Not So Private Parts – Details, episodes & analysis

Val sits down with Dr. Poulos to tackle the often-overlooked topic of incontinence.

Together, they explore what incontinence is, breaking down the difference between urge and stress incontinence, and offering a clear understanding of how they impact daily life. Dr. Poulos shares expert insights on the potential causes of incontinence, from lifestyle factors to medical conditions.

This is part one of a series of two episodes on Incontinence.

Val is honored to have the opportunity to sit down with Melanie Verwoerd, an author, podcaster, and advocate for supporting women and the medical community to better understand hysterectomies, among many other impressive accomplishments.

In this conversation, they explore Melanie’s personal journey, from the shocking discovery during a routine gynecological checkup of a potentially cancerous growth on one of her ovaries, to undergoing a radical hysterectomy just days later. She also details her learnings acquired throughout the recovery process and the advocacy work she has pursued since to enable more women to understand how to "Never Waste a Good Hysterectomy".

Links to check out:

Find out more about our guest: Melanie Verwoerd

Find her Book and Podcast: Never Waste Good Hysterectomy
Book & Podcast

Learn more about Melanie's new organization, "When Women Rise", a four-night luxury women's retreat intended for women of all ages, who feel that they need time for reflection, rest and healing.

Not So Private Parts Website
NSPP Instagram

In our previous Menopause episode, we dove down into the depths of menopausal symptoms, touching on hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, etc. Luckily, in today’s episode we march straight back up, discussing various forms of menopausal management that can support women through this transition and help dampen the adverse side effect of menopause.

Dr. Polous explains menopausal hormone therapy, or MHT, which is the process of supplementing women with hormones that are lost during the menopausal transition.

There are a range of MH therapies that can be used to lessen the effects of hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, etc.

MHT is even often prescribed for prevention of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis.

Dr. Polous discusses who would be a good candidate for MHT and how to go about having this discussion with your doctor.

Show-Notes for this episode and others: 

https://www.notsoprivateparts.net/show-notes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notsoprivatepartspod/

Val is joined by Dr. Victoria Snegovskikh, a reproductive endocrinologist & infertility specialist based in Chicago, who has been working in the space for over 20 years supporting couples to achieve their family building dreams.

Dr. Victoria breaks down what being “fertile” actually means and how fertility changes as we age.

Here’s a word from Val about this episode:

“As a woman in my late twenties, I feel that society is always alluding to my biological clock ticking, but no one has ever really explained what that means and the science behind it. Dr. Victoria graciously and knowledgeably breaks down what all the terminology floating around fertility is all about”

Show-Notes for this episode and others: https://www.notsoprivateparts.net/show-notes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notsoprivatepartspod/

Pause…..and let’s have a chat about Menopause.

Did you know that ⅓ of a woman's life is postmenopausal. Yet sometimes it feels like any learnings or conversations about this stage of a woman's life is kept quiet.

Join us in this episode in which Dr. Denise Polous and her daughter, Valerie Elser, discuss an often stigmatized topic: perimenopause and menopause.

The mother-daughter duo dive into what perimenopause and menopause are, uncover the science behind some of the symptoms, and hear from real women about what these symptoms felt like for them.

Show-Notes for this episode and others: https://www.notsoprivateparts.net/show-notes

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notsoprivatepartspod/

Listen in with Val and her mom, gynecologist Dr. Denise Elser-Poulos, as they discuss a phenomena all too familiar to many women (80% of women to be exact):
Painful Periods

Hear as listeners describe what painful periods feel like for them and ask their questions regarding what causes painful periods and what can be done to minimize the pain.

The two will walk through primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, or as the gals label it “cramps from the get-go” and “cramps that hit later”.

Dr. D breaks down some common causes of "cramps from the get-go" and "cramps that hit later" and what women can do to support themselves through the painful days of your cycle.

Special thanks to our listener who touched on their experiences: Grace, Carmen, Katie and Val V <3

Click here to find our show-notes: https://www.notsoprivateparts.net/resources

Join Gyno-Mom, Dr. Denise Elser Poulos and her daughter, Val, for a mini-episode all about getting to know the mother-daughter duo behind Not So Private Parts. You’ll be able to hear about Dr. D’s path toward becoming a women’s health physician, what excites her most about the field of urogynecology, and what topics she’s most excited to break myths about on the show. Val candidly dives into what it’s been like growing up with a mom as a gynecologist, what drove her to ask her mom to embark on this project, and what topics she is most excited to chat about with her mom.

Gyno-Mom, Dr. Denise Elser Poulos, and her daughter, Val, discuss a topic that Dr. D is very excited about: Heavy Menstrual Flow. It turns out heavy menstrual flow is quite common, affecting about 1 in 5 females. The mother-daughter duo delve into how to tell what amount of bleeding is right for you and how much is too much. What the symptoms are that go along with a heavy period and what are the processes or procedures that women can talk with their gynecologist about to lessen the effects of their heavy flow. This episode also features an interview with a Not So Private Parts listener, talking about her experience with heavy flow.

Gyno-mom, Dr. Poulos, her daughter, Val, and their special guest women’s health physician’s assistant, Kavitha (Kavi) Rajendran, candidly chat about an ooey-, gooey, taboo topic: Discharge. They delve into what discharge is, what is normal discharge and how it changes throughout your menstrual flow and throughout your life. They also dive deeper into when you should go and get your discharge checked out by a professional.

Gyno-mom, Dr. Poulos, and her daughter, Val, discuss a huge host of birth control options available for women: from vaginal rings, injectable birth control, the birth control implant, natural cycle planning, condoms, sterilization, and Plan B. They’ll dive into the details behind each form of birth control in the hope that hearing about all the options will demystify the wide array of birth control available and support woman to understand which form of birth control works best for you.