Mama Needs A Moment

In this episode, Sakina shared her experiences and insights on overcoming barriers to midwife reimbursement and delivering transformative care. She emphasized the importance of personalized mentorship, cultural responsiveness, and dismantling structures of oppression in maternal health care. We also discussed the challenges of accessing midwife care in the US, particularly in North Carolina, and argued for an integrated system that respects midwives and provides equal reimbursement rates to fix the US healthcare system.

Sakina O’Uhuru is a dedicated midwife with over 30 years of experience in the field of midwifery. She has an unwavering commitment to birth justice and believes in improving and enhancing the lives of women whose voices often go unheard, particularly within marginalized communities. Sakina is a published author and founder of the non -profit called “A Women’s Way” which is a community-based organization whose mission is to offer women, people, families, health information and training, aimed at improving both Infant and Maternal health within African American Communities. She offers personalized mentorship for aspiring midwives who are looking to take their skills and practice to the next level through her “A Wombman’s Way Warrior Midwife Training.”

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Barriers to midwifery care and their impact on maternal mortality.

• Midwife care costs, insurance coverage, and ideal healthcare system.

• Midwife reimbursement and legal requirements in New York and other states.

• Challenges faced by midwives, including control and politics, and the importance of empathy and humility in their work. 

• Midwifery challenges, overcoming obstacles, and cultural sensitivity.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Sakina O’Uhuru is a dedicated midwife with over 30 years of experience in the field of midwifery. She has an unwavering commitment to birth justice and believes in improving and enhancing the lives of women whose voices often go unheard, particularly within marginalized communities. Sakina is a published author and founder of the non -profit called “A Women’s Way” which is a community-based organization whose mission is to offer women, people, families, health information and training, aimed at improving both Infant and Maternal health within African American Communities. She offers personalized mentorship for aspiring midwives who are looking to take their skills and practice to the next level through her “A Wombman’s Way Warrior Midwife Training.”

In this episode with Sakina, we discuss how midwifery and specifically homebirth are promising answers towards a future where women receive culturally responsive care. Sakina shares the US states where midwifery has less stringent controls and is more universally used.

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Midwifery and birth justice with Sakina.

• Midwifery, purpose, and spirituality.

• Midwifery, home birth, and combating stigma.

• Midwifery licensure and practice in the US.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Michaela Cox uses a variety of platforms to inspire, support and guide people on their journey of life from surviving to thriving in all things. Michaela is a multi- published author and speaker on a variety of topics that she is passionate about. Michaela is a published author and TEDx speaker with her talk titled, “Thriving: Open the Door, Leave Survival Behind” for TEDxBergenCountyAcademies. She is a solo mom to two kiddos, lives in Louisiana and has a crew of fabulous friends who she travels and does life with. 

We are speaking with Michaela about her books, her story of living with a disability and journey of 38DDD and how she applies GRACE to all things. She discusses her personal journey and what to do when feeling stuck in life to find the way forward.

 Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Surviving and thriving with a speaker who has experienced disability, divorce, and death by age 38.

• Finding grace and overcoming struggles through grounding and redefining oneself.

• Teaching children resilience and perseverance through personal experiences.

• Friendships, struggles with making friends, and the importance of valuing close relationships.

• Grief, friendship, and moving forward after loss.

• Grief, loss, and finding purpose through writing.

• Resilience, self-care, and redefining life's challenges.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Several of our experts from our Provider Directory have come together in this first Roundtable discussion of 2024 to talk about the topic of Strategies for Healthy Conflict Resolution. This is part two of our conversation. Part one (Ep. 97) discussed Toxic Individuals and Setting Boundaries. In this episode we discuss specific methods of handling conflict resolution, exploring parts work and how it can help in navigating family conflict, setting boundaries around negative comments about food around children and more!

This HER Health Collective Roundtable features the following HER Provider Directory Experts:

• Melanie Yukov - Herbalist and a Health Coach focusing highly on digestive health

• Erin Baute - Behavior and Business Strategist for female small entrepreneurs, small business owners

• Sarah Szymanowski - Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor

• Natasha Harvey - Massage Therapist

Several of our experts from our Provider Directory have come together in this first Roundtable discussion of 2024 to talk about the topic of Toxic Individuals and Setting Boundaries. Our conversation in this episode discusses  identifying exactly what is meant when we say a person is toxic, signs/ characteristics we should be looking out for, how to hold space for empathy while still creating boundaries with loved ones, and more!

This HER Health Collective Roundtable features the following HER Provider Directory Experts:

• Melanie Yukov - Herbalist and a Health Coach focusing highly on digestive health

• Erin Baute - Behavior and Business Strategist for female small entrepreneurs, small business owners

• Sarah Szymanowski - Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor

• Natasha Harvey - Massage Therapist

What if moms recorded their conversations when they got together? There’s something wonderful about having casual conversations on a specific topic when out to dinner, having coffee, drinking wine or on a walk with other moms. We wanted to capture these conversations and share them with you. In this episode and once a month going forward, we will be joined by some of our HER Circle members (HER Circle is the mom community created by HER Health Collective) for special episodes called, Mom Chats.

In this Mom Chat episode, we are joined by two of our cherished HER Circle members, Rachael and Rhyan. We will be discussing the topic of adult friendships and friendships in motherhood specifically developing, nurturing and maintaining friendships.

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Adult friendships and motherhood with HER Circle members.

• Childhood and teenage friendships.

• Childhood friendships and college bonding.

• Friendship dynamics throughout life.

• Friendship shifts from childhood to adulthood.

• Adult friendships and their evolution.

• Friendship and commitment challenges.

• Friendship and support networks for moms.

• Challenges of being an older mom in a neighborhood of younger moms.

• The value of friendships among moms at different stages of motherhood.

• Vulnerability and energy levels in adult friendships.

• Coping mechanisms and fear of loss in friendships.

• Social withdrawal and unreciprocated connections.

• The value of connections and feelings of rejection.

• Gender differences in communication styles.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Ann Garcia is a mom of twins who are attending their top-choice colleges because they were able to get scholarship packages and made choices that best fit their family’s budget. 

Dr. Anne Welsh is a mother of 4 who left her career at Harvard to build a practice supporting women in growing their careers and families.  She is a licensed psychologist with a doctorate in counseling psychology, and a certified executive coach (ACC) through the International Federation of Coaching, and a Retain Certified Parental Leave Coach (R-CPLC) through the Center for Parental Leave Leadership.

She is also Peripartum Mental Health Certified (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International.

Dr. Welsh has a true passion for helping overwhelmed mothers feel less alone and enjoy their lives more. Today we are talking about the importance of discerning our changing values and the secret gifts parenting gives toward professional development.

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Work-life balance and personal values. 

• Setting boundaries and prioritizing personal wants. 

• Self-discovery and values alignment for moms. 

• Parenting as a leadership development tool.

• Work-life balance, values, and leadership development for mothers.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Dr. Anne Welsh is a mother of 4 who left her career at Harvard to build a practice supporting women in growing their careers and families.  She is a licensed psychologist with a doctorate in counseling psychology, and a certified executive coach (ACC) through the International Federation of Coaching, and a Retain Certified Parental Leave Coach (R-CPLC) through the Center for Parental Leave Leadership.

She is also Peripartum Mental Health Certified (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International.

Dr. Welsh has a true passion for helping overwhelmed mothers feel less alone and enjoy their lives more. Today we are talking about how TO drop the ball: the key to surviving as a working parent.

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• The 5 most common struggles Anne hears from working mothers in her office.

• Motherhood, identity shifts, and societal expectations.

• The biggest myths and misconceptions about “balance” that set working mothers up for failure.

• Work-life balance and support for working mothers.

• Motherhood struggles and setting realistic expectations.

• Work-life balance as a moving target.

• Navigating life's challenges and finding balance.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Managing personal finance can be an overwhelming and stressful process, especially if you have not been taught about financial wellness. Jillian is on a mission to help women heal their relationship and start using money in alignment with their vision and values. She discusses the 4 aspects of financial wellness that she feels are important in order to have a deeper understanding of what it means to have true financial wellness. She also gives tips on how couples can discuss money while being productive and friendly.

Jillian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of North Carolina with 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She is also one of the first woman-identified Financial Therapists in North Carolina, which means that she specializes in helping professional women and moms feel good about their relationship with money. She is a Mom, a recovering people-pleaser and perfectionist.

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Personal finance books and resources for diverse perspectives.

• Financial wellness aspects, including knowledge and income.

• Financial wellness aspects and their interconnectedness.

• Money management and communication in relationships.

• Suggestions on how couples can broach the topic of money.

• Examples of questions that we could try out with our partners to determine where they are at with money. 

Episode Notes and Resources:

Jillian’s website

Managing personal finance can be an overwhelming and stressful process, especially if you have not been taught about financial wellness. Jillian is on a mission to help women heal their relationship and start using money in alignment with their vision and values. She is a Mom, and a recovering people-pleaser and perfectionist.

Jillian is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of North Carolina with 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She is also one of the first woman-identified Financial Therapists in North Carolina, which means that she specializes in helping professional women and moms feel good about their relationship with money. 

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Financial therapy and its impact on mental health.

• Money mindset, parenting, and career growth.

• Money beliefs and their impact on mental health.

• Improving relationships with money and setting healthy financial examples for children. 

• Teaching kids about money management and personal finance.

• Personal finance and debt management.

• Personal finance and values.

• Money beliefs and their impact on financial decisions.

• Financial wellness and relationships with money.

Episode Notes and Resources:

Jenn Drummond is the first woman to climb the second highest summits on each of the 7 continents. She is an international speaker, author, and Host of the Seek Your Summit podcast, who’s focused on inspiring others to go beyond success to a life of significance. Jenn is a Mom of 7, successful business owner, and World Record holder. Jenn now spends her time inspiring others to create a thriving business and lasting legacy of their own. She shares her story and strategies for success through her book, BREAKPROOF: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals. 

In this episode, Jenn talks to us about overcoming setbacks in life and how it feels to hold a Guinness World Record. She also shares her thoughts on pushing past comfort zones and pursuing your dreams.

Our discussion today included:

• Overcoming setbacks in life and business with a Guinness World Record holder.

• A moment where Jenn thought “What am I doing? Why am I doing this? 

• Climbing Mount Everest and personal growth.

• How it feels to hold a Guinness World Record. 

• Comparison and prioritization of personal struggles.

• Goal setting and finding support.

• Pushing past comfort zones and pursuing dreams.

• Life lessons from climbing Mount Everest. 

Thank you to our sponsor:

Camp Gladiator: 

Jenn Drummond is a Mom of 7, successful business owner, and World Record holder. As the first woman to climb the second highest summits on each of the 7 continents, she now spends her time inspiring others to create a thriving business and lasting legacy of their own. She shares her story and strategies for success through her book, BREAKPROOF: 7 Strategies to Build Resilience and Achieve Your Life Goals.

Jenn is also an international speaker, author, and Host of the Seek Your Summit podcast, who’s focused on inspiring others to go beyond success to a life of significance. In this episode, Jenn talks to us openly on how an almost death experience changed her and the lessons she took away from the experience. She also shares a few of her strategies that she teaches in her challenges, podcast and new book.

Our discussion today included:

• Overcoming challenges and living authentically with Jen Drummond.

• Priorities, embarrassing story shared.

• Near-death experience and its impact on life perspective.

• Coping with trauma and overcoming fear after a near-fatal car accident. 

• Life lessons after a near-death experience.

• Resilience and significance in life and business. 

• Finding joy and perspective in life's challenges.

• Mindset, prioritizing family, and perspective shift.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Several of our 2023 expert panelists have come together in this Roundtable discussion to talk about the topic of Setting Boundaries. Our conversation in this episode discusses the qualities needed to begin setting boundaries, how the experts help people begin learning about boundaries, hurdles and challenges a person should be prepared to overcome and examples from our experts of how they have personally set an effective boundary in their own lives.

Our final HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

Several of our 2023 expert panelists have come together in this Roundtable discussion to talk about the topic of Setting Boundaries. Our conversation in this episode discusses what boundaries are, how to know when they have been breached and how to set effective boundaries. We are striving to give you everything you need to know about boundaries from different professional backgrounds. We also glean insights from our experts’ personal experiences as well. 

Our fourth and final HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

Dr. Robin Buckley feels there is a relationship between mental health in the workplace and women’s empowerment. In this episode, she discusses how organizations that support mental wellness tend to be more open to letting women have a voice. She talks about becoming a priority.

As an author, professional speaker and cognitive behavioral coach, she works to help high achieving individuals thrive in their careers and relationships. She loves teaching strategies to women that they can apply to their lives, whether it's personally or professionally to take hold of their lives and develop their voices no matter how old they are. 

She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and served as a doctoral professor and dissertation chair for students in business leadership, education and healthcare. She has published two books, and is a columnist for several well known publications. Her proprietary coaching model uses a business framework and cognitive behavioral strategies to support clients in creating and executing concrete strategic plans for developing their careers and relationships.

Our discussion includes:

• Relationships, marriage, and personal growth 

• Women's empowerment and mental health in the workplace. 

• Prioritizing self-care for moms.

• Empowering women and achieving work-life harmony. 

• Motherhood, grief, and female pleasure.

• Raising girls for sexual pleasure and protection. 

• Building trust and open communication between parents and children. 

• Parenting strategies and communication with children. 

Thank you to our sponsor:

It seems that humans tend to make plans for everything else in their lives, except when it comes to their relationships. They just wing it. Dr. Robin Buckley recognized this pattern and created programming to help high achieving individuals thrive in their careers and relationships.

Dr. Buckley is an author, professional speaker, and cognitive behavioral coach who works with executive women and high performance couples. She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and served as a doctoral professor and dissertation chair for students in business leadership, education and healthcare. She has published two books, and is a columnist for several well known publications. Her proprietary coaching model uses a business framework and cognitive behavioral strategies to support clients in creating and executing concrete strategic plans for developing their careers and relationships.

Our discussion includes:

• Parenting, Dr. Buckley’s TED talk, and personal growth.

• Sexual wellness, college choices, and gap years. 

• Using business strategies in relationships. 

• Using cognitive behavioral strategies in couples coaching. 

• Writing books for adolescent girls and career advice. 

• Relationship planning and cognitive behavioral tools. 

Thank you to our sponsor:

Camp Gladiator: 

As we continue to evolve further into a digital age of smartphones, social media, apps, and artificial intelligence, parents grow more and more unsure of how to guide their children. As parents, we are treading in uncharted waters of the effects a child’s digital blueprint can have on their lives as well as the long term effects of the extended use of digital technology.

Julie Fisher is an educational consultant and coach who focuses on helping parents navigate the complicated task of balancing the digital world with the real one. She is a former teacher and has a background as an Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, BBFA (Building Better Families for Action) where she created specialized curriculum and led educational programs for both parents and students that gave them answers to real-life questions about tech and social media use.

She is an author, keynote speaker and a digital coach with private clients, and also works with businesses. Julie helps parents cope with the chaos that comes from parenting digital kids by offering realistic solutions to help manage family tech use, keep kids safe online, and ensure that kids’ past posts don't hurt their future. 

Our discussion today included:

• Benefits and drawbacks of social media and smartphones for youth. 

• Benefits of social media for kids' mental health and safety.

• Managing technology use in households with children. 

• Parental control and education for children's online safety. 

• Sextortion, cyberbullying, and online safety for children.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Regardless of whether it’s physical, mental, or possessional, clutter takes up space. The space it takes up in our minds and calendars could be put to more productive, creative, and fun use. According to Connie Ellefson, author of "Clear the Space Feel the Rush," you can start anywhere on your decluttering journey and there is a rush of energy we get from decluttering and organizing a space. This energy is the same rush we get from exercising or releasing emotional burdens.

Connie Ellefson is an engineer, author and professional organizer who is helping people release the incredible amount of creativity and energy tied up in unnecessary clutter. In this episode, we continue talking to Connie about her new book, "Clear the Space Feel the Rush." 

Our discussion includes:

• Clutter's impact on mental and physical well-being. 

• Clutter, memory, and brain function.

• Decluttering, tidying up, and the emotional benefits.

• Emotional release and endorphins for better health. 

• Decluttering and mental well-being. 

• Decluttering with humor and real-life stories. 

Thank you to our sponsor:

Clutter has different effects depending on the type of person you are. According to Connie Ellefson, you can start anywhere on your decluttering journey and there is a rush of energy we get from decluttering and organizing a space. This energy is the same rush we get from exercising or releasing emotional burdens.

Connie Ellefson is an engineer, author and professional organizer working in the Denver metro area, helping people release the incredible amount of creativity and energy tied up in unnecessary clutter. Whether physical, mental, or possessional, clutter takes up space in our psyches and calendars that could be put to more productive, creative, and fun use. She joins us to discuss her new book, "Clear the Space Feel the Rush." 

Our discussion today included:

• Explaining the process of ‘upcycling’ all areas of life, reevaluating your choices, finding greater appreciation for all you have, and rediscovering the joy and enthusiasm within.

• Decluttering and organizing with a focus on mental and emotional aspects. 

• Aging, decluttering, and self-improvement. 

• Decluttering mental and physical bodies for better health and longevity.

• Decluttering, mental clutter, and self-care for moms.

• Creativity, motherhood, and simplicity.

• Simplifying life as parents with cluttered homes and children.

• Instilling this perspective into our children when everything around them sends the message that more is better and they need “things” to be happy   

Thank you to our sponsor:

Camp Gladiator: 

We are joined by several of our 2023 expert panelists to discuss the important and all-too-common topic of infertility. As challenges with infertility become ever more pervasive it becomes even more crucial that we continue to have honest and open conversations with experts, across a variety of industries to discover the best ways we can help couples on their fertility journey.  It is also essential that we continue to share our personal stories as it is only through this act of bravery that we will be able to dissolve the stigma, shame, and sense of loneliness that often accompanies challenges with infertility. 

Today in part two of this conversation, we explore the prevalence of male fertility, the trauma of the fertility journey, the effects of infertility on marriages, its impacts on the body and body image, and how to support loved ones contending with infertility.

If you missed part one of this conversation be sure to check out last week’s episode. We explored issues of fertility planning, the benefits of cycle syncing, issues with Hashimoto’s, Endometriosis, and PCOS, the pervasiveness of diet culture and its impact on women’s health and fertility, and so much more.

This Roundtable from fall 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

• Emily Chaffee - Birth Doula, Fertility Doula, Massage Therapist, Childbirth Educator, Co-Owner of Carolina Birth & Wellness 

• Christy Maloney - registered dietitian and owner of Enhanced Nutrition Associates

• Kyrsten Spurrier - Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist and owner of the Perinatal Pelvis 

• Dr. Hillary Mandzik -licensed clinical psychologist and I specialize in parenting and perinatal mental health 

• Katherine Andrew - registered dietitian specializing in hormone and digestive health

We are joined by several of our 2023 expert panelists to discuss the important and all too common topic of infertility. As challenges with infertility become ever more pervasive it becomes even more crucial that we continue to have honest and open conversations with experts, across a variety of industries to discover the best ways we can help couples on their fertility journey.  It is also essential that we continue to share our personal stories as it is only through this act of bravery that we will be able to dissolve the stigma, shame, and sense of loneliness that often accompanies challenges with infertility.

Today in part one of this conversation, we explore issues of fertility planning, the benefits of cycle syncing, issues with Hashimoto’s, Endometriosis, and PCOS, the pervasiveness of diet culture and it’s impact on women’s health and fertility, and so much more.

This Roundtable from fall 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

• Emily Chaffee - Birth Doula, Fertility Doula, Massage Therapist, Childbirth Educator, Co-Owner of Carolina Birth & Wellness 

• Christy Maloney - registered dietitian and owner of Enhanced Nutrition Associates

• Kyrsten Spurrier - Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist and owner of the Perinatal Pelvis 

• Dr. Hillary Mandzik -licensed clinical psychologist and I specialize in parenting and perinatal mental health 

• Katherine Andrew - registered dietitian specializing in hormone and digestive health

We are living in a digital age of smartphones, social media, apps, and artificial intelligence. This is all new to most parents and we are treading in uncharted waters of the effects a child’s digital blueprint can have on their lives.

Julie Fisher is an educational consultant and coach who focuses on helping parents navigate the complicated task of balancing the digital world with the real one. She is a former teacher and has a background as an Executive Director of the nonprofit organization, BBFA (Building Better Families for Action) where she created specialized curriculum and led educational programs for both parents and students that gave them answers to real-life questions about tech and social media use.

She is an author, keynote speaker and a digital coach with private clients and also works with businesses. Julie helps parents cope with the chaos that comes from parenting digital kids by offering realistic solutions to help manage family tech use, keep kids safe online, and ensure that kids’ past posts don't hurt their future. 

Our discussion today included:

• Ways that the digital boom may be correlated to changes in our youth

• Social media, digital footprints, and online safety. 

• Tech's impact on youth resilience and coping skills. 

• Digital boom's impact on self-reliance, confidence, and communication skills. 

• Online safety for children and the impact of technology on their brains. 

• Determining appropriate age for kids to have phones. 

• Parental sharing of children's personal information online.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Camp Gladiator

Special 15th Anniversary September offer! 15 days of free workouts and up to 15% of membership: 

Your body is your life’s partner, not your life’s project. 

What if you could focus on nourishing yourself for vitality and worry less about your body’s size and shape? What if you could step over the threshold of midlife and see elder hood as a time to emerge as your truest self? What if you could approach midlife and beyond as a time to break free from old beliefs about your body? Few things will bring more empowerment and ease into your life than learning to trust yourself and your body.

Debra Benfield, or Deb as we know her, has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist specializing in preventing and treating disordered eating. She brings her research, training, passion, clinical and lived experience to the intersection of pro-aging and body liberation.

Deb’s work is rooted in helping her clients: shifting their body relationship from their life’s project to their life’s partner, recognizing internalized ageism and ending it, Untangling from diet/wellness culture, nourishing their bodies in midlife and beyond to support growing older in alignment with their values, and seeing midlife and beyond as a time of Emergence

Last week, in part one of our conversation with Deb Benfield we explored diet culture and the hold it has over our society and how we can learn to look out for it and fight it for ourselves and our loved ones. We also discussed the power of midlife to emerge as our truest most authentic self. 

This week, in part two of our conversation we are exploring Deb’s recipe for aging with vitality and body liberation and exploring the power our “body stories” have over us and how the body shame memories from our youth can directly impact embodiment as an adult. 

This is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

Our discussion today included:

• Deb’s recipe for aging with vitality and body liberation

• Recognizing internalized beliefs about “shoulds”

• Self care and the power of internal dialogue w/ your inner child

• Shifting into caring instead of controlling

• Aligning your choices with your values

• Exploring our body story and body shame memories

• Intuitive movement and the necessity of rest

• Vitality as we age

• Embracing the inevitability of death

• Listening to your body to determine what is healthy

• Understanding how our body receives data 

Thank you to our sponsor:

HER Patreon

Resources Mentioned in Episode:

Your body is your life’s partner, not your life’s project. 

What if you could focus on nourishing yourself for vitality and worry less about your body’s size and shape? What if you could step over the threshold of midlife and see elder hood as a time to emerge as your truest self? What if you could approach midlife and beyond as a time to break free from old beliefs about your body? Few things will bring more empowerment and ease into your life than learning to trust yourself and your body.

Debra Benfield, or Deb as we know her, has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist specializing in preventing and treating disordered eating. She brings her research, training, passion, clinical and lived experience to the intersection of pro-aging and body liberation.

Deb’s work is rooted in helping her clients: shifting their body relationship from their life’s project to their life’s partner, recognizing internalized ageism and ending it, Untangling from diet/wellness culture, nourishing their bodies in midlife and beyond to support growing older in alignment with their values, and seeing midlife and beyond as a time of Emergence

Today, in part one of our conversation with Deb Benfield we explore diet culture and the hold it has over our society and how we can learn to look out for it and fight it for ourselves and our loved ones. We also discuss the power of midlife to emerge as our truest most authentic self. This is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

Our discussion today included:

• The importance of stepping outside of yourself as a single mother and facing fears 

• Deb’s efforts to change what diet culture focuses on

• The power of midlife to emerge as our truest self

• Lessons offered in puberty and menopause

• How your relationship with your body allows you to reconnect with your authentic self

• Menopause as a time of Emergence

• The power of creating practices in your life

• The five times a day to practice embodiment

• Diet culture and how disordered eating is promoted in the name of health

• Looking at the intergenerational effects of diet culture

• Red flags to watch for in your life and loved ones

• Misperceptions of what disordered eating looks like

Thank you to our sponsor:

HER Patreon

Resources Mentioned in Episode:

Sharon Shelton offers a calm and peaceful energy to the world around her. As a Certified Professional Coach and a Certified Mindfulness Teacher, Sharon holds her clients accountable with a casual, engaged and encouraging approach. She helps her clients close the gap between where they are and where they want to be in their life.

Prior to the life she currently lives, Sharon overcame alcoholism and has maintained her sobriety for over 25 years. She went on to rebuild her career to become VP of a global software company, created a loving and supportive community with over 3800 members, married the love of her life, and started her own heart-centered business.

When working with clients, Sharon incorporates her extensive experience, knowledge and practices into a unique, proven, science-backed, step-by-step model for living fully, focused on Intention + Alignment + Mindfulness. She speaks with us on the topic of spirituality. Sharon explains the difference between spirituality and religion, the connection between spirituality and mindfulness and offers suggestions on how to build a more spiritual life.

In this episode we discuss:

• Spirituality and spiritual growth. 

• Spirituality vs. Religion. 

• How to build a spiritual life. 

• The connection between spirituality and mindfulness.

• Identifying with the waves instead of the ocean. 

• Midlife as a phase of life in which many question the identity they’ve cultivated for decades.

• Finding clarity where you are and where you want to be

Thank you to our sponsor:

With a casual, engaged, and encouraging approach, Sharon Shelton holds clients accountable to leaning into the life that they want to call forward. She helps her clients close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Sharon is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) | Certified Mindfulness Teacher (CMT-P) with a fascinating story of how she transformed her life over the past 25 years. She overcame alcoholism, has maintained her sobriety for over 25 years, rebuilt her career to become VP of a global software company, created a loving and supportive community with over 3800 members, married the love of her life, and started her own heart-centered business.  

Sharon incorporates her extensive experience, knowledge and practices into a unique, proven, science-backed, step-by-step model for living fully, focused on Intention + Alignment + Mindfulness. You will hear Sharon discuss how she overcame the challenges she faced at an earlier time in her life to build the life she lives today, and how she became clear about what kind of life she wanted to create.

You’re going to be absorbed into her calming presence and peaceful energy.

In this episode we discuss:

• Sharon shares how she overcame the challenges she faced and built the beautiful and empowered life she leads today.

• Discovering what's underneath all the distraction.

• Getting clear on the kind of life you want. 

• How to deal with challenges and obstacles.

• Practice noticing the stories that cause suffering.

• Life changing books Sharon recommends.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Every year, about 1 in 5 expecting and new parents experience symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. While most new mothers suffer from mood swings within the first few weeks, some pregnant and postpartum parents have intense feelings of sadness, worry, anger, numbness, or self-doubt that persist for months. Unfortunately, services are seriously lacking for parents in the United States, particularly when it comes to postpartum mental health. 

Anchor Perinatal Wellness provides unique and specialized mental health programming for pregnant and postpartum people, including a free, walk-in screening clinic, outpatient services and an intensive outpatient program to pregnant and postpartum adults who are struggling with a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD). 

Anchor was founded by three Latina women who recognized that they shared a passion for expanding mental health services for perinatal people and they opened their program in May of 2022. Today we are joined by two of the founders of Anchor Perinatal, Roxanne Rosenberg, a licensed mental health counselor and Veronica Kemeny, a licensed clinical social worker. 

Last week, in part one of our conversation with the Anchor team we dove into a discussion of PMADs, lessons we can learn from other countries, and how PMAD’s are showing up differently in minority populations. Today in part 2 of our conversation, we dive into what intensive outpatient services look like for those suffering from PMADs, and explore reproductive justice and the role it is playing in Anchor Perinatal’s work.

Our discussion today included:

• An exploration of intensive outpatient programs, how it’s different, why it’s rare in the US

• What a day in the life of an Intensive Outpatient Program looks like

• Reproductive Justice defined

• The first National Maternal Mental Health Task Force and Anchor’s role in it

• Impact on LGBTQ+ communities of recent legislation

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Every year, about 1 in 5 expecting and new parents experience symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. While most new mothers suffer from mood swings within the first few weeks, some pregnant and postpartum parents have intense feelings of sadness, worry, anger, numbness, or self-doubt that persist for months. Unfortunately, services are seriously lacking for parents in the United States, particularly when it comes to postpartum mental health. 

Anchor Perinatal Wellness provides unique and specialized mental health programming for pregnant and postpartum people, including a free, walk-in screening clinic, outpatient services and an intensive outpatient program to pregnant and postpartum adults who are struggling with a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD). 

Anchor was founded by three Latina women who recognized that they shared a passion for expanding mental health services for perinatal people and they opened their program in May of 2022. Today we are joined by two of the founders of Anchor Perinatal, Roxanne Rosenberg, a licensed mental health counselor and Veronica Kemeny, a licensed clinical social worker. 

Today, in part one of our conversation with the Anchor team we dive into a discussion of PMADs, lessons we can learn from other countries, and how PMAD’s are showing up differently in minority populations.

Our discussion today included:

• The struggle of prenatal depression, which is not as widely known

• What is PMAD’s and why is it so pervasive in our society

• Systemic issues in our country that are stacked against parents

• An exploration of systems and approaches found in other countries

• How PMAD’s show up in minority communities and the dangers this poses

• The often unexplored fourth “F” in Fight, Flight, or Freeze

• Things you can do to make a difference in support for parents struggling through PMAD’s

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We can all agree, life is not an easy ride. During the journey, we have dreams and desires however many times we get scared and stuck during the process of attempting to fulfill our intrinsic goals. Coaches help you get there faster by helping you rediscover your power and all of the things you are already capable of. Coaches will not let you resist your greatness.

Kristin Baker is an executive and leadership coach who specializes in coaching professional women to lead fun, purpose-driven lives while navigating the demands of parenthood. She says, “50% of what I know about leadership comes from the business world, and the other 50% comes from my experience as a mother.”

Kristin’s professional experiences have helped her develop a deep understanding of team dynamics, performance management, operations, and the development of a thriving workplace culture. Her experience as a mother continues to teach her about forming relationships that can withstand any misunderstanding or disagreement.

We continue chatting with Kristin Baker and she talks about elevating feminine leadership, integrating who we are across all the areas of our life, finding ease and trust in both work and at home. She talks about the change in thinking that needs to happen for moms who are ready to reclaim their identity, focus on their own well-being, and create boundaries that help source more purpose and fulfillment in their careers and relationships.

Our discussion today included:

• Powerful questions to ask yourself.

• Elevating feminine leadership is not just about uplifting women.

• Integration starts with being ourselves.

• Trusting that all of you is acceptable.

• How to know if you’re showing up authentically.

• How to build your authentic self.

• Being intrinsically motivated vs. extrinsic motivated.

• What if you don’t have the money to hire a coach?

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

We are all working on something and many times we get scared and stuck during the process. Coaches help you get there faster by helping you rediscover your power and all of the things you are already capable of. Coaches will not let you resist your greatness.

Kristin Baker is an executive and leadership coach who specializes in coaching professional women to lead fun, purpose-driven lives while navigating the demands of parenthood. She says, “50% of what I know about leadership comes from the business world, and the other 50% comes from my experience as a mother.”

Kristin’s professional experiences have helped her develop a deep understanding of team dynamics, performance management, operations, and the development of a thriving workplace culture. Her experience as a mother continues to teach her about forming relationships that can withstand any misunderstanding or disagreement. This is the sign of effective leadership, where leaders build trusting relationships that generate results.

In this episode, Kristin talks more about what executive leadership coaches do, and who should be seeking out the services of a coach. She talks about the number one struggle she sees in the women who work with her. Kristin also discusses the importance of asking powerful questions and what it means to have an energetic shift.

Our discussion today included:

• What an Executive Leadership Coach does and who should be seeking services.

• What she does to help clients get clarity.

• Things a woman should consider when transitioning from different careers or re-entering the workforce after time away.

• The difference between therapy and coaching.

• The number one struggle women face when going back to work.

• The perfect example of the importance of taking care of ourselves.

• What it means to make energetic shifts.

• The powerful questions Kristin asked herself and the questions listeners should begin asking themselves right now.

Thank you to our sponsor:

HER Circle: https://www.herhealthcollective.com/membership

Episode References:

Shelly Young is one of the most approachable finance experts you will ever speak to. She is a certified Financial and Personal Development Coach, a homeschool mom of 4 and serial business owner, author, speaker, and co-owner of several restaurants with her husband in Columbia SC.

As a homeschool mom,  Shelly went searching for financial resources for kids and couldn’t find many. So she created her own. Kid$ Finance Camp provides books, apps, resources for kids and teens to learn how to win with money! Shelly is the author of “How to Start Investing as a Kid or Teen”, and many other  finance books for kids which you can find on Amazon or her website! Her new 6 book series on investing for younger kids will launch August 1st!  

Shelly believes that winning with money is a process that takes time, commitment, consistency, positive mindset around money, discipline, and education.  One of the biggest challenges when educating students is a lack of financial knowledge. Kids Finance Camp believes that once kids have the proper financial foundation, they will be in a position to start building wealth from an early age!  

Last week we discussed the importance of mindset when it comes to money, why personal finances aren’t well taught in our school system, and what strategies you can start implementing today to teach your kids how to budget, save, invest and develop their financial literacy.

This week, in part two of our conversation, we are exploring how to knock out debt and find a financial system that works for you, the financial myths you need to debunk for your children, and how your feelings around money can influence your kids.

Our discussion today included:

• Leaning into less to handle debt

• How parents’ feelings on money can influence kids

• Myths we need to debunk for our children

• The power of Give, Save, Invest

• How Shelly personally got out of $65,000 of debt

• The importance of an accountability partner and getting clear on your why

• Finding a financial system that works for you

• The power of time

• How to bring your kids on your financial journey with you

• How to analyze your budget to make necessary changes

Thank you to our sponsor:

Shelly Young is one of the most approachable finance experts you will ever speak to. She is a certified Financial and Personal Development Coach, a homeschool mom of 4 and serial business owner, author, speaker, and co-owner of several restaurants with her husband in Columbia SC.

As a homeschool mom,  Shelly went searching for financial resources for kids and couldn’t find many. So she created her own. Kid$ Finance Camp provides books, apps, resources for kids and teens to learn how to win with money! Shelly is the author of “How to Start Investing as a Kid or Teen”, and many other  finance books for kids which you can find on Amazon or her website! Her new 6 book series on investing for younger kids will launch August 1st!  

Shelly believes that winning with money is a process that takes time, commitment, consistency, positive mindset around money, discipline, and education.  One of the biggest challenges when educating students is a lack of financial knowledge. Kids Finance Camp believes that once kids have the proper financial foundation, they will be in a position to start building wealth from an early age!  

Today, in part one of our conversation with Shelly, we dive into the importance of mindset when it comes to money, why personal finances aren’t well taught in our school system, and what strategies you can start implementing today to teach your kids how to budget, save, invest and develop their financial literacy.

Our discussion today included:

• The importance of mindset - in money and life.

• Why personal finances aren’t well taught in our public schools.

• The need to have conversations with kids about money starting at a young age.

• Issues that will arise from the lack of retirement savings of baby boomers.

• Strategies to teach finances to our children, at any age.

• The power of chores and teaching kids about budgeting, saving, and investing.

• Shelly’s top finance tools to use with kids.

• The different lessons we need to teach based on whether our children are “savers” or “spenders”

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Raising children requires the help and support of family, friends, professionals and programs that assist parents with guiding children through the increasingly complex world.

As parents, we quickly understand that raising children can not be done in isolation. We need the help and support of family, friends, professionals and programs that assist parents with guiding children through the increasingly complex world.

Survey results show that there is a gap between how mothers care for their family, and how they care for themselves. Understanding how to best care for our own health and improving our health literacy is essential to living a long and healthy life and to model healthy behaviors for our children.

Bonnie Hui-Callahan is a pharmacist and mother of 4. Her pharmacist experience ranges from retail pharmacy, managed care, pharmacy education, and health tech where she currently works. In 2021, she co-founded The Clinician-Leader, a digital course and coaching business aimed at empowering clinicians to tap into their leadership potential.

Outside of her 9-5, Bonnie coaches pharmacists in resume writing, networking, interviewing, and negotiating. She resides in Orange County, CA, with her husband of 13

years, her 3 sons and 1 daughter, ages 3-9.

In part 1 of our conversation with Bonnie we explored ways to make healthy habits stick and had an important discussion on why Hepatitis B is something you may want to ask about at your next doctor’s visit. Today, in part 2 of our conversation we are covering the survey results that show a drastic gap in care for mothers, how parents can make sure they are caught up on their health, Bonnie’s insider tips for keeping up with all things healthcare related, and understanding what health literacy is and how we can use it to keep our family healthy.

Our discussion today included:

• The survey results that show a drastic gap in care for moms

• How parents can make sure they’re caught up on their health

• Several ways you can use technology to make health care easier for you and your family

• What is health literacy and why it’s important to understand how to use it

• Bonnie’s tips for self-care for busy moms

Thank you to our sponsor:

Navigating the healthcare system can feel overwhelming. Where to turn and who to trust are common questions that come up for parents.

Bonnie Hui-Callahan is a pharmacist and mother of 4. Her pharmacist experience ranges from retail pharmacy, managed care, pharmacy education, and health tech where she currently works. In 2021, she co-founded The Clinician-Leader, a digital course and coaching business aimed at empowering clinicians to tap into their leadership potential.

Outside of her 9-5, Bonnie coaches pharmacists in resume writing, networking, interviewing, and negotiating. She resides in Orange County, CA, with her husband of 13

years, her 3 sons and 1 daughter, ages 3-9.

In part 1 of our conversation with Bonnie we explore ways to make healthy habits stick, top tips for protecting our kids’ health, exploring the CDC’s vaccination schedule, and we discuss why Hepatitis B is something you may be hearing about at the doctor’s office and what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

Our discussion today included:

• The struggle of morning-time and car seat battles 

• Bonnie’s top tips for protecting our kids’ health

• Ways to make healthy habits stick

• How to find trustworthy resources when it comes to health advice and medical information

• Exploring the CDC updated Vaccination schedule

• Why Hepatitis B is something you will be hearing about at the doctor’s office and what you can do to protect yourself

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Several of our 2023 expert panelists have come together in this Roundtable discussion to talk about the topic of Keeping Marriage Intimate and Strong when Current Statistics are Stacked Against You. This is a continuation of our discussion with the HER Expert Panelists from part 1, episode 63 titled, Contributing Factors to Relationship Struggles and Practices for Maintaining a Strong Union.

Several of our 2023 expert panelists have come together in this Roundtable discussion to talk about the topic of Keeping Marriage Intimate and Strong when Current Statistics are Stacked Against You. Our conversation in this episode is centered around the contributing factors leading to relationship struggles. We then move into a discussion about how the institution of marriage and its meaning has shifted over the years. The experts conclude this episode by sharing their top three daily practices for maintaining a strong union with their partner.

Our second HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

• Erin Baute -  Behavior and business strategist with background in human development, behavior change and organizational psychology

• Jessika Shields - Founder and CEO of Stronger Mind Stronger Youth, licensed educational psychologist and school psychologist. 

• Maris Feeley - Full-Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Co-Owner and Director of Carolina Birth & Wellness 

• Kyrsten Spurrier - Owner of the Perinatal Pelvis in Hillsborough, North Carolina, providing pelvic floor therapy and maternal wellness

• Katherine Andrew - Registered dietitian out of Raleigh, NC, seeing clients all over the country, focusing in digestion and hormone health

• Veronica Kemeny - Licensed clinical social worker and one of the founders of Anchor Perinatal Wellness, based in Raleigh, NC

SEX! It can be such a tricky topic. Whether you’re trying to teach your child what sex is or you’re having an altogether different type of conversation with your partner about what your needs in the bedroom are - these are important conversations that should happen regularly and require curiosity and honesty. 

Adrienne Alden is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has worked for years with couples in relational distress. Her hope for therapy is to help clients see their part in troublesome relational patterns and to discover a new way of engaging.  She uses a collective approach with clients, combining attachment and psychodynamic theory and mindfulness.

Adrienne is experienced in working with communication struggles, high conflict couples, mismatched libidos, pelvic and genital pain disorders, premature ejaculation, delayed or difficulty with orgasm, erectile dysfunction, trauma recovery, life transitions, affair recovery, eating disorders, parenting adolescence, family of origin exploration, religious and spiritual exploration, gender role exploration, cultural influence, sexual orientation questioning.

In part 1 of our conversation with Adrienne we explored some of the common issues found in long-term partnerships and touched on various communication strategies couples can implement to strengthen their relationship. Today we dive into those dreaded sex talks - both with our children, and with our partner. They are two very different types of conversation, but both equally important. Today’s episode is packed with great information that you won’t want to miss.

Our discussion today included:

• Making our talks with children about sex a normal part of the conversation and not taboo

• The importance of using anatomically correct language with our kids from the beginning

• How to follow your child’s lead in difficult conversations

• Adrienne’s favorite resources for having positive talks about sex with our children

• Being curious about mismatched libidos in a relationship

• Difference between spontaneous desire and contextual desire

• Top questions to explore with your partner for mismatched libidos and overall sexual health

• How to reintroduce intimacy in a relationship if it’s been a while

In this Episode:

Maintaining a respectful and harmonious long-term relationship takes a lot of work. Communication struggles are typically the number one challenge those in a long-term partnership will face.  

Adrienne Alden is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has worked for years with couples in relational distress. Her hope for therapy is to help clients see their part in troublesome relational patterns and to discover a new way of engaging.  She uses a collective approach with clients, combining attachment and psychodynamic theory and mindfulness.

Adrienne is experienced in working with communication struggles, high conflict couples, mismatched libidos, pelvic and genital pain disorders, premature ejaculation, delayed or difficulty with orgasm, erectile dysfunction, trauma recovery, life transitions, affair recovery, eating disorders, parenting adolescence, family of origin exploration, religious and spiritual exploration, gender role exploration, cultural influence, sexual orientation questioning.

In part 1 of our conversation with Adrienne we explore some of the common issues found in long-term partnerships and dive into various communication strategies couples can implement to strengthen their relationship.

Our discussion today included:

• The most prevalent myths about couples therapy

• The most common struggle in long-term relationships is communication

• The value of therapy is often in having an outsider looking in

• Communication struggles often come down to people being mean to each other

• The danger of making assumptions about your partner

• The need to grow with your partner 

• The value of thinking relationally and evaluating the interplay between people

• Exploring perpetual problems in relationships

• The need to be curious with one’s self and one’s partner

• Understanding that in every complaint, there is likely a valid need

• Reflective listening is a great first step to strengthening a relationship

• Acknowledging the pursuer and distancer types within a relationship

• Options for therapy if cost is an issue

In this Episode:

Dr. Karen Sheffield-Abdullah is an Assistant Professor UNC Chapel Hill, a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Mindfulness Instructor, a wife, mother of four and a plant lover. She describes herself as a stress and anxiety researcher who is passionate about perinatal mental health and the impact on pregnancy outcomes specifically in black and brown women.

Dr. Karen is trying to get answers on why, despite decades of research, the black and brown communities have twice the rate of preterm birth and higher rates of death compared to white women. Using her depth of knowledge, experience and education, Dr. Karen is an advocate for birth equity, mental health awareness and mindfulness.

In our ongoing conversation, Dr. Karen begins by elaborating on the differences between culturally competent care and culturally humble care. She discusses the unique stressors to the black and brown communities, and talks about the importance of providing stress screeners with the understanding that they are meant to be a jumping off point to deeper conversations. Healthcare workers need to be comfortable with having the conversations. Dr. Karen describes it as, “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Healthcare providers need to begin to normalize having deeper conversations with clients. We talk about the importance of midwives, the passing of a certain piece of legislation benefiting her research, and incorporating stress management into models of women’s health care for beneficial outcomes.

• The importance of starting difficult conversations from a humble place. 

• Normalizing mental health in black women during pregnancy. 

• What is the Midwives for Moms Act?

• Diversifying the nurse midwifery workforce is essential to improve outcomes. 

• Why it’s important to bring more diversity into the health care system.

• Stress and perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in black women.

• How do we make it such that when we bring in examples of stress, when we talk about suffering, that it is through a culturally relevant lens?

• Black women’s pain is notoriously under assessed and under-addressed.

• The importance of self-reflecting when taking care of this community.

• The ways her background in midwifery has shaped her view of the healthcare system and her professional goals.

• Dr. Karen’s research results using self compassion, mindfulness and Mind Body therapies

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Dr. Karen Sheffield-Abdullah considers herself a stress and anxiety researcher who is passionate about perinatal mental health and impact on pregnancy outcomes specifically in black and brown women. Assistant Professor UNC Chapel Hill.She is a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Mindfulness Instructor, and Assistant Professor, a wife, mother of four and a plant lover.

Dr. Karen is trying to get answers on why, despite decades of research, the black and brown communities have twice the rate of preterm birth and higher rates of death compared to white women. Using her depth of knowledge, experience and education, Dr. Karen is an advocate for birth equity, mental health awareness and mindfulness. In this episode, she shares the life event that has had the most significant impact on the trajectory of her life and the decisions she’s made to become the person and mother she is today. She also begins to discuss what she’s found through her research that is part of the cause of our maternal healthcare failing black women in the United States.

• Dr. Karen Sheffield Abdullah’s introduction.

• Her first thought when she wakes up in the morning.

• Dr. Karen’s morning mindfulness practice.

• The life events that have had the most significant impact on her and life’s trajectory.

• Dr. Karen gives examples of how maternal healthcare is failing black women in the United States.

• Mixed methods and qualitative research provide evidence of how she’s seen maternal healthcare failing black and brown women playing out.

• Why have we not yet discovered what has caused black women to have abysmal outcomes over the past four decades in regard to maternal morbidity, mortality, and pregnancy outcomes. 

• The repeated stressors that are unique to black and brown women and causing impacts on the unborn fetus.  

Thank you to our sponsor:

We are not our thoughts. We can reprogram our brain to help us thrive.

Mikki Gardner is a certified life coach trained to help women sort out the overwhelm, confusion, fear, and self-doubt they feel after divorce. She is also certified in the Conscious Parenting Method and Applied Positive Psychology. Mikki focuses on helping moms move past their limiting beliefs, unravel the patterns of their past and become strong, effective, loving parents.

In part one of our conversation with Mikki we explored the messiness of divorce and how to navigate co-parenting relationships with grace and intention while creating peace & staying grounded.

Today we dive into reprogramming your brain to thrive and getting curious and asking questions about your own personal triggers.

Our discussion today included:

• The power of choosing yourself and reprogramming your brain

• How to clean your brain

• The power of meditation and “downloading”

• The need to step outside of your comfort zone

• No magic pill to healing

• Three Steps of Conscious anything

• Looking at your “timezone”

• The activation of old wounds

• The need to get curious and ask questions

Co-parenting can be challenging. The three A’s of Conscious Co-Parenting can completely alter how you navigate life after divorce or separation. 

Mikki Gardner is a certified life coach trained to help women sort out the overwhelm, confusion, fear, and self-doubt they feel after divorce. She is also certified in the Conscious Parenting Method and Applied Positive Psychology. Mikki focuses on helping moms move past their limiting beliefs, unravel the patterns of their past and become strong, effective, loving parents.

Today we explore the messiness of divorce and how to navigate co-parenting relationships with grace and intention while creating peace & staying grounded.

Our discussion today included:

• Remembering our quarterlife crisis and the need to figure out what to do with our lives.

• The power in connecting with animals.

• Embracing curiosity is necessary for change to happen

• Divorce can be a catalyst for change

• The need to slow down

• Parenting your children when in a dark place yourself

• The lifelong struggle of perfectionism

• Mikki’s personal experience with divorce and navigating co-parenting w/ grace

• Divorce as a Year of Firsts

• Mikki’s 3-step formula for conscious co-parenting

• Reactivity is the biggest threat

We continue our discussion with Dr. Rachel Goode. Dr. Rachel is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) and a licensed clinical social worker. She received her PhD, MPH, and MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to address racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obesity and eating disorders.

HER Health Collective has four key initiatives after narrowing down the myriad of topics affecting mothers. These include, Equity of maternal care, Rejecting Diet Culture, Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders and Expectations of Motherhood. Dr. Rachel’s work targets several of these same areas. We discuss how our work coincides and the importance of sharing our personal experiences with food insecurity. Dr. Rachel shares ways to make peace with food, and so much more!

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• The difficulty of the public and medical system to recognize when something is disordered.

• The importance of sharing your story.

• How to heal your relationship with food and how to eat again.

• Building a healthy relationship with food at any weight.

• Why it’s more important to feel good in your body.

• How to make peace with food.

• The importance of self-determining your desires.

• The vision of her research going into the medical system.

• The changes needed in how the medical community is trained to approach and treat marginalized patients.

Episode Resources:

Dr. Goode is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) and a licensed clinical social worker. She received her PhD, MPH, and MSW from the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests include developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions to address racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in obesity and eating disorders.

In her research, Dr. Rachel Goode discovered that there are a lot of people who don't get treatment for eating disorders because they do not fit stereotypes about who has an eating disorder or what it looks like to have an eating disorder. Racial, ethnic and socio-economic disparities are not taken into consideration in order to treat eating disorders effectively. Individual choices are only a small piece affecting people's ability to make the health changes they are seeking. 

Today’s episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

• Rachel’s background, research interests and how she developed a passion in this area.

• The most memorable class she took in school.

• Supporting people on a journey that they may or may not be wanting to take.

• What it looks like to have an eating disorder that limits us.

• The ways eating disorders and obesity connect

• Explanation of Appetite Awareness Training.

• The results of some of her studies.

• Why there’s a disparity in the medical community when it comes to recognizing eating disorders in black women.

• Our primary care visits are our first line of defense against eating disorders, but they’re also ineffective.

• Interventions Dr. Rachel has seen making a difference.

Episode Resources:

Today, we are joined by several of our 2023 expert panelists to discuss the topics of oppression, bias, inclusivity, and becoming allies. As parents it is up to us to have these conversations with our children in order to break the patterns of historic and ongoing oppression. As humans living within a society filled with people different from us, it is essential we also dive into this work for ourselves. Today we explore becoming an ally ourselves, while also raising our children to be inclusive allies.

Our first HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

• Dr. Charryse Johnson – experienced Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor offering over 20 years of experience serving as a counselor, consultant, and educator. She holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology, NCC 2021.

• Erin Baute - background in human development and behavior change and organizational psychology

• LaToshia Rouse - doula and owner of Birth Sisters Doula services. Consultant for healthcare systems on quality improvement. 

• Jessika Shields - founder and CEO of Stronger Mind Stronger Youth and I am a licensed educational psychologist and a school psychologist. 

• Maris Feeley - Full-Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Co-Owner and Director of Carolina Birth & Wellness 

• Kyrsten Spurrier - owner of the Perinatal Pelvis in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where I provide pelvic floor therapy and maternal wellness. 

Today, we are joined by several of our 2023 expert panelists to discuss the topics of oppression, bias, inclusivity, and becoming allies. As parents it is up to us to have these conversations with our children in order to break the patterns of historic and ongoing oppression. As humans living within a society filled with people different from us, it is essential we dive into this work for ourselves. Today we explore how racism, ableism and other forms of oppression show up in healthcare, education, mental health, and in our own personal lives. We explore issues of advocacy, disparities within larger systems, issues with the diagnostic tools we use, the labels we put on others, exploring our own internal biases, and the role of funding in keeping oppressive systems alive and well.

Our first HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2023 features the following HER Expert panelists:

• Dr. Charryse Johnson – experienced Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor offering over 20 years of experience serving as a counselor, consultant, and educator. She holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology, NCC 2021.

• Erin Baute - background in human development and behavior change and organizational psychology

• LaToshia Rouse - doula and owner of Birth Sisters Doula services. Consultant for healthcare systems on quality improvement. 

• Jessika Shields - founder and CEO of Stronger Mind Stronger Youth and I am a licensed educational psychologist and a school psychologist. 

• Maris Feeley - Full-Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator, Co-Owner and Director of Carolina Birth & Wellness 

• Kyrsten Spurrier - owner of the Perinatal Pelvis in Hillsborough, North Carolina, where I provide pelvic floor therapy and maternal wellness. 

It’s Dr. Kara Wada’s mission to help everyone become immune confident. What does this mean? Dr. Kara is a board-certified pediatric and adult allergy, immunology, and lifestyle medicine physician. She is also an autoimmune patient who was diagnosed with Systemic Sjogrens in 2019. She has made it her goal to help people escape the overwhelm that accompanies an autoimmune diagnosis and also works to educate the next generation of physicians to see, hear and believe patients therefore putting an end to medical gaslighting.

Everything Dr. Kara went through navigating our healthcare system as a patient has forced her to realign how she wants her life to be and the work she strives to provide. Dr. Kara admits that the Healthcare system isn’t working and shares how we can make change happen as well as what she is doing to affect change. She explains the difference between allergies, autoimmunity and immune deficiency. Dr. Kara shares ways that we can boost our immune systems and lessen the risks of our children developing allergy and autoimmunity problems.

In this episode you will hear us talk about:

• Why change isn’t happening in the Healthcare system and how can we make it happen.
• The difference between allergies, autoimmunity, and immune deficiency, and what can we do about it.
• As parents, how to help lessen the chances of our children developing these issues as they grow up.
• The debate between professionals on the term “balance” rather than “boost” when discussing health, wellness and the immune system.
• The difference between boosting the immune system and balancing the immune system.
• Easy-to-apply tips that our listeners can leave this episode with and begin implementing right away to increase both their family’s and their immunity
• The importance of getting out into nature and the importance of playing.