Healthful Woman Podcast

Dr. Stephanie Melka, OB/GYN joins Dr. Nathan Fox to discuss when pregnant women should deem a situation an emergency and when to visit the hospital in such situations.

Dr. Nicole Rankins, OB-GYN and host of the "All About Pregnancy" podcast speaks with Dr. Fox about her approach to creating relationships with her patients, her pregnancy and birth classes, and her podcast.

Emily Oster, author of “Expecting Better,” “Cribsheet,” and “The Family Firm,” meets with Dr. Fox to discuss sleep training and the importance of establishing a regular sleep schedule at different stages of development.

Lauren Turk, a singer in the rock band "Adult Band," sat down with Dr. Nathan Fox to discuss her personal experience freezing her eggs. Growing up, she did not know that egg fertilization was an option for her. After her procedure, she started to share her story on social media and realized there were many women who wanted to know more about the process and how they could get started. In this epis...

Meredith, a mother in Ann Arbor, MI speaks with Dr. Fox about her pregnancy journey after being diagnosed with Gitelman syndrome, her child's diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta, and more.

New to the MFM Team, Dr. Sadia Mobeen joins Dr. Nathan Fox on the podcast to discuss the likelihood and reality of experiencing tears, or lacerations, during childbirth. Most first-time mothers can expect at least a small tear, but these are often quickly resolved. In more severe cases, our doctors discuss the options for repairing damaged muscle or skin as well as ways to help prevent tears from...

Simi Hersko, who was previously a Healthful Woman guest to talk about ATime, joins to talk about her own experience. Simi’s story includes struggling with infertility, miscarrying twins after IVF, and choosing not to resuscitate her twins born at 23 weeks.

Andrew Cromer shares his story of identical twins born at 24 weeks, including his wife’s emergency C-section, his sons’ stay in the NICU, and the support they received from family. While telling his story, Andrew shares advice for couples in similar situations: take one day at a time, don’t despair, and be cautiously optimistic.

On this episode of Healthful Woman podcast, Dr. Fox is visited again by Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, MPH to discuss the topic of peri-viable birth. Dr. Stroustrup speaks from her experience in the NICU.

Approaching this difficult, emotional topic with long-time colleague Dr. Jessica Spiegelman, Dr. Fox discusses periviability: the period of time in which a baby is more likely than not to not survive the birth process. While clinically this period of time is somewhat well-defined, the choices, care plans, and procedures that might have to be done are anything but.

One topic that isn't often discussed about preterm birth and preterm labor is when it's actually medically recommended in specific scenarios. Dr. Nathan Fox talks with Dr. Jennifer Lam-Rachlin about the delicate balance of determining the safest delivery date for both mother and baby in our continuing miniseries on preterm birth.

Dr. Andrei Rebarber joins the podcast once again to talk about cerclage, a surgical procedure for women experiencing cervical incompetence. In this episode, Dr. Rebarber explains why the procedure is “controversial,” when a patient needs a cerclage, and more.

During routine ultrasounds, the length of the cervix is measured to help understand a person's risk of preterm labor long before it becomes an issue. Dr. Nathan Fox interviewed Dr. Simi Gupta to discuss when this would be done and what steps they take to lower the complications when necessary.

Dr. Nathan Fox talks with Dr. Simi Gupta today to talk about a common high-risk birth situation, giving birth after having previously having a preterm birth event. The risks are higher for another preterm delivery but not guaranteed. There are a lot of possible outcomes, risk factors, and reasons to deliver early a second or third time, and our doctors are here to make sure both mother and baby st...

Dr. Shari Gelber returns to Healthful Woman to explain PPROM, or preterm premature rupture of membranes, meaning that the water breaks early. PPROM occurs in just 2-3% of pregnancies but can cause complications including premature birth or infection. Dr. Gelber explains causes for PPROM and more.

Pre-term labor, which is defined by experiencing contractions with a change in cervix dilation, occurs during more pregnancies than people might think. Dr. Nathan Fox and Dr. Jessica Spiegelman explain the difference between this and preterm contractions, and why in most cases, it either stops on its own or results in a normal full-term delivery. In some situations though, there are simple protoco...

Today we introduce Dr. Farnaaz Kia, who describes what it's like to train and undergo laparoscopic or minimally invasive procedures as opposed to traditional open surgery when necessary. These new techniques allow patients to experience the same quality care with much smaller incisions and less downtime than traditional open surgery techniques, whether you're anticipating a C-Section or other surg...

Dr. Deena Blanchard shares her story on postpartum anxiety. A pediatrician, Dr. Blanchard shares her story to show that postpartum anxiety “can happen to anyone” and that “there’s no shame in having a postpartum mood disorder.”

Joining us for the first time is Dr. Naomi Feuer, a neurologist who practices just a few blocks from MFMA. She sees many patients, both pregnant and not, for sudden onset headaches and migraines, helping find an accurate treatment plan, even if that means simply waiting to deliver to relieve headache pain or secondary symptoms like carpal tunnel. The vast majority of patients get positive results...

Just a few letters differentiate the conditions of endometriosis and adenomyosis, and the conditions share several characteristics. However, diagnosis and treatment of the two disorders should be clearly delineated. Talking with Dr. Michael Silverstein, Dr. Nathan Fox facilitates a discussion on what separates these disorders and how women can know if they should ask their gynecologist about it.

With the blur of all the "-osis" "-eosis" and other terms surrounding pregnancy complications and the many overlapping symptoms women might experience on a monthly basis, it can be hard to know when you have an issue that might make having a baby more difficult and, more specifically, what that issue actually is. Today Dr. Michael Silverstein, a gynecologist at MFM, joins us to talk about everythi...

We get more practical with today's episode featuring Lauren and Susanrachel, two midwives with different experiences with home births. Home births represent less than 2% of all births in the US, but the rate is rapidly increasing despite its low percentage. There are some basic criteria that would rule out some people for having a home birth, such as needing consistent running water, electricity,...

Dr. Melka and Dr. Fox discuss whether it’s safe for pregnant women to fast, particularly with regards to Jewish fast days. On fast days, observers do not eat or drink for up to 25 hours, depending on the holiday. Dr. Fox and Dr. Melka explain when it is and isn’t safe for pregnant women to fast and how they advise their Jewish patients.

Two midwives with a combined experience of over 50 years share their experiences with home births over the past two decades or more. Although home births are largely seen as non-ideal, the history of midwifery shows that hospital-based births have only recently become the norm. Lauren and Susanrachel talk about their perspectives on home birth versus hospital birth, Lauren being employed by a hosp...

After a successful (albeit sudden and fast) birth at 36 in a traditional hospital setting, our fellow OB/GYN Dr. Amber Warmsley went on a type of personal and professional journey where she discovered something unique about home births and the way they're understood in our country. As she prepared to have her second child, the research she had done and the professionals she had learned from helped...