On Health for Women – Details, episodes & analysis

I remember when I first started practicing as a midwife—way back in the '80s—there was barely a whisper about how nutrition could impact pregnancy. I taught my first prenatal nutrition class in 1990, and the hunger for information was almost palpable. It’s amazing to me that, fast forward to today, we’re still facing a gap in understanding just how much food and lifestyle choices affect both mom and baby. But here’s the thing—there’s so much hope and possibility when we’re armed with the right information, and today’s guest has dedicated her life to providing just that.

I’m beyond excited to introduce you to Lily Nichols. Lily is a registered dietitian, nutritionist, and certified diabetes educator who is passionate about making pregnancy health both understandable and achievable. Her journey into this work is rooted in a deeply personal mission: she saw firsthand how powerful nutrition could be in preventing complications like gestational diabetes, and she wanted to share that knowledge with as many women as possible. Her books, Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy, have helped countless women take control of their health during such an important time.

In today’s episode, Lily and I dive deep into some powerful truths about gestational diabetes—how it’s on the rise but, more importantly, how it can be prevented and even reversed with simple, mindful changes. We’ll talk about why so many women still aren’t given this information, how the right nutrition can truly change the trajectory of your pregnancy, and practical steps anyone can take. We’ll even touch on how blood sugar testing is done differently around the world—and why those differences matter.

Whether you’re pregnant, planning to be, or just curious about how your body responds to food, there’s so much to take away from this conversation. It’s about more than just numbers on a blood test; it’s about learning to listen to your body, trust yourself, and make small changes that have a lasting impact on your health—and the health of your baby.

So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and let’s get into this empowering and eye-opening conversation with Lily Nichols. I think you’re going to walk away feeling hopeful, informed, and ready to take charge of your health in a whole new way.

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

The Mama Pathway is not your average childbirth education program. It's a powerful virtual membership community and online education experience where traditional midwifery wisdom and modern medicine meet to support you on your most empowered path through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Go to avivaromm.com/mama-pathway to learn more

Mentioned in this episode:

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

Of all the stages in life, most women tell me they’d least want to revisit—it's puberty. If you're reading this, you survived it too. And while you likely have some fond memories, you also remember the awkward body changes, the anxiety of getting your mom to buy pads or tampons to avoid the dreaded checkout counter, the stress around your emerging—or non-emerging—breasts, acne, and the confusing wave of new feelings that came with your growing sexual awareness.

Our teens today are facing a different kind of puberty—a reality that’s markedly different from what we experienced. While they have more access to information and resources than we did, puberty itself has changed in significant ways. There are new gaps between what we as parents—and even many doctors—know and what our kids are going through. From earlier onset of puberty, which now often starts as young as eight, to prolonged puberty stages and earlier exposure to explicit content online, it’s a whole new world for our children.

Understanding these shifts is crucial for guiding your child through this delicate time.

In the latest episode of On Health, I’m joined by two incredible experts who are deeply immersed in these changes. Vanessa Kroll Bennett, a puberty expert, writer, and entrepreneur, and Dr. Cara Natterson, a pediatrician and the mind behind the New York Times bestselling series The Care and Keeping of You, bring their expertise and warmth to our conversation. Both are moms of teens themselves and co-hosts of The Puberty Podcast. Their new book, This is So Awkward, is a phenomenal guide to understanding the landscape of modern puberty so you can better support your child through this vulnerable and often tumultuous time.

In our discussion, we explore key aspects of modern puberty and how you can support your tween or teen:

1. The New Puberty: Why puberty is lasting longer than ever - and how this might impact your daughters - and you, too!
2. The Role of Social Media: How to balance allowing your child to connect with the world while protecting them from the darker sides of online life.
3. Mental Health: Differentiating between normal teenage mood swings and more serious mental health concerns.
4. Building Resilience: Empowering your child to handle the social and sexual pressures they’re facing at increasingly younger ages.
5. Un-Shaming Conversations: Creating a safe space for open, honest talks about body changes, sexuality, and all the things that used to make us blush.
6. Your kid isn't the only one going through puberty: Your kid’s puberty - it's hard on you, too! We talk about how move through it with grace - while not internalizing it when they say they hate you! 

These insights are more than just tips—they’re lifelines for helping your child navigate this critical stage of development with confidence and resilience.

I invite you to listen to this episode—click here to tune in. Let’s make sure we’re raising the next generation with the information and support they need. And if you find this conversation valuable, please share it with a friend, leave a review, and join the conversation online using #OnHealth. Your stories, your questions, and your experiences make our community stronger.

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

Mentioned in this episode:

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

I started tracking my menstrual cycles 40 years ago. It was 1981, I was 15 years old, not yet sexually active, but curious about my body and already on the path to studying midwifery.

Tracking my cycles taught me how my innate hormonal blueprint shows up in my life – my moods, food preferences, energy, sleep, creativity, and so much more – month in and month out, so much so that its patterns allowed much more predictability in my life. I hope it's something you'll start doing as a daily practice, because it also gives you a few minutes each day to ‘drop in' on yourself – to see how you're doing – and use this moment of awareness to ask yourself what you really need right now for hormone health and balance. And I hope, if you have daughters or nieces, you'll let them in on the secrets of cycle self-awareness and the beauty of their hormonal blueprint with this episode.

For a companion article go to avivaromm.com/menstrual-cycle-tracking/

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a condition that causes millions of Americans to suffer with intestinal cramping, bloating, gas, constipation and/or diarrhea. And it affects women twice as often as men. Some of my patients have had such significant problems that they are anxious about social events, and what should be normal activities like going grocery shopping or having to travel any more than short distances for fear of needing a bathroom quickly.

If you've been there, I don't need to tell you how uncomfortable it can be. While I want us to let go of the stigma of bloating, and the eternal quest for a flat belly, I also know that you feel very real discomfort - so let's get to the bottom of that so you can be free of all that! And that is possible. For a companion article, go to avivaromm.com/irritable-bowel-syndrome-fixable/

Dealing with PCOS is no small matter. Symptoms like acne, hirsutism (hair growth in unwanted places like your chin, breasts, or lower belly), weight gain, alopecia (hair loss), irregular or skipped periods, and possibly even fertility problems are challenging — both physically and emotionally.

Unfortunately, most women tell me that they received nothing more than a brochure from their doctor and prescription for the Pill — no further questions asked, no further guidance given.

I’m here to tell you there’s a lot more we can do for PCOS. In my new book, Hormone Intelligence, I created a complete Advanced Protocol for PCOS, filled with diet and lifestyle changes that can help treat the underlying causes of PCOS. In this episode I share part of that protocol in the form of the top herbs and supplements for PCOS to address the underlying causes. For a companion article go to avivaromm.com/herbs-and-supplements-for-pcos/

As many of you know, for the past 4 years I’ve been writing a new book. It's called Hormone Intelligence and I wanted to share with you an interview about my book, with talk show host, actor and filmmaker, Ricki Lake, and documentary producer, Abby Epstein, who created The Business of Being Born, and the forthcoming Business of Birth Control.

Menstrual cycles. We have about 400 of them in our lifetime. Yet most of us know so little about how this amazing process really works, and why they’re so important to pay attention to and know how to interpret. It’s led most of us to grow up pretty much in the dark about a fact of life that if you have a uterus, you’re going to experience for 35 to 40 or so years of your life. That right there's a good reason to know more about how your menstrual cycle works.

While hormones are a force of nature and we can't control it all, the more you know about your own hormones and cycles, the more you can live in harmony with - and even influence what’s happening below the surface. With this episode you have a roadmap to tell you when they’re getting back on track.

For an accompanying article, go to avivaromm.com/how-your-menstrual-cycle-works/

Throughout history, the menstrual cycle has been shrouded in magic and mystery. In some ancient cultures, menstrual blood was imbued with magical powers, and menstruating women considered to have the ability to even see the future. In the middle-ages, a major religious and with it, cultural shift occurred. Menstruation and menstruating women were no longer treated with reverence. Menstruation was considered dirty; menstruating women dangerous, and menstrual blood toxic enough to make crops wither, leave men impotent, and lead to natural disasters.

Vestiges of these attitudes have persisted over centuries and have led to long-held cultural shame and ignorance about periods. As a result, most of us started out on our menstrual journeys more or less in the dark - not knowing what’s normal, what we should be concerned about, or how to get that information. And we have largely internalized that periods are gross and dirty.

Fortunately, it’s never too late to gain a deeper understanding of your body and menstrual cycles, and in this episode, I’m going to show you not just how to, but why it’s so important. And if you want an accompanying article, go to avivaromm.com/menstrual-cycle-vital-sign/

Pregnancy is already a time of heightened concern and sense of responsibility – after all, we know that what we do has an impact on our own health – and our baby’s development, growth, and health. Certainly, for women around the globe, COVID-19 has added multiple new layers of concern, worry, and questions on so many aspects of healthcare and mothering: whether it’s safe to get pregnant during this time, where to have your baby (i.e., home vs. hospital), whether to get the vaccine, how much should you worry, should you be around friends and family while you’re pregnant, what about after baby is born?

Making such significant decisions – and one that neither midwives and medical doctors nor pregnant women have had to deal with before – is a tough position to be in, and I know it can be scary.

Compared to last year this time, we know a whole lot more about this virus, how to protect ourselves, and about how to navigate pandemic life while pregnant. So let’s take a close look at what we’ve learned so far about COVID-19 in relation to childbearing and breastfeeding. We'll also some of your questions about vaccines for pregnant and nursing mamas.

For an accompanying article, visit avivaromm.com/covid-19-in-pregnancy/

The PCOS gut connection is a surprising new approach to a complex condition that Despite the fact that 1 in 10 women experience PCOS, the medical model has little to offer beyond or instead of prescription medications - which can help but aren’t ‘answers.’

One significant root cause that research is revealing is the connection between the microbiome and PCOS. In fact, gut health may play a much bigger role in PCOS than was ever previously considered. Join me in this episode as we explore the PCOS Gut connection. And for a companion article go to avivaromm.com/pcos-gut-connection/