Dr.Sophia, ObGyn - Embrace your body. Embrace yourself.

If you are a perimenopause or menopausal woman in the United States who is on estrogen patches as part of your hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), you may have been encountering difficulty, and maybe even finding it impossible, to get your estrogen patches from your pharmacy. What is happening? First, don’t stress out, we have other solutions. Second, listen to this episode where we talk about why...

During childbirth, many things can evolve in different ways depending on many factors, including how the labor progresses, how the baby is doing, and how the mother’s body responds throughout the process of delivery. In this episode we talk about what is happening during a vaginal delivery, if and when to consider having a C-section, when to use various approaches for assisted deliveries, why one...

Yes, we regularly talk about vaginas on this podcast, now let’s talk about another V word that we need to talk more about: Vasectomy. You may be asking, “Why are we talking about vasectomy on a women’s health and obgyn podcast?” Because when vasectomy is not discussed or taken seriously, the responsibility for preventing pregnancy permanently falls the majority of the time on…you guessed it… women...

This is the 4th installment where my co-host, Touseef Mirza, openly shares her personal menopause journey on HRT (hormone replacement therapy). In this episode, Touseef talks about unexpected side effects she encountered while on HRT, which then prompted some trials and tribulations. We cover bleeding episodes, blood tests, ultrasound, hormone dosing, etc.  When it comes to HRT, we have a tendency...

Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection/disease (STI or STD). It’s a tricky STI because although sometimes one may not show symptoms, the infection can still lead to health issues. So it’s important to catch it before it gets too grave. In this episode we talk about what chlamydia is, the different ways it can be transmitted, what are the symptoms, how can one test for it (even if the...

When you find out that you are pregnant, it’s key to go see your ObGyn to start the process of ensuring that proper care for yourself and your baby is addressed from the very beginning. In this episode we talk about the many tests that help monitor the birthing journey as well as everyday lifestyle practices that women can adopt to make their pregnancy healthier, manageable, and enjoyable. I am jo...

During pregnancy, many women can be affected by gestational diabetes, even if they are not diabetic and in good health. Also, it’s important to recognize your baby’s movement patterns or when your baby is not moving, what we call in the medical world as decreased fetal movement. In this episode we talk about these areas, about some of my patients that have gone through these experiences, as well a...

Many women don’t go see their ObGyn because they had bad experiences in the past where they weren't given the care and attention they needed. So let me start by saying that you deserve care and gentleness from your obgyn in every single encounter. In this episode, we talk about many aspects on why patients might not want to see their ObGyn, what “care” actually looks like from a genuinely caring O...

Many women who want children later in life can encounter difficulty conceiving due to fertility issues. Interestingly, the cause of infertility is NOT only because of the woman, but many times because of the man. In this episode, we covered a lot of ground with the wonderful fertility specialist Dr. Melvin Thorton, AKA “Dr. T”. He shares how a woman’s fertility evolves throughout their lives, what...

Well we made it to a milestone! I am truly grateful and excited to arrive at our 50th episode! In the spirit of 50, both Touseef and I share our personal journey as it pertains to being 50 years of age. I talk about reaching 50 in merely 2 years…yes you read that right…and what that signifies to me. And Touseef shares how being in her 50s has become the best time of her life and how she got there....

Losing one pregnancy can be devastating. But women can also go through more than one pregnancy loss, or two, three, and more miscarriages leading to recurrent pregnancy loss…which is unfathomable. In this episode we not only talk about the different types of issues that can lead to miscarriage, but we also talk about the sheer emotional toll that it has on pregnant women who go through it. I also...

We usually talk about perimenopause from a woman's lens. But we rarely talk about how their partner experiences this transition and how it can affect the relationship. In this episode, we have a special guest, Rich Wison, who opens up about his journey with his wife as she went through perimenopause. As he describes, the journey began with confusion, strain on the relationship, and not knowing wha...

2026 is here! With the New Year comes all sorts of resolutions, especially around health. As we begin this year we start this episode with top health topics and actions you can take from an ObGyn perspective for every woman. Whether you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond. We talk about periods, planning for pregnancies, getting pap smears, hormonal changes, fertility, menopause, and so m...

When we typically think about STI (sexually transmitted infection) or STD (sexual transmitted disease), we think about the usual culprits of chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, etc. But there are also other less familiar bacteria that cause vaginal infections: ureaplasma and mycoplasma. These bacteria, and also BV (bacterial vaginosis), are a different type of STI because they are actually part of the n...

We know that black maternal health is a huge issue in the United States. But to see real-life videos that went viral in November 2025 on 2 black women literally about to give birth being carelessly dismissed by medical personnel makes this important issue undeniable and palpable. In this episode, we passionately talk about the struggles that black birthing moms face, how medical personnel need to...

The majority of women experience PMS, or premenstrual syndrome. And many times PMS appears in mischievous ways where we don’t even realize that it has inflicted us with a sudden sunken state of existential crisis or feeling like our minds and bodies have been taken over by unknown forces. But why does this happen to us and what can we do about it? In this episode, Dr. Sophia candidly talks about h...

In celebration of the 2nd year Anniversary of the Dr Sophia, ObGyn podcast, my co-host Touseef Mirza is sharing her favorite episode from the last year “Childbirth and vaginal / vulva tears.” In this episode we talk about how childbirth is viewed as a beautiful and spectacular phenomenon. And that at the same time, women need to also know the full scope of normal changes and potential physiologica...

In celebration of the 2nd year Anniversary of the Dr Sophia, ObGyn podcast, I'm sharing my favorite episode from the past year “Peri / menopause: vaginal & sex symptoms.” In this episode we talk about how even though we have more info now on perimenopause and menopause in the public sphere, one area that isn’t still talked about a lot is how perimenopause/menopause can cause vaginal and sex sy...

This is the 3rd installment where my co-host, Touseef Mirza, shares her personal journey on HRT (hormone replacement therapy). In this episode, Touseef talks about her experience on HRT since the past 6 to 8 months as well as the effects and surprises that have come along the way. It’s an episode that dives deep into understanding what HRT is actually, why it has had a bad rap, and how it can help...

When we think about pregnancy, the birthing process, and delivery, we focus mostly on the mother to be – and rightfully so. AND it’s also important to have the woman's partner, either husband, life partner, boyfriend who is the father of the baby, to be also involved for the support, care, advocacy of the woman and baby. In this episode, we explain why this is important and how the partners can be...

When your period starts to change in terms of the amount of bleeding, its frequency, shorter duration, or longer duration…this can be a strong indication that you are entering the perimenopause phase. In this episode, we explain what perimenopause is, that it can start as early as your mid-thirties, the physiological and emotional symptoms that can ensue, and what is exactly happening to your body...

Childbirth is viewed as a beautiful and spectacular phenomenon. At the same time, women need to also know the full scope of normal changes and potential physiological complications that can happen to their vagina and vulva during vaginal delivery. In this episode, we talk about the amazingness of the vagina and what it’s able to do during childbirth, the different types of potential vaginal and vu...

Sex is meant to be pleasurable. Full stop. But what happens if you feel pain during sex or after sex? Some of the pain can actually be easily resolved, for example by using a lubricant. Though even the idea of using a lubricant can make women feel uncomfortable. In this episode, we get into the raw details about all the different reasons why you may be having painful sex, from the first sexual enc...

For women, weight is usually a constant point of attention and carries a lot of shame around it. We have a tendency to focus more on fitting into the perfect dress or pant size vs fully understanding what is actually a healthy weight for us. In this episode, we talk about all things weight and health, including how weight actually affects our bodies from a health perspective, reframe our view on w...

IUDs, or intrauterine devices, are an effective long-term birth control option. But did you know that there are different types of IUDs, and that IUDs can be used for other purposes than just contraception? In this episode, we talk about what IUDs are, how they work, dig into the differences between hormonal and non-hormonal types, usages of IUDs other than for birth control, how it’s inserted, et...