The Natural Womanhood Podcast

In our previous episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, we learned about the promise of photobiomodulation (aka "PBM," aka "red light therapy") for health and fertility from expert Tracy Donegan. It only made sense to follow an episode about how we should be utilizing our waking hours (i.e., sunlight) to promote good circadian rhythm, mitochondrial health, hormone synthesis, and more, with an episode about how to make the best of our nighttime hours to do the very same. In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace interviews Dr. Lynn Keenan, MD, a physician board-certified in both Sleep Medicine and Internal Medicine, whose life's work has been to "bridge rest and reproductive health." A longtime pioneer in both sleep medicine and restorative reproductive medicine, Dr. Keenan (who currently serves as the President of the Institute of Restorative Reproductive Medicine of America—IRRMA) shares with Grace the science behind why sleep is the critical foundation for reproductive health. Together with our red light therapy episode, you'll come away from this one more convicted than ever before of the importance of good sleep for healthy cycles, fertility, and every other aspect of your reproductive health—and even more importantly, how to get it. Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

By now, many of us have seen the Instagram reel of the woman absolutely terrifying her kids by coming around the corner with a red light therapy mask on her face. If your reaction was also to jump and think something along the lines of "What the heck could that possibly be for?!", then this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast is for you. As it turns out—and as we learned from interviewing midwife, doula, and red light therapy expert Tracy Donegan in this episode—red light therapy is about so much more than gimmicky face masks, and it has a surprising amount of data to back it up, especially for women's health and fertility.  Better known as "photobiomodulation" (PBM for short) in the scientific literature, the science of light therapy has everything to do with how much our mitochondria love sunlight—and how little of it they get nowadays. And don't worry, if all you remember about mitochondria is that they're "the powerhouse of the cell!" Tracy explains the science of PBM in a way that's clear, convincing, and—best of all—actionable (and, spoiler alert, you don't need a fancy laser to take advantage of many of the benefits of red light—just more time outside, and less time under artificial lights staring at screens). You don't want to miss this timely, fascinating episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast. (P.s.: Do yourself a favor, and listen to this one outside!)Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

We've all been there before: You laugh a little too hard, and you pee yourself. A hard run leaves you damp in more areas than your armpits. The lingering cough from the cold you had last week has you dribbling. Or maybe you went to a trampoline park with your kids, only to find yourself peeing a little with every jump. That's all normal, right? Wrong.While all the above scenarios are incredibly common, they're not normal—and they're certainly not optimal! So what's the solution for women who want to live their lives without fear of constantly peeing themselves? Is the best way to treat incontinence—as a recent article from The Guardian suggested—really to get an injection of a plastic-based goo into your urethra every few months for the rest of your life? Pelvic health expert Dr. Kayla Borchers doesn't think so, and she's back on The Natural Womanhood Podcast to talk with Grace about the healthy, holistic ways women can truly treat incontinence, stop peeing themselves, and get their lives back (and no, it's not about doing your kegels). Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Some pregnant women run marathons, and some barely have the energy to get off the couch. Some women can hardly wait to return to their normal physical activities after having a baby, and others like to take their time getting back into the swing of things.Who's got it right? How much should we be exercising while pregnant? Are there any kinds of exercise pregnant women absolutely shouldn't be doing? And just how important is postpartum exercise, and how much should women be aiming to get in the year after having a baby?In this episode, Natural Womanhood's Editor in Chief, Grace Emily Stark, interviews pelvic floor physical therapist Dr. Kayla Borchers on all these questions and more. In this episode, you'll learn about: Trimester-specific exercises and focusWhat kinds of exercises to do when you just don't want to do / don't have the energy to do anything while pregnantWhat to do /where to go when dealing with pregnancy aches and painsAny exercises you should absolutely avoid while pregnantThe importance of exercise postpartum: How to do it safely!When and how to begin exercising again postpartum (and how to fit it in!), and how much is too much?What problems can postpartum exercise help mitigate (back pain? PPD? Diastasis recti?)When to know you need more help healing postpartum, and where to goHow to play "catch up" if you didn't have / weren't able to have a very physically active pregnancyPreparing better for your next pregnancyWant to watch this episode on YouTube? Click here!Want to work with Dr. Kayla? Click here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

The "hot girls have stomach problems" social media trope is grimly funny, probably because so many of us can relate to the phenomenon of "oh, I can't eat that, or I'll be in the bathroom the rest of the night," (and even if you're lucky enough to not be personally familiar with that feeling, you've undoubtedly heard similar sentiments from your sisters or girlfriends).  But Ginny Noce, AKA The Women's Health RN, is here to tell us that your "tummy troubles" are actually your gut trying to tell you something about your health, your hormones—even (and perhaps especially) your menstrual cycle. And the most interesting part of it? It's a two-way street. That is, your cycle may actually be able to tell you a thing or two about your gut.In today's episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace and Ginny take a deep dive into all things gut health, and the way it impacts our overall health—including our cycles and fertility.     Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

How on earth does a clinic surrounded by universities—and with a large student patient population—win the "best women's health clinic" award from the Seattle Times ... without ever prescribing birth control?Helen Nguyen, CEO of 3W Medical for Women, thought it sounded too good to be true when she was told 3W had won the "Best Women's Clinic in the Pacific Northwest" award in 2023, and she almost couldn't believe it when they won again in 2024. But it's a testament to the fact that 3W is shifting the paradigm when it comes to women's health—and that birth control doesn't have to be part of the definition of women's health (as we've been made to believe for decades). In today's episode, Grace interviews Helen about 3W's origins, what they do differently from your "standard" university campus- or women's health clinic, and—the best part—the incredible patient testimonials indicating that this is what truly empowering women's healthcare is supposed to look like. Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Back in Season 2, we asked the question "Can Catholics use NFP?" to tackle some of the perceived controversies that surround the use of fertility awareness methods (FAMs) when used for family planning (often referred to in this context as "natural family planning" — hence, "NFP"). Because Natural Womanhood is dedicated to the belief that fertility awareness is for everyone, we decided that it was high-time to revisit that question, but with a twist. In today's episode, Grace sits down with Emma Waters to answer the question, "Can Protestants use NFP?" As the wife of a man currently studying for the Anglican priesthood, Emma's a great person to make the case for why Protestants of all stripes should reconsider how they plan their families—and what they use to do it. NB: Although we're focusing on the Protestant perspective(s) surrounding NFP in this episode of the NW podcast, we encourage all our listeners to check it out for a concrete understanding of what sets FAMs apart from the Pill or any other form of contraceptive. Do you want to make the case for why people of your faith background should use FAM/NFP (or why faith isn't required for using FAM/NFP), I'd love to hear from you! Please shoot me a message at [email protected]. Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Functional medicine-trained nurse and nutritionist Ginny Noce (aka "The Women's Health RN," as she's known to her thousands of Instagram followers) wants you to know that using the nonstick cookware at your AirBnB during your long weekend away isn't going to make or break your fertility health. She also wants you to know that "calories in, calories out" is absolutely the critical key to weight loss—but that where your calories are coming from and how your body is using them is just as essential for achieving your health- and fertility-conscious weight loss goals. Perhaps most importantly, she wants you to know that a maniacal obsession with "clean eating" might be doing more harm than good when it comes to your health, fertility, and fitness goals. In today's episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace interviews Ginny to help listeners get past the black and white thinking that pervades social media "wellness culture," to pursue their health, fertility, and weight loss goals, and more. In this episode, you'll hear from Ginny:- What sets apart the functional medicine approach to nutrition - Why unbalanced hormones are not a root cause in and of themselves for fertility issues like PCOS, recurrent miscarriage, and more  - What "the plate method" is, and why it's a critical tool in her nutrition practice - Why insulin balance is one of the most critical components to good health and fertility- How to achieve healthy, sustainable weight loss in a way that promotes—not harms—your female fertility- And more!Want to connect with Ginny? Check out her Instagram, her website, or fill out a client form to work directly with her or a member of her team.  Interested in more fertility-focused health & wellness and fitness & nutrition content from a balanced perspective that separates truth from the Instagram hype? Check out those topics at Natural Womanhood.orgSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

"There is no informed consent without body literacy," says Katie Vidmar, Natural Womanhood's Director of Programs, in this fascinating episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast. "If you don't know how your body works in a state of health, you can't wrap your mind around what's at stake with any given healthcare decision."In this episode, Katie sits down with Grace to lay out exactly what's at stake when women are kept ignorant of their bodies, their menstrual cycles, and their health. She also discusses what body literacy is, why it's especially critical for women's health, and what she and Natural Womanhood are doing to empower women to know, understand, and (ultimately) love their bodies. (Oh, and she drops this bombshell: Every woman who's ever been prescribed and taken birth control to "regulate her cycles" did not have informed consent—which is a lot of women.)  Learn more about Natural Womanhood’s Cycle Mindfulness Clubs: https://naturalwomanhood.org/cycle-mindfulness-clubs/For more about Katie Vidmar and her Elevate program: https://katievidmar.com/Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

By historical standards, the dating landscape for Millenials and GenZ is... strange, to say the least. The ubiquity of dating apps, social media, and smart phones has changed the game not only for romantic relationships, but for friendships as well. And friendship, says Jason Evert, is the critical foundation for forming a lasting, loving, intimate relationship with another person:"You can have passion without friendship, but you can't have intimacy without friendship. In the end, if you don't have that authentic friendship—that real tenderness, not just of affection, but the tenderness of perceiving the needs of the other and putting those first—if you lack that, good luck making this go the distance. That's why we need to pivot away from, 'okay, are we gonna be compatible in the bedroom?' to 'are we compatible outside the bedroom?' I think if you are, you will make love as you love."In this latest episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Editor in Chief Grace Emily Stark sits down with Jason Evert to discuss friendship, the role of body literacy in understanding libido, and more, to answer the question: How can I get the relationship I want? We can promise that both male and female listeners will have a lot of positive, actionable advice to take away from this episode.For more about Jason and the Chastity Project, see: https://chastity.org/ and https://chastity.com/Learn more about Natural Womanhood's Cycle Mindfulness Clubs: https://naturalwomanhood.org/cycle-mindfulness-clubs/For more sex and relationship content from Natural Womanhood, see:How Birth Control Messes Up Mutual AttractionCan the Pill change your taste in men?Consent, even “enthusiastic consent,” isn’t enough to prevent sexual assaultCollege hookup culture pulls women out of the driver’s seat when it comes to introducing sex in relationshipsWhat’s happening in male vs. female brains during sex?Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

For far too many women, one endometriosis surgery leads to another... and another... and another. But according to Dr. Patrick Yeung, MD, "one and done" endo surgery is not only possible, but it should be the goal that every gynecological surgeon has for his or her endometriosis patients. In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, NW's Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, interviews Dr. Yeung about his vision for "No mo' endo"—and the "three-pronged approach" he uses to achieve it.  At his RESTORE Center for Endometriosis in St. Louis, MO, Dr. Yeung specializes in Optimal Excision by LAPEX (Laparoscopic Excision) Surgery, a groundbreaking approach that represents a paradigm shift in endometriosis treatment. Dr. Yeung also focuses on removing every trace of the disease—wherever he finds it in the body—and on post-operative adhesion (scar tissue) prevention. As a result, the RESTORE Center boasts a mere 2.5% rate of repeat surgeries in 10 years. By contrast, the vast majority of gynecologists performing endometriosis surgery use ablation (not excision), do nothing to prevent post-op adhesions, and then either rely upon hormonal birth control to suppress further symptoms, or refer a woman for IVF if pregnancy is desired—all of which does little to improve a patient's symptoms or improve or restore her natural fertility. With endometriosis as one of the most common, debilitating reproductive diseases worldwide (and, likewise, one of the leading causes of infertility worldwide), physicians like Dr. Yeung and centers of excellence for comprehensive endometriosis care are needed now more than ever before. If you or someone you love suffers from endometriosis and desires a root-cause treatment approach that restores both health and fertility, you'll want to listen to this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast to learn the right questions to ask to find the best doctor for you. Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Regular listeners of The Natural Womanhood Podcast are likely familiar with the Creighton Method / NaPro Technology and FEMM for both fertility awareness charting and their surgical/medical protocols for treating reproductive health issues, including infertility. But few have heard of the third "flavor" of restorative reproductive medicine (that is, the holistic, root-cause approach to treating infertility): NeoFertility. There's a good reason you may not have heard of NeoFertility yet, and that's because it was pioneered by the Dublin-based Dr. Phil Boyle. But we have some exciting news to share in this first episode of season 4 (!) of The Natural Womanhood Podcast: Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Radiant Clinic, founded and operated by Dr. Monica Minjeur, DO, is now the very first U.S.-based NeoFertility clinic (and she also offers telehealth in IL, MI, MN, MO, NE, WI, CA, CO, FL, and TX!). In this episode, NW's Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, sits down with Dr. Minjeur (who also happens to be trained in FEMM and NaPro Technology) about what NeoFertility does differently for the treatment of infertility. After a brief hiatus, we're so excited to be back at it with the podcast, and it's only fitting we kick off this new season with such exciting news for the future of authentic women's health and fertility care! Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

While Natural Family Planning (aka NFP) is 100% worth it, it can be hard. No one will deny that (at least, not anymore). But too many couples who start off excited about NFP often find themselves alone and in the dark when challenges arise, and many end up giving up on it as a result. It's clear that more support is needed, but where, and how? Enter Natural Marriage Groups.In today's episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace interviews Katie Collins, who leads Natural Womanhood's pilot Natural Marriage Group in North Carolina. In this episode, you'll learn more about these innovative new NFP support groups, where couples can go to talk about the ups and downs (and everything in between) of NFP with other couples who are also struggling, or to hear encouragement from those who've seen the difficulties through to the other side. Designed to help couples live out the radically counter-cultural lifestyle of natural family planning, Natural Womanhood's Natural Marriage Groups are the NFP support group you've been dreaming of! I hope that listening to this episode will inspire you to want to learn more about Natural Womanhood's Natural Marriage Groups. If so, please reach out to Natural Womanhood's Director of Education, Jackie Aguilar, at [email protected] is the final episode of season 3! Thanks for listening. Want to support the production of season 4 (coming in spring 2025)? Click here. And if you have an idea for a guest or episode topic, reach out to Natural Womanhood's editorial assistant, Isabelle, at [email protected].  Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

When Erin Dewey first started at Texas A&M University, she never imagined that she'd be fondly known across campus as "the period girl" by the time she graduated. But that's the reputation she garnered from leading the very first Cycle Mindfulness Club—Natural Womanhood's peer-led university campus initiative designed to create a supportive community for young women to learn the science and truth of their God-given fertility and womanhood. But what Erin—and all the participants in the first CMC—gained from participating in the club was so much more than better knowledge of their periods. Many of them found true healing, greater confidence, and discerned their callings in life as women. In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, host Grace Emily Stark interviews Erin about what it was like to lead a fertility awareness support group on a college campus, and the incredible changes she saw in the participants—and herself. As always, you do not want to miss this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast!Show notes:Find out more about Natural Womanhood's Cycle Mindfulness Clubs (including how to apply to lead one at your college or university) here.For more on Natural Womanhood's Period Genius program, click here. For Erin's reflection on "How understanding my menstrual cycle revolutionized my prayer life," click here. Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

We ask kids all the time "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but how often do we ask them "do you want to be a mom?" or "do you want to be a dad?" These questions are the very basics of the concept known as reproductive life planning, a topic we unpack in detail during this enlightening episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast featuring Dr. Danielle Miller, MD. As the founder of Luz Medicine, a direct primary care practice in Lancaster, PA, Dr. Miller focuses on the full spectrum of primary care and women’s health, including infertility care. Reproductive life planning has therefore become a passion of hers, and we discuss what the concept looks like in action (and how it has evolved over time), and how we can do better by the young people in our lives by being honest about the realities of waning fertility. In this fascinating episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, we also discuss lessons on the importance of reproductive life planning gleaned from the recently published Hannah's Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth by Dr. Catherine Ruth Pakaluk.  As always, you do not want to miss this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast!Show notes:Find out more about Natural Womanhood's Cycle Mindfulness Clubs, here.For more on Natural Womanhood's Period Genius program, click here. To learn more about Dr. Danielle Miller and FACTS, click here.For those interested in Dr. Miller's direct primary care practice, Luz Medicine, click here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In May 2024, Melinda Gates pledged $1 billion dollars to defend “reproductive rights” in America. But back in 2012, she was throwing around even bigger sums and broader goals: she publicly pledged to dedicate $5 billion to fund a massive pro-contraception campaign in 69 of the poorest countries in the world, most of which, at the time, were in Sub-Saharan Africa. From her apartment in the UK, a young, female, Nigerian biomedical scientist watched her TV in anger and disbelief as Gates pledged to meet the "unmet need" of African women for contraception. That same night, Obianuju Ekeocha would pen an open letter to Gates that would garner massive international attention, and spur the creation of Culture of Life Africa. Yet, 12 years later, Gates's plans have proved largely successful: millions more women around the globe are on hormonal contraceptives as a direct result of her concerted efforts. During Natural Womanhood's September 2024 Annual Gala, the same Nigerian woman who bravely challenged Gates in her open letter over a decade ago issued a new challenge for everyone in attendance: if the scourge of contraception came from the West, the antidote would need to come from the West, too. We're excited to play some key excerpts of Obianuju Ekeocha's powerful speech for our listeners in this special Season 3 episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast.   Also in this special episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, host and Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, is joined by the co-founder and CEO of NW: Gerard Migeon. Gerard tells our listeners about Natural Womanhood's vision as a non-profit organization, everything we’re doing to alert promote authentic women's health all over the world, the impact of our work, and how we need your financial support now more than ever. You’ll also get to hear from the University of Texas at Austin leader of our Cycle Mindfulness Clubs, who'll tell us a bit more about that program, her experience in it, and why it matters to her. Finally, we'll be playing clips of some key moments of the riveting talk that Obianuju Ekeocha gave at our annual gala this past September. In this exclusive recording, Obianuju shares how she got involved in promoting authentic women's health, what is really going on in Africa, and how we all must respond.  You do not want to miss this explosive special episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast!Show notes:Find out more about our Cycle Mindfulness Clubs, here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

As more women awaken to the reality that birth control has been used as a bandaid for so many of their health issues, the search for root-causes and authentic solutions has led many to consider alternatives to allopathic medical care, such as naturopathic medicine. But how does naturopathic medicine differ, especially for women's health? In today's episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace interviews Dr. Jessica Whelan, ND (also a FertilityCare™ Practitioner and Medical consultant) who practices comprehensive women's health care in Saint Albans, VT (and via telehealth).Together, Grace and Dr. Whelan discuss:What is naturopathic medicine, and how does it differ from allopathic medicine? What can a naturopathic doctor (ND) trained as a NaproTechnology and FertilityCare™ Practitioner and Medical consultant offer to patients differently from an MD or DO trained in NaPro—especially when it comes to endometriosis, PCOS, and infertility​? The surprising ways naturopathic doctors can help women overcome mental health struggles (among other issues). And much more!Show notes:Dr. Whelan's 6 Ways to Healthy Hormones and Better Cycles GuideSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

An estimated 44% of girls don't know what's happening when they start their first period. And when it happens, many of those girls are fearful that they are sick—even dying—and suffer in silence, too embarrassed to admit what's happening or ask any questions about it. Fear, confusion, lies: This is the sad reality of puberty for far too many young American girls today. But it doesn't have to be that way for your daughter. In today's episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace Emily Stark discusses not only the importance of teaching our daughters about their periods (well before they start!), but about the entirety of their cycles, with ovulation as the focal point. And for moms who have no idea where to begin when it comes to having these conversations with their daughters, that's where Natural Womanhood's Period Genius program comes in (formerly known as Mothers of PreTeens). For this episode, Grace is joined by Christina Valenzuela, creator of Pearl & Thistle, an online suite of menstrual cycle, body literacy, and NFP education for all ages and stages. Together, Grace and Christina (moms of daughters themselves!) discuss the how and why moms are best-suited for giving their daughters the empowering body literacy they both need and crave—even if they don't know it, yet.   The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Show notes / links: Want to purchase Natural Womanhood's Period Genius program for you and your daughter (or gift it to someone who needs it)? We're now offering it at $87 for 12-month access! ($125 for lifetime access). Click here for more details.  Use the coupon code PARENTS15 to get a 15% off discount on Pearl & Thistle's CYCLE PREP: First Period Course for Girls (cycleprep.com)Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

For years, Jennifer Lahl has been one of the lone voices screaming into the void about the ethical dangers of assisted reproductive technology (ART), including egg and sperm donation, and surrogacy. She specializes in sharing the stories of those people the billion dollar ART industry likes to hide, like those of the children conceived by anonymous donor gametes longing to know their genetic parents, or surrogates and babies abandoned by commissioning couples. More recently, she's been working to promote the voices of another silenced group: detransitioners, whom the transgender movement likes to pretend do not exist.I had the privilege of sitting down with Jennifer for this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast to hear her thoughts on what all of these issues have in common, and whether she believes—as we do, at Natural Womanhood—that authentic body literacy might hold one of the keys to ending the practice of surrogacy, gamete donation, and perhaps even toppling the entire façade of transgender "medicine."The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Show notes / links:Order Jennifer's new book (co-written with Kallie Fell), The Detransition Diaries, here.Follow the great work of The Center for Bioethics and Culture, here.Follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferLahlFollow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

"What started as an ambitious crowdfunding campaign back in 2014 has since grown into the world’s first wearable [basal body temperature] sensor, advancing women’s reproductive health throughout every stage." So reads TempDrop's "About Us" page. As it happens, Natural Womanhood's website also began 10 years ago, in 2014, and so it only feels right that we'd have the distinction of being the first podcast to ever interview TempDrop's inventor and founder, Michael Vardi.In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, NW's Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, and TempDrop's founder, Michael Vardi, trace the beginnings of TempDrop, fertility apps, and women's growing interest in body literacy. They also discuss the trends, discoveries, and challenges of the last 10 years of fertility awareness and Femtech, and what the future holds for both.   The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief and Public Relations manager, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Show notes / links:If you want to buy a Tempdrop, be sure to use our affiliate link to get 15-25% off during the month of July!About TempDrop: Tempdrop uses the latest scientific knowledge to bring you an accurate method of cycle tracking and identification of your fertile window. Wear the Tempdrop sensor on your upper arm during sleep and sync to our charting app whenever it's convenient. Tempdrop‘s sensor continuously monitors your basal body temperature while you sleep, eliminating the need to wake up at the same time each day.Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.Support the Show.Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!FollSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Abigail Anthony knew a thing or two about pain and perseverance as a former competitive ballerina. But when her increasingly painful periods and other seemingly disparate side effects made her workload at Princeton harder and harder to manage, people treated her as if she just needed to mentally "toughen up."Now a graduate student at Oxford (and the current Collegiate Network Fellow at National Review), Abigail wrote the story of her endometriosis journey for The Free Press, where she interned last August. We knew we had to interview her for The Natural Womanhood Podcast, and she graciously agreed to record this episode with us, all the way from England! We hope you enjoy this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief and Public Relations manager, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Show notes / links:Read Abigail's piece for The Free Press:  I Wasn’t Hysterical. I Was Sick.Follow Abigail on Twitter @abigailandwordsFollow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Talking about intimacy can be tough, which can make communicating about natural family planning (NFP) with our spouse—or sharing about NFP and its benefits with others—a little bit... uncomfortable. How can we communicate better about sex, intimacy, and natural family planning to benefit not only our own marriages, but others', as well? In this intimacy-focused, third episode of season 3 of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, NW’s Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, interviews Ellen Holloway, Catholic sexuality and intimacy coach and host of the Charting Toward Intimacy podcast. Together, the two share their own personal experiences with how natural family planning has deepened intimacy in their respective marriages—and muse about why we're not better at sharing with others the "good news" of NFP.  (Spoiler alert: they have some ideas for how to do that.)  The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief and Public Relations manager, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Show notes / links:Learning to love (with) Natural Family Planning : What dozens of couples told us about their experience with NFPVines in Full Bloom + NFP BasicsCharting toward intimacy on Instagram: @chartingtowardintimacyFollow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.Support the showFind us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode. And if you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

One miscarriage is painful enough, but imagine suffering two in a row, only to be told that you "got unlucky twice," and that it's still "too early" to look into any potential underlying causes. Maybe you don't have to imagine; maybe this is your reality, as it is for so many women suffering the heartbreak of repeated miscarriage. In this miscarriage-focused, second episode of season 3 of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, NW’s Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, interviews Jamie Rathjen, co-creator and co-host of the Hormone Genius Podcast, a FertilityCare Practitioner, and  the owner and founder of The Fiat Institute. Together, the two share their own personal experiences with miscarriage, how they found healing (physical, emotional, and spiritual), and how women can find the right providers to care for them when suffering miscarriage. They also discuss what restorative reproductive medicine (RRM) has to offer women that can help treat some of the underlying causes of miscarriage, to hopefully prevent their (re)occurrence in some cases.  The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood’s Editor-in-Chief and Public Relations manager, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy.Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here.Natural Womanhood pregnancy loss and miscarriage resources can be found, here. Show notes / links:The Hormone Genius PodcastThe Fiat InstituteSupport for miscarriage:Heaven’s GainRed Bird MinistriesFollow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Emily and Kirk had just suffered their second miscarriage, and they were done: done with the pain, done with the fear, and done having kids. They had already had two children, and had made their peace with their family size, so they made the decision to have Kirk undergo a vasectomy. Done. Until... Join us for the first episode of season 3 of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, where NW's Editor-in-Chief, Grace Emily Stark, and Managing Editor, Anne Marie Williams, interview Emily and Kirk about their journey from being certain that a vasectomy was the only way to guard their hearts against the pain of a future miscarriage, to their (successful) vasectomy reversal one year later. If you've ever considered a vasectomy, a reversal, or know someone who is, this episode is a must-listen. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Natural Womanhood's Editor-in-Chief and Public Relations manager, Grace Emily Stark. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Natural Womanhood exists because all women can learn to claim their natural fertility as beautiful, powerful, and healthy. Learn more about Natural Womanhood, here. LINKS:Emily & Kirk's Woven Well podcast episodeCaitlin Estes, Woven Natural Fertility Care (Creighton Model System)Lily Nichols, RDMidwest vasectomy reversals: https://www.midwestvasectomyreversals.com/ (St. Louis, MO)Power Athlete Radio: Lily Nichols episode mentioned by Kirk, hereSupport for miscarriage:Heaven's GainRed Bird MinistriesMore Natural Womanhood resources on vasectomy: https://naturalwomanhood.org/is-a-vasectomy-reversal-effective-enough-to-help-you-become-a-dad-again/https://naturalwomanhood.org/the-reality-of-vasectomy-risks-and-side-effects/https://naturalwomanhood.org/a-vasectomy-cant-repair-a-broken-love-life-and-it-might-cut-a-relationship-short/https://naturalwomanhood.org/tubalSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

So many women wonder if they can reliably use a fertility awareness method (FAM) while breastfeeding—and it's little wonder, given that this can be the trickiest of times to learn and use a FAM. But with a little guidance and perseverance, it absolutely can be done, and we're here to talk about how! In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, co-host Cassondra Moriarty is in the hot-seat, using her expertise and experience as an IBLCE-certified lactation consultant, postpartum doula, FAM instructor (and user), and mom of three to answer everything you've ever wanted to know about FAM and breastfeeding. This is our FINAL episode of season 2, and we're thrilled with how this season turned out—thanks so much for tuning in. Please be sure to let us know if there are any burning topics you'd like to see us discuss for season 3!The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Support the showSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

It's no secret that fertility awareness methods (FAMs) can be a controversial subject. For non-Catholics, using FAMs for family planning is seen as controversial when they're (mis)understood as ineffective iterations of the Rhythm Method (of course, in reality, they're lightyears ahead of the Rhythm Method in scientific validity, and therefore incredibly effective when used appropriately). But for Catholics (who refer to the use of FAMs for family planning purposes as "Natural Family Planning" or simply "NFP"), the controversy is a completely different animal. As many of our readers and listeners likely know, the Catholic Church has a strict prohibition against the use of all forms of (artificial) contraception. Because of this prohibition, some Catholics mistakenly believe that NFP fits into the same category, and therefore believe that "good" Catholics shouldn't use NFP (even if the Church allows them to—which it does!). So what, exactly, makes NFP different from contraception, and why should a couple be encouraged to use it, even if they're sure they want to have "all the babies"?In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace Emily Stark sits down with Catholic writer Emily Stimpson Chapman to tackle these questions and the perennial argument amongst Catholics about whether it's really a good idea to use NFP (and where we might have gotten those pesky, mistaken ideas from that it isn't). Although we're focusing on the Catholic perspective surrounding NFP in this episode of the NW podcast, we encourage our non-Catholic listeners to check it out for a concrete understanding of what sets FAMs apart from the Pill or any other form of contraceptive. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Support the showSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

"Does the world we build welcome mothers, or does it treat them as a problem to be solved?" That's the question author Leah Libresco Sargeant wrestles with over and over again in her writings on her Substack and elsewhere, and especially in her essay "Designing Woman" for Comment. For this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast (S2E8), Grace and Cassie were thrilled to interview Leah about her essay, and her thoughts on what it would take to build workplaces and a society that would truly welcome women, their bodies, and their creative potential.The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showSupport the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

When it comes to adolescent sex education programs, do we have to choose between "abstinence-only" or "comprehensive?" Dr. Sarah Denny doesn't think so. In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast, Grace and Cassie interview Dr. Denny about her beautiful and innovative vision of a "third way" for sex education—one which gives teens a full picture of both the biology and dignity of human reproduction. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast (Season 2 / Episode 6), Grace and Cassie interview Dr. Matthew Loftus, a family doctor who currently lives (with his wife and four children!) and practices medicine in Kenya. As you might have guessed from the title, this is "the episode where we talk about porn," and we approached Dr. Loftus as a guest speaker on this topic after reading his excellent article on overcoming porn addiction in Plough. While this topic might seem a bit off-the-beaten-path from what we typically talk about on The Natural Womanhood Podcast and on the Natural Womanhood website, we decided that pornography and its effects were well worth dedicating an episode to. It's an unfortunate reality that the way many of us view sex and our bodies (and others' bodies) has been shaped and colored in some way by the ubiquity of porn. And, as we talk about in this episode, where pornography completely decontextualizes sex, fertility awareness can help us recontextualize sex (for adults and teens) in a way that's needed now more than ever. See? Not so off the mark after all! (We are proud of this episode and hope you'll find our conversation as edifying as we did, however, we do want to caution listeners that this episode discusses sex and pornography addiction, so discretion is advised.)  The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In this episode (Season 2 / Episode 5), Grace and Cassie interview Tiffany and Kelly of Beautiful One Midwifery, a practice based out of Encinitas, CA. In this wide-ranging interview, we discuss the key differences of midwifery care vs. obstetrical care when it comes to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum—learning a lot about the power of women's bodies in the process. "Your body is not broken," says the Beautiful One Midwifery website, "it is simply begging you to take it out of the system that neglects and dismisses you as a whole person in need of a holistic approach to health." It's a statement that encapsulates the Natural Womanhood approach to women's health, which is why we were so thrilled to be able to interview these wonderful women and hear more about the fascinating work of midwifery. Whether you're a strong proponent of hospital births or home births, there's plenty to take away from this informative episode about the awe-inspiring work of growing and birthing babies.   The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In this episode (Season 2 / Episode 4), Grace and Cassie interview Julia McElhenny on the benefits of fertility awareness methods (FAMs) for single women. Julia is the assistant video editor for a non-profit media studio in Austin, TX called the Emergent Order Foundation, and she actually edited the first season of The Natural Womanhood Podcast for us—oh, and she happens to be Grace's little sister! Most importantly (for the purposes of this episode) Julia has been charting her cycles with a FAM since she was a teenager, which she (and her doctor) have used to diagnose and holistically treat both endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) over the past several years. While FAMs and methods of natural family planning (NFP) are often talked about in the context of family planning, Julia is here to tell us all about the benefits of using a FAM as a single woman (spoiler alert: there are quite a few!). If you're not in a relationship and have ever wondered what fertility awareness could possibly have to offer you (especially if you're on birth control for whatever reason, and are looking for something different), this episode is for you. The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In this episode (Season 2 / Episode 3), Grace and Cassie interview functional nutritionist and registered dietician Victoria Coglianese of Wonderfully Made Nutrition. We discuss not only what good nutrition looks like for women suffering from PCOS, but also how to be mindful of the ways we nourish our bodies as women. Women are not just small men, and our nutritional needs differ in some very important ways, which Victoria breaks down for us in the fascinating, highly-informative episode. We hope you learn as much as we did from listening to her!The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

In this episode (Season 2 / Episode 2), Grace interviews Leah Jacobson, author of Wholistic Feminism: Healing the Identity Crisis Caused by the Women's Movement, and founder and CEO of The Guiding Star Project. Grace and Leah have a fascinating conversation that discusses the implications of the women's movement, from its origins, to its effects on modern women's health and well-being, and how organizations like Natural Womanhood are paving the way for a more authentic vision of women's health.   The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Like what you’re hearing and want more? Click to support the show!Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Welcome back to The Natural Womanhood Podcast! In this episode (Season 2 / Episode 1), we're discussing all things postpartum. Cassie and Grace recorded this episode after both recently having new babies (their second and third, respectively), and in it, they reflect on what they've learned through each new postpartum experience--about themselves, their bodies, and their relationships. You don't want to miss this candid episode, especially if you're a brand-new mom (or know one!).  The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here. Support the show (https://paypal.me/naturalwomanhood?locale.x=en_US)Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Dr. Lauren Rubal, M.D. is a board-certified OB/GYN and Reproductive Endocrinologist (REI). She was also once one of the top full-scope REI providers for the Kaiser Health Network, which meant that she frequently provided in vitro fertilization (IVF) services to patients struggling with infertility, and provided birth control to women struggling with menstrual issues like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). But after several years of this kind of practice, Dr. Lauren began to feel a pull towards practicing another way—a way that would holistically restore a woman's health or a couples' fertility, so that they could cycle and/or conceive naturally. So, a few years ago, Dr. Lauren took a leap of faith and started her own boutique practice in Newport Beach, CA, where she now only offers restorative reproductive medicine. A one-two punch of expertise in both conventional gynecological and fertility medicine, and holistic and restorative practices, Dr. Lauren is also an exceedingly lovely person whom her patients love—and whom we were absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to interview for our very final episode of Season 1 of The Natural Womanhood Podcast! We sincerely hope you enjoy this episode, and want to thank you for listening to the inaugural season of The Natural Womanhood Podcast. We had a blast, and are eagerly planning new content for next season. If you have any ideas, please shoot them our way! Until then, be well, and know that we can't wait to see you again next year for Season 2.The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women’s health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

What do you think of when you hear the term "self care?" Does it mean treating yourself to something special or expensive? Does it mean forcing yourself to maintain some semblance of personal hygiene (like showering), even though you're overwhelmed and exhausted? In this episode (Season 1 / Episode 7), we tackle the topic of self-care with therapist Julia Hogan, LCPC, and discuss the ways that fertility awareness can help us reclaim (and practice) an authentic sense of self-care. Especially as we gear up for the busy-ness of the holiday season, you do not want to miss this enlightening episode⁠—and did we mention, it's the second-to-last one of the season?! The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Living with your fertility feels radically different when turning off your fertility is the cultural norm. But couples often find when they make the switch to using a fertility awareness method (FAM), that it can be a wonderful tool for strengthening their relationship.In this episode (Season 1 / Episode 6), we have an enlightening conversation with  FertilityCare Practitioner and Natural Womanhood board member Jackie Aguilar. Listen to her story unfold as she describes how the birth control pill interfered with her newlywed relationship, and how her journey towards a fertility awareness method gave way to a greater understanding of her body and strengthening of her marriage. Jackie packs a one-two punch as both a FertilityCare Practitioner instructing women and couples in the Creighton model of fertility awareness, and (with her husband) as half of a Teaching Couple teaching the Sympto-thermal method through the Couple to Couple League. She is also on the board of Natural Womanhood, and as a speaker for the organization, Jackie shares her personal trials with artificial means of contraception, and the discovery of deeper intimacy and empowerment through the knowledge of her fertility. Jackie has 5 children with her husband Miguel, and together they live in San Antonio, TX (where Natural Womanhood is also headquartered).The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Fertility Awareness Methods have come a long way from your great grandma’s rhythm method. As Grace puts it, comparing today's Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs) to the antiquated rhythm method is like comparing Jerry Seinfeld's car phone to the smart phone you are probably listening to this podcast on. Who first discovered that basal body temperature rises after ovulation? Who put together the pieces of cervical fluid patterns? How did the various methods of fertility charting come to be? We talk about all of that and more in this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast! In addition to the history of fertility and reproductive science, in this episode (Season 1 / Episode 5) we dive into who the masterminds behind modern fertility awareness methods are, and what modern femtech has to offer to women today. You can also find out about the “fertility museum” Cassondra’s got accumulating in her house….The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Birth control is so ubiquitous and so easy to procure, that many women have not stopped to think about how it prevents pregnancy, and why it matters. The history of birth control, from the very first iteration of the Pill to the modern options available to women today, provides some interesting clues about what birth control is, how it works, and what its creators intended it for.  In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast (Season 1 / Episode 4), our co-host Grace Emily Stark discusses the history of hormonal birth control, based on research she conducted for the Novak journalism fellowship she was awarded in 2019. As you'll come to find from listening to this episode, the history of the Pill is much more unsavory than most people realize (or will admit). If this episode gets you mad that literally nothing has changed when it comes to transparency (or the lack thereof) about birth control risks and side effects, the good news is there is something you can do about it—today. Head over to the Natural Womanhood website, where you can read about and sign our petition to the FDA, which demands greater transparency about birth control side effects from Big Pharma.  The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Although FEMM is one of the latest fertility awareness methods (FAMs) to take the world of women's reproductive health by storm, it's built on a long history of established science. Complete with a sleek mobile app and established restorative reproductive medicine protocols—and a growing directory of healthcare providers around the world trained to administer those protocols—FEMM is what you might call a "next generation" fertility awareness method. And with a growing list of FEMM teachers worldwide (including our very own Cassondra Moriarty!), learning to use FEMM for health and family planning has never been easier. In this episode of The Natural Womanhood Podcast (Season 1 / Episode 3), we sat down with Anna Halpine, CEO and founder of FEMM, to learn more about this increasingly popular method of fertility awareness, and how it is revolutionizing women's hormonal health. The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

Some of our most popular articles on the Natural Womanhood website have to do with painful sex. A growing area of interest is how pelvic floor physical therapy can be utilized to heal the causes of painful sex, but as we discover in this episode, it can do so much more.  In this episode (Season 1 / Episode 2), we interview Dr. Jen Tippmann, PT, DPT, owner of Tippmann Physical Therapy in Fort Wayne, IN, about her work as a pelvic floor physical therapist. Both Cassie and Grace learned a lot in their conversation with Dr. Tippmann, especially how pelvic floor physical therapy can be used to promote better reproductive health for women at every stage of their fertility. We hope you'll tune in and learn something new, too!  The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. The podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula.The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects.Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here. 

The Natural Womanhood Podcast brings together experts in the field of fertility awareness for candid, informative, and friendly conversations about authentic women's health. From pelvic floor physical therapy, to surgical interventions, to relationships and mental health, no topic is off limits for Grace and Cassie, as they seek to bring the empowering truth about women, their bodies, and their cycles to their listeners: that is, that women's cycles are essential, powerful, important, and do not need to be "controlled." The Natural Womanhood podcast is hosted by Grace Emily Stark and Cassondra Moriarty. Grace is an award-winning journalist, a certified instructor of the Sympto-Thermal Method of fertility awareness, and she holds a M.A. in Bioethics and Health Policy. Cassie is a certified instructor of FEMM, an IBCLC lactation consultant, and DONA postpartum Doula. In this episode (Season 1 / Episode 1), we'll be delving a bit deeper into both of our backgrounds, and describing our own personal journeys as we came to learn about, use, and eventually teach fertility awareness to other women and couples.   The Natural Womanhood Podcast is a production of Natural Womanhood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women's health literacy through the promotion of evidence-based fertility awareness methods (FAMs) of natural family planning. Natural Womanhood exists to help women discover safe, side effect-free natural birth control options, empower them to work with their bodies instead of against them, and to inform them about harmful birth control side effects. Learn more about Grace and her work here, and learn more about Cassie and her work here.Support the showIf you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a rating on Apple podcasts!Find us on the web at naturalwomanhood.org and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you never miss an article, video interview, or podcast episode.  Follow us on X @naturwomanhoodFollow us on Instagram @naturalwomanhoodWant to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.