Growing Pains | Where Business Owners Come to Plan Maternity Leave
You’re running a business and dreaming of growing your family, but when you search for how to take maternity leave as a self-employed mom, the answers just don’t exist.
You’ve pieced together advice from HR blogs, asked your friends, downloaded generic templates, and tried to “figure it out later.” Meanwhile, you’re left wondering: Can I really step away from my business without losing momentum...or my mind?
Here’s the truth: You can. And Growing Pains is here to show you how. Hosted by maternity leave strategist and business operations expert Alyson Caffrey, this podcast helps self-employed moms plan for maternity leave during the trying to conceive, pregnancy, and postpartum seasons—without burning out or ghosting their business.
Each week, you’ll hear honest solo episodes, expert interviews, and real-life maternity leave stories from moms who are building legacies and raising babies. No fluff. No one-size-fits-all advice. Just grounded guidance to help you navigate life and business on your terms.
Alyson has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs streamline their operations and take actual time off for maternity leave, while returning to businesses that thrive.
Ready to take maternity leave like a CEO? Follow Growing Pains and let’s build a business that supports your motherhood journey.
Growing Pains | Where Business Owners Come to Plan Maternity Leave
Healing Your Gut for a Stronger Pregnancy, Postpartum, and CEO Life with Bridgitte Mallinson, MS RDN
When I first met Bridgitte Mallinson, MS, RDN, I knew I needed to bring her voice to Growing Pains. Bridgitte is the founder and CEO of GutPersonal, a female‑founded supplement company that helps women heal gut issues with personalized testing and targeted formulas. She’s also a registered functional dietitian, a mom to Lily, and currently pregnant with baby girl number two. I invited her on because so many of us wonder how to stay nourished, energized, and mentally clear while building a business and a family. Bridgitte’s story proves we can advocate for our bodies and still scale big dreams.
In this conversation, Bridgitte shows exactly why functional medicine matters during the trying‑to‑conceive, pregnancy, and postpartum seasons. She breaks down simple, science‑backed habits that keep our guts happy (goodbye bloat, brain fog, and 3 p.m. crashes) and shares how that biological stability bleeds into calmer CEO decision‑making. You’ll also hear how her first whirlwind maternity leave pushed her to design a more intentional plan for baby #2, and why she now believes you can be a present mom and an ambitious founder at the same time.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- The two daily, non‑negotiable supplements Bridgitte prescribes for every expecting or postpartum mom
- How vitamin D functions like a hormone, the trimester‑by‑trimester testing schedule Bridgitte asks her OB for, and how it supports mood after birth.
- A quick “magnesium mocktail” ritual that replaces end‑of‑day wine culture with deeper sleep and steadier nerves.
- What a functional “poop test” actually measures and how it helped Bridgitte ditch five prescriptions within six months.
- The mindset shifts she’s using to take a more spacious second maternity leave, delegate with confidence, and keep Black Friday sales humming without her.
Links & Resources Mentioned:
GutPersonal supplements + gut quiz: www.gutpersonal.com/ALYSON
Get a 10 % listener discount on GutPersonal using code ALYSON10
Connect with Bridgitte:
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You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family.
Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap
Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com
xx Aly
www.instagram.com/alycaffrey
www.mastermaternityleave.com