WOW. That is what we have to say about this week’s episode. Elana Meyers Taylor embodies Mum’s the Word and did not hesitate to get into the tough conversations about balancing motherhood and being a US team athlete. In a sport like bobsled where a lot of the training and competing focusses on explosive power, we heard about how Elana, under the coaching of her husband Nicholas Taylor (also a USA bobsled athlete) adapted her training to monitoring her heart rate and keeping her power lifts capped below maximum. Morning sickness sometimes reared its ugly head during training runs so they adapted the program to fit with what Elana was capable of that day.
This powerhouse of an athlete was instrumental with the recent rule changes for female USA Olympic athletes maternity stipend payments and insurance coverage through pregnancy and one year post pregnancy. This is a momentous step in the right direction in the fight for equality between male and female elite athletes. 
Ever the competitor, Elana and Nic never went into birth expecting complications and planned for a totally natural birth to match their natural lifestyle of organic food, gluten and dairy free diet, limited medications...a self confessed “crunchy”. After 48 hrs of labor and hours in the 2nd stage (the pushing stage) the couple and medical team made a game time decision to proceed with an emergency C-section. 
Having experienced her baby spending time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Elana expressed how these was some of the hardest moments of her life and the impact it’s had on her. Elana also explained the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on her competition schedule which Sarah could relate to in sailing. 
If you are loving the show so far please go and subscribe where you get your podcast and leave us an apple podcast review. Follow along the Mum’s the Word team and breaking news about upcoming guests on our social medic channels Instagram and Facebook @wispsportsmumtheword, and onTwitter @spmums.
Hosts: Sarah Newberry Moore & Pam Relph Jones
Podcast length: 45 mins
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