
Pregnancy and Hypermobility: The Must-Know hEDS/HSD Pregnancy Guidelines with Dr. Sally Pezaro
Help! I'm HypermobileShow Notes
Pregnant with hEDS or HSD (or thinking about it for future)? In this episode, I’m joined by midwife and professor Dr. Sally Pezaro to talk through what hypermobile people REALLY need to know about pregnancy and birth.
We break down👇 Sally’s 3 key recommendations for anyone pregnant with hEDS/HSD how to share the guidelines with your doctor or midwife to improve your care and advocate for yourself why collaborative, person-centred maternity care matters so much for hypermobile people everything you’ve wanted to know about C-sections, vaginal birth, IVF, epidurals, tears, and more (and what we can say from research so far about how these affect people with hEDS/HSD)
This is a practical, compassionate conversation for patients, clinicians, and birth partners alike.
THANK YOU for watching, and remember: incurable does not mean untreatable! ❣️
📚 Join the waitlist for pre-order information for the April 2026 release of Help! I'm Hypermobile (and get your free PDF companion guide in the meantime): hypermobilityhq.com/book
📸 Follow me @hypermobilityhq and subscribe on Instagram, Tiktok, and Youtube
⭐️ Follow Sally on Tiktok at @SallyPezaro and Instagram at @theacademicmidwife
🎙️ Learn more about the podcast: hypermobilityhq.com/podcast
💌 For guest info, media, or resources visit my blog at hypermobilityhq.com/blog/
More from Help! I'm Hypermobile
What does it really look like to be a working model with hEDS, chronic illness, and disability?
Listening to your body is hard – ESPECIALLY when you're hypermobile and struggle to feel things in the first place.
Is it really “just” an ankle sprain? WE’RE BACK (again!) and this episode, I’m joined by physiotherapist and clinic founder Charlie Goodchild @physio.coach.london to talk about ankle sprains and hypermobility, and why these injuries are often more complex than they seem. For people who are hypermobile, (including those with hEDS or HSD) ankle sprains can be more frequent, slower to recover, and sometimes part of a bigger picture involving joint instability, proprioception challenges, and recurrent injury. We explore why standard advice does not always work for hypermobile bodies and what a more informed approach to rehab can look like. Charlie shares practical insights on ankle instability, strength training, rehab progressions, and how to stop the cycle of repeated sprains. We also discuss how to know when an ankle injury needs deeper assessment rather than being dismissed as “just a sprain.” In this episode, we cover: * Why ankle sprains are common in hypermobility • The link between hypermobility and chronic ankle instability • Why getting a boot might save you a lot of future ankle-related grief • Charlie’s personal journey navigating ankle sprains and eventually ankle surgery • When to seek further assessment or specialist support
Dealing with hEDS/HSD and co-occurring conditions, including scoliosis, is anything but easy.
What if the problem was never that you weren’t trying hard enough, but that your hypermobile body needed a different approach to strength training?