Wholly a Woman

What if you weren’t told you were “fine” when you knew you weren’t? What if, instead of giving you a medication to cover up your symptoms, you had a team of practitioners who worked with you to find the root cause of your issue? My friend and colleague, clinical pharmacist and founder of Pharm to Table, Dr. Melody Hartzler, joins the podcast to discuss the functional medicine approach to health. H...

To celebrate the end of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week for 2020, I brought on my husband Ben to discuss how NFP has impacted our relationship. We review a couple of research studies that have looked at how natural family planning affects marriages and we comment on our own experiences (yes, that includes our sex life - I promise we do not get graphic). NFP has improved our relationship ove...

There are multiple natural family planning methods that you can choose to you. In this episode, Dr. Emily describes the differences between the methods so you can find one that works best for you. Natural family planning methods promote abstinence rather than barrier or other artificial contraceptive back-up when the couple is desiring to avoid pregnancy. All natural family planning methods are fe...

Pharmacist, herbalist, and integrative health coach Dr. Book joins the podcast to share her story and how you can benefit from a holistic and personal approach. Here are the take-aways: Everyone needs an individual approach - there is no one right answer for everyone We will never be ready to start - start before you’re ready Most likely, the ideal person you could help is YOU a few steps back. Ho...

Dr. Emily answers your questions and digs into the research on cervical mucus in this week’s episode of Wholly a Woman. Did you know cervical mucus characteristics have been described dating back to the 1860s? Did you know that in the 1940s, women who recognized their cervical mucus patterns were noted to be “intelligent and observant”? Did you know that cervical mucus has been correlated with you...

-Optimal health is built around lifestyle, attitude, exercise, and nutrition. But it all usually comes back to attitude -Focus on one week at a time so you don’t get too far ahead of yourself -Ask yourself: what is my vision for my healthiest self? -What past attitude are you holding on to and need to let go of? -It is not only important to think about if you can do the logistics of a certain diet...

Fellow pharmacist passionate about women’s health, Dr. Heather Rhodes, joins me for this very special podcast episode. You are going to want to have a notebook and pen (or your notes app or voice memo) because you are going to learn SO MUCH! Here are the take-aways: -Women weren’t getting the information they needed about their hormones and their bodies from our current healthcare system. Our curr...

Today I wanted to interrupt my regularly-scheduled podcasting to bring you an episode honoring my black female role model, Lisa Hendrickson-Jack. Lisa is the author of “The Fifth Vital Sign” and host of the “Fertility Friday” podcast. I have learned so much from Lisa. She is such an inspiration to me! I still have a lot to learn, but one thing I know is I cannot be silent about the fact that black...

Emily is a certified instructor for the Marquette Method of natural family planning. She discusses some of the science behind the method, describes the options for following the method using 1-3 fertility signs, and introduces how to use the method to identify your unique fertile window. The information from this episode should not be used as a replacement for individualized direction from a certi...

Take-aways from this episode: -Most birth controls pills are a combination of an estrogen and a progesterone -The main effect of the estrogen component is to stop your body from releasing an egg (inhibit ovulation) -The main effect of the progesterone component is to change the environment of your uterus to make it a poor environment for sperm and/or a fertilized egg (effects on cervical mucus and...

Sara Flood, RN, and instructor in the Marquette Model of natural family planning, joins the podcast to share her experience using and teaching NFP. The Marquette Model allows women to use one or multiple signs of fertility to track their cycles. We discuss how the information that comes from cycle tracking is not only useful for avoiding or achieving pregnancy, but can give you valuable informatio...

I rounded up some random fun facts about natural family planning to share with you! These are things I learned about anatomy (sperm, cervical fluid), different natural family planning methods (basal body temperature), menstrual health (the average age of menarche and menopause), the Catholic church’s teachings on NFP, and NFP’s effect on marriage. Whether you are using natural family planning to a...

This week, I talk about functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA), also known as just hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA). This is the hormone condition I have been diagnosed with. It means I do not have my period because my body is not making estrogen and there is no defined reason why. I share some facts I have learned from the medical and nutrition literature and I share some of my personal experiences...

In this week’s episode, I share my heart and let you in on knowing more about my values, strengths, and personality. I really felt God leading me this week to share a conversation about being completely honest with yourself and being 100% who you are. Have you ever found yourself apologizing for being you? Have you found yourself adjusting your words or behaviors to fit in with others or because y...

Stress is a very natural response. In this episode, my friend and stress management expert, Terra Sorg, shares how you can work with your body and even manipulate your biology to manage stress. Some things you will learn: How to manipulate your biology to decrease stress Stress can be a good thing! Stress may come from things beyond our control, but we also may be causing ourselves undue stress As...

It is so easy as American women to become disconnected from ourselves. We get so busy we don’t even think about checking in with our bodies. Practicing yoga is an excellent way to connect back to your body and your mind. In this episode I bring on yoga instructor and my good friend, Amy Bizal. Yoga can help you relieve both physical and mental pressure. Prenatal yoga can be especially helpful for...

Caring for our hormones means caring for our bodies as a whole. In this episode, we talk about all kinds of lifestyle changes we can make to support our hormone health. What kind of diet should we eat to have healthy hormone levels and increase our natural fertility? Can I drink alcohol? Can I still have my coffee? We talk about some of the studies that have been done looking at these lifestyle fa...

Periods are NOT just about bleeding or about babies. Our bodies were made to have regular cycles and this is a sign of our overall health and wellbeing. If something is off with your period - if you are not getting one, if your periods are irregular, if you are having heavy bleeding, etc. - then something may be wrong and you should be evaluated by a physician. Our periods are regulated by our bra...

This week I share all about how I got started using natural family planning and why I decided to help others learn about natural ways to avoid or achieve pregnancy. I am not exaggerating when I say natural family planning has changed my life. It has improved my relationship with God, my relationship with my husband, and my relationship with myself. NFP also helped identify a medical issue I had. I...

As a healthcare professional, I wanted to be sure I was providing you with some factual information about the current COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 in the United States). In addition to working with clients 1-on-1 for natural family planning education and for medication/supplement reviews (which I can still do over secure video calls), I work as a pharmacist in a hospital. I share my experience so...

Learn your body's natural signs of fertility. There are 4 main signs of fertility that can be tracked when using natural family planing (NFP): cervical mucus (aka cervical fluid), basal body temperature (BBT), cervix position, or hormone levels (estrogen or luteinizing hormone). Different natural family planning methods use different sign or a combination of signs Interested in receiving a handout...

Emily, the NFP Pharmacist, describes the basics of natural family planning. Learn about what it means to wholly accept your natural fertility process and how you can manage your fertility instead of covering it up