start of a movement to redefine what strength looks like in motherhood.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We know there's two times that women exit sport. One is when they get their menstrual cycle. |
| 0:04.6 | The second is when they have a baby. And there's also a lot of research that says if women stay active during pregnancy, exercise. |
| 0:13.3 | Maybe it's not running, but exercise during pregnancy, they're twice as likely to get back to the activities they love to do. |
| 0:20.1 | Okay, they're going to hit the trails, they're going to hit the roads, |
| 0:22.6 | they're going to hit the Oval Office, whatever that running looks like to them. |
| 0:26.6 | And so if we could give them the tools to exercise and feel safe with exercise during pregnancy, |
| 0:32.6 | we know if the five people who read that book that they're likely to get back |
| 0:36.6 | doing the very same |
| 0:38.3 | sport that we all love and endure so much. And so that's really what I think success looks like to us. |
| 0:53.1 | Ladies and gentlemen, that was Shannon Rowury and Jessica Dorington, who are two amazing women leading the way in terms of the discussion around pregnancy and postpartum. |
| 1:05.5 | And they actually have an upcoming book called Strong as a Mother, Your Complete Pregnancy to Postpartum Health Program. This conversation is a comprehensive deep dive into pregnancy and postpartum and |
| 1:16.7 | running and exercise within those two things. And whether you are a 12-year-old middle |
| 1:22.7 | school boy listening or a mom eight months into pregnancy, I am very confident this conversation |
| 1:27.3 | is going to |
| 1:28.1 | provide you value. It's going to provide you tools to either help those in your life who are going |
| 1:33.3 | through these things or if you yourself are going through these things, it's going to give you |
| 1:37.1 | the tools to literally implement today to make your pregnancy smoother and your postpartum life |
| 1:42.3 | smoother. I really enjoy this conversation. |
| 2:00.2 | Shannon and Jessica have a long list of accolades. I will not read them off for the sake of time, but you can scroll down in the show notes and read a little bit about them. Really enjoy this conversation. Hope you guys do too. And if you do, share it with a friend. Give us a five-stereview and hit the follow button so you don't miss more conversations like this in the future. Appreciate you all. |
| 2:03.3 | Ladies and gentlemen, I am sat across from two badass women who know a lot more about pregnancy |
| 2:08.9 | than me and a lot more about running and postpartum and all that stuff. So I'm here to be |
| 2:13.4 | enlightened because I hope to have a pregnant wife one day. So I'm doing my research a few years |
... |
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