Fempower Health | A Women's Health Podcast

According to Go Red for Women , cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined and yet only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat. That is why we are discussing heart health. Dr. Nanette Wenger has been at the forefront of advancing patient care for the last 60-plus years. She was among the first physicians to focus on co...

Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a practicing gynecologist and the Chief Medical Officer of Bonafide, speaks with Fempower Health on the following about common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause: What are the stages of perimenopause and menopause? How to know if you are in perimenopause or have another underlying condition? Which are the common symptoms of perimenopause? What are the treatments for common s...

Pelvic floor muscles play an important role in our bodies, and we may not realize how important until we have incontinence, pain, and/or prolapse. A common concern is the root cause of a dysfunction might not be properly addressed causing issues down the line such as the need for surgery or repeat surgery. Kim Vopni, author of Your Pelvic Floor , is a self professed pelvic health evangelist a...

According to the CDC, overall, the age-adjusted prevalence of osteoporosis among adults aged 50 and over increased from 9.4% in 2007–2008 to 12.6% in 2017–2018 ( See this Figure ). Osteoporosis prevalence among women increased from 14.0% in 2007–2008 to 19.6% in 2017–2018. And according to this episode’s guest, Dr. Jerilynn Prior, osteoporosis is not something only older women should concern thems...

The pelvic floor plays an important role supporting the bowel and bladder (as well as the uterus and vagina in females). Hormone changes due to pregnancy and peri/menopause and other factors can impact their function. Several at-home devices are now on the market to support the pelvic floor, but do they help you? And if so, which is right for you? Enter Dr. Allyson Shrikhande....

Dr. Peter Whorwell, author of Take Control of your IBS , directs the South Manchester Functional Bowel Service and has had a particular interest in the functional gastrointestinal disorders. His unit undertakes research into the clinical, epidemiological and pathophysiological aspects of functional gastrointestinal disorders as well as caring for large numbers of these patients from all over the U...

Why is it important to know when you are ovulating? In this episode, Dr. Jerilynn Prior and Dr. Lara Briden return to the podcast to discuss why ovulation, rather than the period, is the main event of the menstrual cycle. They share how the ovulation phase is crucial to your overall health (not just fertility), and how to address hormonal imbalance. Listen to this interesting discussion where...

Non Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) provides insight into the risk of a fetal genetic abnormality, and can help inform pregnancy management before and after birth. However, the value of genetic screening is dependent on whether results are interpreted correctly, appropriate medical follow-up, and access to relevant resources.  Genetic counselors help to ensure that NIPT is translated into be...

Body Dysmorphic Disorder affects about 1 in 50 people . This means that more than 5 million people to nearly 10 million people in the United States alone have BDD. The body dysmorphia advocacy group, BDD , connected me to Dr. Amita Jassi and Rachel Koutnik, LCSW. In this episode, we cover the following body dysmorphia questions and answers: Body Dysmorphia Definition, including how similar or...

PCOS impacts 1 in 10 women yet it is still underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed. Dr. Jerilynn Prior, of the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR) , is a Professor of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of British Columbia, with 40 years experience in women’s health. She brings an interesting perspective to what might happen if we considered PCOS to primarily be...

Dr. Nicole E. Williams is a board certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist. With the philosophy of marrying both alternative and traditional medicine, Dr. Williams opened The Gynecology Institute of Chicago in July 2013 and recently published This is How You Vagina . In this episode, we cover the following: Tour of female body parts and misconceptions about the female body Vaginal odor: what i...

Shawn Tassone, MD Ph. D. is a double-boarded physician in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Integrative Medicine. Dr. Tassone believes it is time for women to understand fatigue, weight gain, insomnia, irregular periods, fibroids, decreased libido, and burnout are not permanent situations.  In this episode, our conversation focuses on understanding our hormones. We discuss: Determining you hormon...

Episode Summary  Autoimmune diseases impact over 24 million people in the U.S., yet many struggle for years without clear answers. From misdiagnoses to ineffective treatments, patients often feel lost in the system. In this episode of Fempower Health, Dr. Nicole Bundy, a board-certified internist and rheumatologist, and Dr. Millie Lytle, a naturopathic doctor and epidemiologist, break down the co...

Dr. Tamer Seckin is a world-renowned endometriosis surgeon and founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. He is the author of The Doctor Will See you Now: Recognizing and Treating Endometriosis . In this powerful interview (a shortened version from Season 1), he describes his journey into this calling and the realities he encounters about how women with endometriosis suffer. . . and what...

Dr. Dan Martin is the Scientific and Medical Director for EndoFound . Forty-five peer-reviewed publications on endometriosis are included in his more than 414 publications focused on pelvic surgery for endometriosis and fertility. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea varies between 16% and 91% in women of reproductive age, with severe pain in 2%-29% of the women studied. We discuss: Endometrio...

Two guests join Fempower Health this week to speak about “movement as medicine.”  Rachel Katzman is the Co-Founder of P.volve, which started in 2017 after experiencing her own personal evolution through movement influenced by her scoliosis.  Dr. Amy Hoover is a member of the P.volve Clinical Advisory Board and owns and operates APHysio LLC, a wellness practice where she specializes in ha...

Dr. Lyndsey Harper is a Board Certified Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn for Texas A&M COM, a Fellow of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health. Dr. Harper is the founder and CEO of Rosy , a women’s health technology company that connects women who have sexual health concerns with hope,...

Joyce Reinecke champions fertility preservation for cancer patients as Executive Director at the Alliance for Fertility Preservation. Episode Summary Joyce Reinecke is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Fertility Preservation , a national nonprofit organization focused on all aspects of fertility preservation for cancer patients. Joyce is a long-term survivor of leiomyosarcoma who opted fo...

Join Dr. Kristin Rojas on the Fempower Health podcast as she discusses sex after cancer and how treatments lead to menopause-like symptoms. Learn expert advice for managing these changes. Episode Summary In this episode of the Fempower Health Peri/Menopause podcast, host Georgie Kovacs interviews Dr. Kristin Rojas, a fellowship-trained breast cancer surgeon and board-certified gynecologist. Dr. Ro...

The World Health Organization estimates that over 750 million people suffer from some sort of thyroid condition yet about 60% go undiagnosed. Rachel Hill is a highly ranked and multi award winning thyroid patient advocate, writer, speaker and author behind The Invisible Hypothyroidism. She speaks about the following: Rachel Hill's story, including why and how she became such an influenti...

Corey Hazama, a pelvic floor physical therapist and co-owner of Beyond Basics in New York City. She is a natural teacher and expert on the pelvic floor. With our previous episode together being in the top 5 most downloaded, we are lucky to have her back! In this episode, Corey covers: What a prolapse is and potential causes & risk factors Who needs to be proactive and how to do that How t...

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of sexual health, pleasure, and empowerment for women. Join us as we explore the expert insights shared by Dr. Rachel Rubin , a renowned sexual health specialist, who is one of only a handful of physicians fellowship trained in male and female sexual medicine.  She sheds light on the orgasm gap, the clitoris, common misconceptions, and the journey...

Dr. Renee Wellenstein is a double board certified doctor who has been working with women for over 20 years and due to her own personal health challenges, she stepped outside the box of conventional medicine to take a radically different approach to heal herself from the deep depths of burnout.  In this episode, Dr Renee covers: Phases of burnout and how to recognize where you might be  “...

We’ve all been told about the powerful effects of estrogen on a woman’s reproductive cycle. But more people are now learning that progesterone is equally as important. With so much research and discussion regarding hormone imbalances in women today, experts confirm that these two female sex hormones are critical to more than just sex and pregnancy— they’re vital to every woman’s health. In this ep...

Laura Murphy is the Director of Education & Awareness at the International Association of Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD) , which offers a lifeline of support, information, and resources for women and AFAB individuals with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Premenstrual Exacerbation (PME). Laura and I answer the following questions: What is PMDD? What triggers PMDD and who gets PMD...