Meet Anna Smith.  Anna is host to the podcast, Health Conversations With Anna Smith.  In her professional role, Anna works as a Registered Nurse with a background in Public Health.  In this episode, Anna shares her raw personal story of being a young widow with two children. The ensuing fear of pregnancy after loss during a global pandemic; all while working on the frontline.  She goes on to describe her sources of support through life's uncertainty and tragedy.  Listen now, as Anna describes essential support as the team pulling you forward on the relay of life, even when your story is not linear!

In this episode we talk all about pelvic floor function, which is so much more then, ‘do your kegels’.  I talk to an informative and refreshing Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, Hayley Kava, on her passionate work restoring and normalizing women's pelvic floor function. After her own birthing trauma, she felt ignored in her perinatal experience and recovery.  Motivated by that experience, Hayley went on to be the change she wanted and needed.  She is a women's health advocate improving lives through her huge social media following, private practice and podcast.  Hayley teaches us to celebrate the ‘messier bits of motherhood’.  Listen now as we talk all about pee, poop, women's bodies and mostly to stop apologizing and start asking for what we need!

In Part II of Christina Clements' story, she reveals the interminable nature of her metastatic breast cancer.  Christina applies a very personal call to listeners on how little tangible support and research exist for her type of cancer.  She shares about her anticipated path to reconstruction and highlights her unwavering support network that has carried her through when the totality of the last year set-in.  Listen now to hear more of Christina’s powerful story!

In this Episode, I speak with Christina Clements.  Christina recounts how while the world locked down from COVID-19, she was processing a terrifying recent breast cancer diagnosis.  On the island of Guam, she was far away from family and only had access to limited treatment options.  In the span of a few months her diagnosis went from Stage 1 to Stage 4.  Every aspect of this devastating diagnosis turned logistically and emotionally more difficult as normal treatment pathways and support systems were complicated by a global pandemic.

This week I speak with Elizabeth Smith, host of the popular podcast, The American Milspouse.  Elizabeth opens up about her experience with infertility and adoption.  She expresses how she, a classic Type A personality and her equally precisonist Fighter Pilot husband, quickly realized they weren’t in control as they navigated their path to parenthood.  Elizabeth walks us through the complexities of what has always been on her heart, adoption.  She details how her two precious daughters and the multitude of love surrounding them, serve as a daily reminder of their unfolding story and the long road to get there.

In this Episode I speak with Navy Veteran, mother and body positive advocate, Sarah Shellock.  Sarah shares how through the experience of deep pain during her complicated perinatal story and enduring battle with body image, she has emerged with more kindness to herself and for others. Sarah discusses that like motherhood, so much of the universal experience of being a woman is feeling “not enough” or rather “too much” and how she is transforming that dialogue for her daughter.  Listen now for Sarah’s beautiful melody as she sings and shares her story, “I am the mother of Ruby Jean”!

This week I speak with Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Private Practice Psychotherapist, Monique Dozier.  Monique explains that in the current state of accessibility to mental health resources, particularly for mothers, it's a battle to get appropriate and timely care.  She explains how critical this battle is, “we are losing mothers and it’s avoidable”.  Monique works to fill the gap in resources through her private practice, and reserves a portion of her therapy spots specifically for Black mothers who face greater barriers to finding identifiable mental health support.  Listen now to this insightful conversation!

For this week's episode, I sat down with Craniosacral Therapist and holistic mama, Ariana Mullins.  Ariana stresses the importance of listening to, learning from and healing through our bodies, particularly as women.  She advocates for all women to expect more and ask for more, when it comes to our bodies and healing from trauma.  Ariana describes how the lack of resources in her early mothering days, and extreme burnout, fueled a passion to want more for herself and all mothers. Enjoy this inspirational episode encouraging us to show up with joy in our bodies, "you first mama, you first"!

In this episode I talk to my witty, glamorous and long-time friend, Candace Gibson. Candace is a freelance writer and barre instructor who provides us with the realness that is having a baby in the midst of a pandemic.  Outside of the inconveniences of wearing a mask during delivery and breastfeeding, no restaurant dining, and limited visitors; Candace elaborates on the true primal fear and anger that surfaced in the isolation of mothering in a strange time.  In true Candace fashion, the heaviness of her situation is imbued with a whole lot of humor as we talk mom stink and our mutual love of onions.  Listen now for a dose of mothering in modernity with Candace Gibson!

In this episode I sit down with Mahealani Buckler.  Mahea is a fellow International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Registered Nurse, military spouse and mother.  Mahea describes her complicated breastfeeding journey marked by guilt, shame, pain, and judgement.  Elements familiar to so many mothers alike.  She shares how she held most “mom labels" in her infant feeding journey, from bottle and formula mom to pumping and then extended exclusive breastfeeding mom.  Through her polarizing journey, Mahea experienced firsthand the struggles and depths mothers go to feed their children and echoes my call for more tangible support for new mothers.  For every mother who has ever felt not enough in her new role, let down by her body and the current system of support, this week's episode is a must listen!  It's encouraging to know there are passionate professionals like Mahea that have your back and also your front!  Listen as it gets very messy and milky on this episode!