Mama Needs A Moment

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

Thank you to our sponsor:

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:

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.

Everything she 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. Wada offers insight into the current medical system and how it doesn't work for patients or physicians. She also works to educate the next generation of physicians to see, hear and believe patients therefore putting an end to medical gaslighting.

In this episode you will hear us talk about:

Our values can and should be a guiding force when it comes to our relationships, both with others and ourselves. Megan Eddinger is a 36 year old mom of 3 married to her high school sweetheart. They had their first baby just after her 18th birthday and Megan has been on a journey with her mental and physical health ever since. Megan is passionate about telling her story and sharing her experience in hopes that other moms feel less alone and feel empowered to take action to improve their own health.

Megan is the host of the Finding Wellness Podcast and a holistic health coach helping women cut through all the clutter and competing information in the wellness space to find what works for them.

In part 2 of our conversation with Megan we discuss how she uses her values to deepen her relationship with her spouse, children, and ultimately herself. We also dive into Megan’s No BS approach to life, and we know you’ll love it!

Our discussion today included:

Thank you to our sponsor:

The stories we tell ourselves matter. Megan Eddinger is a 36 year old mom of 3 married to her high school sweetheart. They had their first baby just after her 18th birthday and Megan has been on a journey with her mental and physical health ever since. Megan is passionate about telling her story and sharing her experience in hopes that other moms feel less alone and feel empowered to take action to improve their own health.

Megan is the host of the Finding Wellness Podcast and a holistic health coach helping women cut through all the clutter and competing information in the wellness space to find what works for them.

Today we dive into what teen pregnancy looked like for Megan and how she and her partner were able to make it work. We also explore Megan’s experience with postpartum depression and anxiety and how that has led her to the mental health advocacy work she does today. Megan’s story is one of love, strength, and a deep passion for telling it like it is. It’s no surprise then that today, she delivers even as we talk about some tough topics. Have a listen!

Our discussion today included:

Thank you to our sponsor:

Girls on the Run has a vision of creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential.

Girls on the Run has a vision of creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential.

Our education system impacts parents and children alike. It is rare to meet someone with a deep understanding of the day to day management of a classroom and curriculum instruction as well as a firm grasp of the intricacies of the education system as a whole.

Dr. K. Lea is that person. She has been involved in special education for over 30 years. Her experience is broad in scope, ranging from aiding in the development of one of the initial early intervention programs in Tennessee to working in drug and alcohol rehab, the juvenile prison system, resource classrooms, and consulting for home school groups who enrolled students with special needs. She has presented professional development workshops on topics in Montessori and special education both nationally and internationally. Dr. K.Lea has also worked with state and local governments in special education policy and procedural alignment. Her current research focus is primarily on peer-assisted learning in inclusion classrooms and overidentification of minorities in special education.

In part 2 of our conversation with Dr. K.Lea we discuss valuable literacy strategies that can be implemented at home to help kids succeed and the differences across state lines when it comes to our education system. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what state you live in, the system is failing our teachers.

Our discussion today included:

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

Our education system impacts parents and children alike. It is rare to meet someone with a deep understanding of the day to day management of a classroom and curriculum instruction as well as a firm grasp of the intricacies of the education system as a whole.

Dr. K. Lea is that person. She has been involved in special education for over 30 years. Her experience is broad in scope, ranging from aiding in the development of one of the initial early intervention programs in Tennessee to working in drug and alcohol rehab, the juvenile prison system, resource classrooms, and consulting for home school groups who enrolled students with special needs. She has presented professional development workshops on topics in Montessori and special education both nationally and internationally. Dr. K.Lea has also worked with state and local governments in special education policy and procedural alignment. Her current research focus is primarily on peer-assisted learning in inclusion classrooms and overidentification of minorities in special education.

Today we discussed with Dr. K.Lea the Montessori method and helping neurodivergent children navigate the school system.

Our discussion today included:

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

(Part 2) After combing through several sources such as the World Health Organization, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, WebMd, US Food and Drug Administration, CDC, to name a few…we have compiled a list of the top health concerns affecting women. Today we will hear our expert panelists discuss the top women’s health issues based on the perspective of their profession.

Our compiled list after looking at numerous resources includes:

The fourth HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2022 featured the following HER Expert panelists:

After combing through several sources such as the World Health Organization, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, WebMd, US Food and Drug Administration, CDC, to name a few…we have compiled a list of the top five health concerns affecting women. In this episode, we will hear our expert panelists discuss cancer, heart disease and maternal health issues based on the perspective of their profession.

Our compiled list of the top five health concerns includes:

The fourth HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2022 featured the following HER Expert panelists:

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

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

We love bringing you guests who are truly changing the landscape of parenting. Our very own HER member, Alanna Oaks is one of those people!

Erin Baute has been working and studying in the field of behavior change for over 20 years as well as studying and using the Enneagram for over 12 years. She is passionate about people and the motivations that drive our behaviors.

She works as a wife and mom to two children and is a self-employed business strategist, change agent and development coach. She focuses on behavior change and social marketing. Erin integrates the Enneagram model as a framework for individual growth and motivation. She also coaches companies to create personalized business strategies, team level-setting, understanding of behavior and productive communication approaches, as a way to navigate the changing business infrastructures and positively impact company culture.

This episode includes a discussion of the following topics:

Resources:

Today we are discussing a difficult but important topic. It’s a subject we believe needs to be spoken about more openly so mothers know they are not alone.  About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. But the actual number is likely higher because many miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy — before a person might even know about a pregnancy.

We hear our expert panelists discuss how parents can navigate pregnancy after loss, what resources are available, that often difficult decision to not have more children and being content with the family that one has, and dealing with the changes that the body goes through after loss, how to approach fitness after miscarriage or loss, and a parent's understandable array of mixed emotions and anxiety of losing a child.

The third HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2022 featured the following HER Expert panelists:

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

Resources:

We love bringing you guests who are not only doing impactful work in Women’s Health but also have interesting stories to share. This episode with LaToshia Rouse delivers in both areas.

We are back for part two, diving deep and getting personal with two entirely new questions!

We recently read the book Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level by Laura Tremaine. Laura says, “In spite of the hyper-connected culture we live in today, women still feel shamed for oversharing and being publicly vulnerable. And no matter how many friends we seem to have, many of us are still desperately lonely.”

We built HER Health Collective to cultivate genuine relationships between moms in an effort to drastically decrease the loneliness they may be feeling. Having relationships beyond the superficial requires digging deep into the nitty-gritty and having openness with others. We are setting the stage and being an example to our community of moms.

So, here we go, we’ll go first… Our discussion today includes our answers to the following questions:

When did it change?

What are you afraid of?

Podcast Sponsors:

Megan Rempel is a Registered Nurse with a certificate in Women’s Hormonal Health, a health coach, and a cycle syncing expert. She shares her journey of being an overwhelmed and exhausted mom of 4 to finding ease and joy by aligning different areas of her life to her cycle. Her mission is to help other women discover that life can actually be easier, by integrating cycle syncing and other simple, effective habits into their lives. Megan strives to help women get out of survival mode and does this through her Instagram content, her paid program Syncing with the Flow, and inside her health coaching community.

In this episode we discuss:

No doubt about it, Barbara Kaynan is a fascinating human! A Registered Drama Therapist with the North American Drama Therapy Association and mom to two littles, Barbara holds a Master's degree from NYU in Drama Therapy and a certificate from KINT Institute in The Arts and trauma treatment.

She specializes in trauma-informed person-centered care; guiding individuals and groups, across treatment settings and cultural organizations, during times of big life transitions. Barbara has experience leading therapeutic theatre processes for Holocaust survivors, she has provided expressive, clinical support for at-risk youth, hospitalized children recovering from medical procedures and their families, individuals living with chronic and persistent mental illness, adults in acute psychosis, and older adults living with skilled nursing and memory care needs.

Barbara is a published research scholar, peer review editor, and former professor at Long Island University.

She believes that your relationship with yourself and others is an art - one that can be rehearsed and rewoven into experiences for healthier living. Are you ready to take up space, honor your experience, and create the life you want to live? This episode is for you!

Our discussion today included:

Dr. Hilary Mandzik is a mom to three young children so she understands that parenthood can be wonderful and amazing and full of joy while at the same time, it can be really, really hard. After working as a Licensed Psychologist with children and families in therapeutic settings for fifteen years, the life transition to becoming a mother gave a new life to her career.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Radhika Sharma, a Board Certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and certified Life & Wellness Coach.
Dr. Sharma is passionate about Women’s Health and Wellness. She is a mother of 2 young girls and wife to a fellow OBGYN. As a busy mother, wife and physician, Dr. Sharma found herself caught in the quicksand and did not see any way out of it. Fortunately, she found life coaching, which allowed her to recognize her authentic and essential self. Today Dr. Sharma continues her work as an OBGYN, while also collaborating with her life coaching clients to help them challenge the obstacles in their lives, and follow their essential self to make it through some of life’s most challenging times.

Dr. Sharma completed her medical training at Saba University School of Medicine. After completing her medical rotations in the United States, she went on to complete her obstetrics & gynecology residency at Aultman Hospital in Affiliation with Northeast Ohio Medical University. She specializes in Pelvic floor disorders and reconstruction. Dr. Sharma is also a certified Life & Wellness coach through the Martha Beck Wayfinder training.

Imagine having a trusted guide who empowers parents by providing resources and support that takes them from guessing what to do, to taking actionable steps. Our guest, Jessika Shield’s is an educator, licensed educational psychologist and parenting coach. She utilizes her educational background, company and podcast to help parents gain a sense of control over their children’s education, growth, and development. She coaches parents with relationship building, navigating education systems, special education, nurturing giftedness, mental wellness, and early interventions that work.

In this episode you will hear us discuss:

We all have stories of who we are prior to becoming a mom and who we grow to be while parenting. Life is about experiences that lead to wisdom. Our guest this week is Caroline Kratz. Caroline was a former US Rowing National Team athlete and two time Olympic Trials participant prior to having her five children. Today, Caroline continues to challenge her athleticism and shares her knowledge through coaching. She has an in-depth understanding of the benefits of cold water immersion. Caroline shares details of difficult situations in her life and how she’s coped through the struggle. It is an open discussion of bravery, perseverance, triumph, self-knowledge and forgiveness.

**This episode contains content that may be triggering to some listeners and is created for adult audiences only. We advise listener and reader discretion for discussion of mental illness, eating disorder, suicide and sexual abuse.

In this episode you will hear us discuss:

Do you have someone in your life you need to forgive? Do you struggle with solidifying friendships now that you’re an adult? Nicole Wallace, wife, mother of six, licensed mental health counselor, and entrepreneur holds nothing back as we dive deep into several tough topics. In this episode, Nicole discusses how she moved past infidelity in her marriage, how embracing her blended family has changed her, the challenges of being raised by a single mother, the ways in which being a Black Latino American have influenced her parenting, the differences in raising kids today from 20 years ago, and how she recommends overcoming the challenges of making friends as an adult. She shares her incredible story and the lessons she’s learned along the way with authenticity and an openness that is rare to find.

In this episode you will hear us discuss:

Are you feeling pulled in different directions with all you need to accomplish in your role as a parent? Krisna Guyton, wife, mother of three, nurse, and entrepreneur not only lives life with a positive and upbeat attitude, but she strives to help moms recognize their value while assisting them with learning ways to be intentional with their time and energy. In this episode, Krisna shares how her teenage pregnancy, premature child, the move across states and nursing career ultimately lead to the start of her business, My Parenting Partners. She shares life lessons and gives pointers on having an upbeat attitude in life through all it throws at you.

In this episode you will hear us discuss:

Our lives change in a myriad of ways once we become a mother, some positive and others less so. From experiences with “mom brain” or brain fog to overwhelming stress and anxiety, our brain and body can become taxed in a whole new way. In today’s episode we hear from experts on so-called “mom brain”, and also explore aging, changes in hormones, and the effects our stage of life can have on our overall health. We dive into how these issues impact a mother as well as her children and hear from our experts on the best ways to navigate these challenges.

The first HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2022 featured the following HER Expert panelists:

Today we got to sit down with Iris Chen, of the wildly popular website and social media account known as “Untigering.” Iris also recently authored a fantastic book by the same name. Iris is an American Born Chinese who ended up raising kids who are Chinese born Americans. She considers herself a deconstructing tiger mother who is doing her best to become a gentle parent. As she learned to honor her children’s individuality and autonomy, she felt it no longer made sense to subject them to a system that wouldn’t do the same. Iris began to trust in her children’s innate ability and motivation to learn, and found she no longer believed in a compulsory education that forced children to learn according to arbitrary adult standards. Iris practices unschooling with her children and has a second book by that name coming out soon.

Today’s discussion covers these topics:

Life is a series of events that challenge us. For Kim Wierzel, some of the biggest challenges she faced over the past 7-8 years have been the guidepost to her to making this year’s goal about enjoying the life that she's built and finding pleasure in the journey. While listening to this episode, you will hear Kim discuss the tragic loss of her husband of 20 years and how she helped both herself and her two young children through the grief. Kim talks about how she went from doing very little movement to becoming a fitness studio owner of two Total Row locations, all while working a day job. She also very openly shares the process of supporting her transgenered child and finding a loving connection with another person after loss.

Today we have the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Maria Paredes. Dr. Paredes has nearly 20 years of experience in the mental health field. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor & Supervisor and a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist-Supervisor that uses an eclectic approach when working with her clients. Dr. Paredes is trained in brainspotting and EMDR and we had the pleasure of learning a bit more about these treatment protocols.

Today’s discussion covers these topics:

Find Dr. Maria Paredes:

What do wine dinners, paint pours, candle making and charcuterie design have in common? Lauren Stevens. Lauren is the founder and owner of the creative workshop experiences of Joy Worthy Co. She built her business on the goal of having each guest experience a greater sense of self worth, joy and inspiration. Lauren is fun, easygoing and insightful. She openly shares her journey to bringing her business to life, her objective for each class she hosts, the struggles of being a single parent and business owner, and facing the paralyzing effect of fear.

Discussion highlights included:

Lauren mentions:

Mama Needs A Moment Podcast - 2021 WRAL Voters' Choice Award Winner!

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Paula Kettula, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working with children and families for over 20 years.

Paula is the creator and the host of a massively successful online parenting summit called “Becoming a Peaceful Parent” and has developed a unique approach to parenting based on a powerful transformational leadership framework which she is using to empower parents to become conscious, confident, and inspiring parents so they can create authentic, connected, and loving relationships with their children.

Paula holds a master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University. She also has a diploma in Montessori education from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI), is a certified yoga teacher (RYT-200) and is trained in EMDR, Sandplay Therapy, Play Therapy and Transformational Leadership.

Our discussion today included:

The pressure society puts on parents Being attuned to your kids needs The power of a morning ritual How learning to play an instrument can benefit the brain The need for children to have independence and how this differs in other countries Parenting as a leadership role and using power rather than force to parent our children Battling the power struggles that often emerge with children Why our kids can be so triggering and the importance of parents healing their own traumas and wounds The importance of taking responsibility for our actions as a leader and parent

We are putting a bow on 2021 as both the year and Season 1 comes to a close. We are sharing all the “knows,” including answering our own Get To Know You Questions that we ask each guest in an effort for you to know us better, and sharing our personal growth (what we grew to know more) in regard to the four initiatives that we aim to draw attention to each year. The initiatives that we focus on include:

In this episode, we get vulnerable about some of our personal struggles and where we hope to continue striving for self development. Our desire is that you come away from this episode with some “me too” moments, having things to ponder, as well as excitement for our upcoming Season 2!

Crissy Mentioned:

Our quarterly Roundtables provide an opportunity for us to bring together our Expert Panelists. Our panelists are from a variety of industries who all have varying expertise and opinions. Together, they discuss important issues that are relevant to mothers in our community. It’s the perfect way to initiate collaboration, create partnerships and learn different viewpoints all with the goal of bringing attention to maternal health. In our final Roundtable of 2021, the panelists are exposing the harmful expectations of motherhood and confronting the unrealistic and unachievable ideals. Our goal through this discussion is to help moms recognize and manage the expectations. The experts strive to help moms to establish in advance what is realistic so disappointment is minimized and moms can feel more secure in their abilities.

Summary:

The third HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2021 focused on exploring diet culture and body image issues.⁠ Our quarterly roundtables bring the HER Expert Panelists together to share their knowledge and discuss important health topics that affect mothers. It’s our hope that shedding light on this important topic and having open discussions like this, will help reduce the number of women who are silently struggling.

The 2021 HER Expert Panelists involved in this discussion include:

In this episode of Mama Needs and Moment, we are speaking with Renee Avis. Renee is a licensed professional counselor and the founder of Renee Avis Triangle Area Therapy, Our Mom Tribe and the Confident Moms Raising Confident Girls Coaching program. She is an expert in guiding moms to identify and understand their roadblocks to feeling/being confident. She helps clients recognize and defeat the negative self-doubt and negative body image that steals joy. Renee assists clients with believing in themselves, becoming connected to their bodies and feeling empowered with guiding their children to be confident and happy. In our discussion with Renee, she shares signs to look for in their children if they are struggling with the onset of an eating disorder. She also discusses building confidence in our children and how to create a world of confident moms.

Dr. Lisa Folden is a licensed physical therapist and mom-focused lifestyle coach. The owner of Healthy Phit Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants in Charlotte, NC, Dr. Folden works with clients recovering from orthopedic and neurological injuries. Additionally, she assists busy moms seeking a healthier lifestyle by guiding their food, exercise and wellness choices through optimal organization, planning strategies and holistic goal setting. In today’s episode, Dr. Folden dives into the importance of organization in our lives and how it can help us combat feelings of overwhelm, how to redefine and manage pain to improve quality of life, and navigating through diet culture and learning to embrace your body.

Katherine Andrew is a Registered Dietician with a Masters Degree in Public Health and practices using a Functional Nutrition approach. This means evaluating how a client's body is functioning as a whole unit rather than individual parts. She integrates all parts of health, both physical and mental into her work. Katherine works with clients to identify and address health concerns, navigate food sensitivity, explore body image, evaluate and improve hormone health, maximize stress management, and restore their relationship with eating so they can thrive. Each client is approached individually to help create a realistic and sustainable plan. Katherine dives deeper into her method of helping clients, the concepts of meal mapping, mitigating stress and breaking apart the messages portrayed by society in regard to health.

Megan Roberts is the program coordinator of Moms Supporting Moms, a peer-based support program for moms housed under the non-profit SafeChild NC. She is also the PSI-NC coordinator for the Triangle Region. Megan has dedicated her life to supporting mothers, particularly those navigating postpartum mental health issues. In today’s episode Megan shares her own story of battling postpartum anxiety, and some of the lessons she’s learned from 6 years of offering support to mothers during the fourth trimester and beyond.

Summary:

Megan's reading and watching:

Susie Silver taught in the public school system for 18 years. She's also a professional artist, mom to two children, activist within the LGBTQ community, a senior consultant at The Diversity Movement and wonderful person & friend. The Diversity Movement is a full-service diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy that includes a team of experts using a customized mix of online learning, tools, events, and consulting services to show businesses and teams how to use DEI practices. The practices are used to drive growth, improve recruiting, and enhance culture.

We’re talking with Susie about her work but we’re also talking about the struggles we all face to live an authentic life. She shares her experience of discovering her truth as well as the hurdles and joy she’s faced along the way of listening to her inner voice and becoming her truest self. Susie also gives us wonderful feedback on how to bring active allyship to the LGBTQ+ community within our homes so we can be sure we are raising our children to be inclusive and welcoming. It’s an honest, intimate conversation that we're sure you'll enjoy listening to.

In this episode, Susie references:

Dr. Sheryl Ziegler is a therapist, best-selling author, TEDx Speaker, and podcast host of the popular Dr. Sheryl’s Pod Couch. Her insights on burnout and parenting teens have been seen on The Katie Couric Show, The Jenny McCarthy Show, The Doctors, CNN, Morning Express with Robin Meade, and more. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Ziegler to hear a bit about her own personal story, how she’s navigated grief, the lessons she’s learned from raising tweens, and her invaluable insights on burnout and how utilizing a different definition of self-care can help parents take back control of their life.

The second HER Health Collective Roundtable of 2021 focused on unmasking Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders.⁠ Our quarterly roundtables bring the HER Expert Panelists together to share their knowledge and discuss important health topics that affect mothers. It’s our hope that shedding light on this important topic and having open discussions like this, will help reduce the number of women who are silently struggling.

The 2021 HER Expert Panel includes:

(the experts in bold were part of this specific Roundtable discussion)

Resources stated in this episode include:

Children with ADHD, autism and learning differences are not “less than” and do not need to be fixed. They have superpowers. It’s up to us to find those superpowers and teach them how to harness them.

Dr. Joni Johnson is a Pediatrician and certified Health and Wellness Coach with over 12 years of clinical experience exclusively supporting individuals with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, mood disorders and behavior problems. In addition to being a physician, Dr. Joni is a retired Army Colonel, disabled veteran, author, public speaker, entrepreneur and an individual with Dyslexia and a Visual Convergence Insufficiency.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Joni to hear her story -- from her time in the Army and the difficult days in her early career when she had to leave her one-year-old daughter behind as she deployed overseas to the program she created and implemented at Walter Reed Medical Center to better serve military families with diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities. Dr. Joni shares how parents can navigate the healthcare and school systems to best advocate for the needs of their children, all while continuing to care for their own needs.

Listen in as we discuss how girls and boys present with autism differently, some of the common misconceptions of ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, mood disorders and other behavior problems, and how to know who to seek out when building the team of providers that will care for your child. This conversation is packed with so many crucial pieces of advice, you may want to take notes!  We hope you get as much out of our time with Dr. Joni as we did.

Behind the Behaviors Course Information:

Liz Chavez is a mom, booklover, and teacher who strives to actively practice anti-racism. She is best known for her social media handle and her bookshop.org account both under the user name mrschavezreads. On all of her platforms, Liz shares book suggestions that help parents and teachers build inclusive homes and classrooms. In our discussion, Liz talks about being married to a Mexican man and raising biracial daughters, how she integrates motherhood with a busy work schedule, developing essential literacy skills in children of all ages and her work in anti-racism.

We had so much fun getting to know Liz better through our conversation. She has such a warm heart and balanced outlook on life. This is a fun, light hearted discussion that you’re sure to enjoy.

Kristina Dulaney, registered nurse shares her personal experience dealing with postpartum psychosis, the rarest of postpartum mental health disorders. Kristina explains how this journey led her to found Cherished Mom, a non-profit dedicated to providing new moms the support and education they need.

Sponsors:

Charryse Johnson uses her background in mental health, along with her own experience, past clinical work, training as a registered yoga teacher (RYT 200) and Level 1 Embodied practitioner to help individuals navigate challenging life transitions, past hurts, burnout, and managing work life balance. Charryse is passionate about bringing awareness to mental health disorders, and improvement to weight stigma using a Health at Every Size approach.

We had a fun conversation with Charryse where she discussed actionable steps moms can take to begin finding their own voice and connect with their identity. She spoke in detail about her passions and provided suggestions a mom could take right now if she was looking to become involved in similar movements. Charryse had us laughing as we discussed the benefits of couch time and pocket peeps, two concepts every mom needs to know more about.