Amy VanHaren
Co-Host of The pumpspot
amy vanharen is an entrepreneur, mother, writer, speaker two-time breastfeeder, and founder of pumpspotting.
amy has built communities and led creative digital storytelling and marketing for over 17 years. she experienced deep isolation while trying to navigate working and breastfeeding and saw a better way to unite and empower all the nursing and pumping women of the world so she went on to create pumpspotting.
she’s pitched on a moving escalator on Apple’s reality show Planet of the Apps, been featured in FastCompany, and been awarded as a high-impact startup by MassChallenge.
amy never imagined that her passion to nourish her own family would lead her to nourishing others and take her 17,000 miles cross country on a 40-foot RV called the Breast Express. but now, as passionate as ever, she’s out to help one million more women reach their breastfeeding goals.
say hello, amy loves to send handwritten notes and to hear from moms.
Amy VanHaren has hosted 26 Episodes.
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Episode 27: Professional Support for Working Parents
January 21st, 2021 | Season 1 | 38 mins 56 secs
averjill rookwood, the corporate doula
Averjill Rookwood (The Corporate Doula) is a passionate doula who is trained to serve in the holistic fertility, birth and postpartum arenas. She also brings over fifteen years of employer benefits management experience to the table to assist her clients behind the scenes with the business of healthcare. Amy and Averjill talk about what both employees and employers need in terms of holistic support for working parents, and Averjill shares amazing insights, both for parents and companies who truly want to support one another through this time period. It's more important than ever as we are seeing such an exodus of women from the workforce due to COVID-19.
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Episode 26: Running and Mothering? Yes You Can!
January 6th, 2021 | Season 1 | 40 mins 36 secs
knoxville, laura norris, the mother runners, tn, whitney heins
In today's episode, Amy sat down with Whitney Heins and Laura Norris of The Mother Runners. Join them in conversation about what it's like to be both a runner and mother, how that changes during pregnancy and postpartum, and why now, more than ever, is a great time to get your shoes on and get outside. They also spoke about how motherhood makes us better runners, and running makes us better mothers, and when we really embrace the fusion of the two we're able to thrive as athletes, casual runners, and parents. Enjoy!
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Episode 25: A Different Journey with Every Baby
December 16th, 2020 | Season 1 | 39 mins 52 secs
lisa boettcher
Lisa, on our team, had to go have a baby in order to be a guest on the pumpspot, and today is that day! Lisa is in a very special season of postpartum as she is home nursing and navigating life with her sweet fourth baby. She came back to talk about how different the journeys of motherhood are with each baby and we talked about breastfeeding, her favorite products, and what postpartum mothers really need. Enjoy!
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Episode 24: Kate Torgersen Built Milk Stork By Fulfilling a Need
November 18th, 2020 | Season 1 | 35 mins 23 secs
kate torgersen, milk stork
This week on the pumpspot we were so excited to sit down with Kate Torgersen, the founder and CEO of Milk Stork and a mother of three. Kate founded Milk Stork when she was traveling and pumping for her twins, and was floored by the lack of resources, support, and understanding available for working, traveling, and pumping parents.
Amy and Kate talk about what their journeys have been like as founders of breastfeeding companies, what the state of life is like for working parents right now, and how we can all do better to drive change.
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Episode 23: Normalizing Postpartum Life with Comedian Christine Meehan-Berg
November 4th, 2020 | Season 1 | 56 mins 22 secs
christine meehan, christine meehan-berg, comedian
Welcome to the pumpspot! We are here sharing nourishing conversations about the beautiful, challenging, and wonderful ways that we feed our families. In today's episode, Amy sits down with Christine Meehan-Berg. Christine is a comedian, mother, and an early advocate for mothers in the world of comedy. She and Amy have a very open and honest conversation about the challenges of postpartum, breastfeeding, and what it's like to be navigating a very male-dominated world. Christine brought her whole self to this conversation and we hope that you will enjoy it as much as we did.
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Episode 22: Your Pelvic Floor Health
October 21st, 2020 | Season 1 | 47 mins 41 secs
nina emlen, pelvic floor health, sarah reardon
This week our very own Nina Emlen spoke with Sarah Reardon for a fascinating episode about pelvic floor health. Sarah is a pelvic floor physical therapist who has an incredible wealth of knowledge to share with us about pelvic floor health, normalizing a visit to a therapist like her, and her personal experiences as a breastfeeding, working mother of two.
Sarah has been really open and honest on social media about her experience. She's made us laugh, she's taught us so much about our personal health, and we hope that you will enjoy this conversation between Sarah and Nina.
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Episode 21: How Mothers Esquire is Changing The Conversation for Women in Law
September 30th, 2020 | Season 1 | 56 mins 20 secs
amanda fisher, jamie szal, legal, mothers esquire, pump up the bar, rbg, women in law
There are some unique challenges to navigating both parenthood and a career in the legal profession, especially when it comes to breastfeeding and taking the bar exam. For this energetic, vital conversation Amy sat down with Amanda Fisher, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California Irvine, and Jamie Szal, a tax attorney who calls Maine home, just like Amy. Both of these women are members of Mothers Esquire and they are passionate about changing the world for mothers in the field of law. They covered everything from breastfeeding, to what it was like for Amanda to take the bar exam while pregnant, to Jamie pumping in the middle of the Supreme Court, and their "Pump Up the Bar" campaign. This episode feels especially relevant right now, and if you tune in to find out the name of Jamie's pump, you'll see why.
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Episode 19: Exclusive Pumping is Breastfeeding Too
September 11th, 2020 | Season 1 | 45 mins 31 secs
amanda glenn, breastfeeding, exclusive pumping, ibclc, jasmine tillery, lactation counselor, money and momming, sarah lang
The journey to feed does not look the same for every mother, every family. For some, the journey might be made up entirely of pumping. Exclusive Pumping is a form of breastfeeding and a part of the feeding journey that many mothers experience for many reasons, and it's one that comes with a lot of challenges, a lot of commitment, and a lot of time spent with your breast pump! We've gathered three exceptional women who all have experience exclusively pumping for a special round table discussion.
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Episode 18: Celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week (and beyond) with BMBFA
August 27th, 2020 | Season 1 | 58 mins 49 secs
black breastfeeding week, black mother's breastfeeding association, bmbfa, kiddada green, malikah garner, victoria washington
To continue celebrating National Breastfeeding Month and uplift Black Breastfeeding Week, we took this opportunity to celebrate with an inspiring and enlightening roundtable discussion! Amy convened with Kiddada Green, Founding Executive Director of the Black Mother's Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) and co-founder of Black Breastfeeding Week, and Lead BMBFA Mommy Ambassador Malikah Garner and Victoria Washington, treasurer of the Black Mother's Breastfeeding Association to discuss the joys, challenges and disparities, stories, and strength within the community of Black breastfeeding mothers. These women share their passion, their moments of triumph and struggle, and the wisdom that followed. Join us as we celebrate, encourage, and commune with our breastfeeding family. The bond of nourishment truly unites us all.
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Episode 17: A Family Affair: The Role of Partners in Feeding
August 19th, 2020 | Season 1 | 55 mins 14 secs
fathers, lactation consultant, methodist university, national breastfeeding month, partners, tom johnston
To continue our celebration of National Breastfeeding Month, Amy sat down with Tom Johnston. Tom is a midwife, a lactation consultant, a father to eight breastfed children, and an assistant professor of nursing at Methodist University. Tom brings a very unique perspective both professionally and personally, not only on fatherhood but also on the microbiome, and the magic of milk. He spoke in detail about breastfeeding as a family affair, how much nourishment is much more than the physical, and why at the end of the day what matters most is love. We hope you enjoy this episode!
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Episode 16: The Best Breastfeeding Pep Talk Ever
August 12th, 2020 | Season 1 | 9 mins 47 secs
best breastfeeding pep talk ever, breastfeeding, meditation, pep talk, uplifts, words of wisdom
We know there are hard days, long nights and so many challenges to overcome within the feeding journey. We know there are many moments you need the reminder that you are strong and capable and that you can keep going. This episode is here to pour every ounce of encouragement into you, whether you're breastfeeding, chestfeeding, exclusively pumping, or anyplace in between. It's filled with uplifts and words of wisdom from the pumpspotting community to help inspire and energize you on your journey. We are in awe of you. You can do this.
Enjoy this episode with Amy and Lisa, and jump on our app or IG to share your thoughts with us after.
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Episode 15: The Circle of Nourishment: A Milk Donation Deep-dive
July 21st, 2020 | Season 1 | 41 mins 10 secs
abby malman case, baby cafe, denver colorado, milk donation, mother's milk bank
This conversation explores all the ways we give and receive the gift of breast milk. Lisa sat down with Abby Malman Case of Mothers’ Milk Bank, and Mothers’ Milk Bank Baby Café in Denver, Colorado for an inspiring and educational conversation about the life-giving world of milk donation. Abby is a mom of two, an international board-certified lactation consultant, and a vital part of our pumpspotting family. Abby shares her story with Lisa and her lifelong passion for helping mothers give and receive the gift of nourishment.