On Health for Women

Have you ever had a moment where someone doubted your instincts—only for science to prove you right years later?

When I was applying to my medical residency, a doctor scoffed at my concern for BPA and endocrine disruptors. “You don’t believe in that BPA crap, do you?” he said. Well, here we are, decades later, with research linking BPA to miscarriage and endocrine disruption—even from something as simple as touching receipts or airline tickets.

And now, the new frontier: microplastics and nanoplastics.

A recent Nature Medicine study revealed that human brains contain a spoonful of nanoplastics. Yes, you read that right. Our brains. Our babies’ placentas. Even our breast milk.

But before we spiral—let’s take a deep breath together. This episode isn’t here to terrify you. It’s here to inform, empower, and help you take meaningful, practical action.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

• What microplastics and nanoplastics actually are—and where they’re hiding (spoiler: everywhere).
• The science on how these particles are showing up in our bodies, including our brains, lungs, livers, and even a baby’s first poop.
• What we do and don’t know about their health effects—and why early research is sounding the alarm.
• Simple, smart strategies to reduce your personal exposure (yes, there are things you can do).
• Why individual choices matter—but collective action matters even more.

If you’ve ever wondered...

• Should I toss my plastic cutting board?
• Are my kid’s sippy cups safe?
• Is this one more thing to worry about—or a real health threat I should understand?

… then this episode is for you.

You’ll leave feeling informed—not overwhelmed—and reminded that caring for your health is an act of love. For yourself, for your kids, and for the planet we all share.

Because plastic may be forever—but so is our power to make change.

Tune in now wherever you listen to podcasts.

And if this episode opens your eyes—please share it with a friend. Awareness is the first step toward healing—our bodies and our world.

Most women don’t look like they’re falling apart—even when they’re struggling to stay afloat. We keep it all going: raising kids, showing up for work, taking care of everyone else—while silently carrying stress, grief, trauma, and anxiety. And all that holding it together? It comes at a cost.

In this heart-opening episode of On Health, Aviva sits down with UK-based psychotherapist and author Helen Marie to explore:

🔹 Why high-functioning anxiety, burnout, and people-pleasing often go unseen

🔹 How supresseds stress lives in the body—and what our nervous systems are trying to tell us

🔹 The basics of Polyvagal Theory and how to map your nervous system

🔹 What it means to “meet your nervous system where it’s at”

🔹 Somatic practices like tapping and cupping to gently bring your body back to safety

🔹 The quiet power of journaling, boundaries, and emotional truth

🔹 How to take one small step toward choosing you—without guilt or shame

This episode is for anyone who’s ever whispered “I’m fine” while quietly falling apart—and is ready to begin reclaiming calm, connection, and self-worth, one kind breath at a time.

What if the way we care for new mothers is all wrong?

Not just lacking. Not just outdated. But built on a model that misses the heart and soul of what postpartum truly is — and what it could be.

When I was a home birth midwife, postpartum care was the care. I'd visit mamas and babies at home five or six times in the first few weeks. We’d talk about everything — from latch to lochia, sleep deprivation to soul shifts. It wasn’t "extra." It was essential.

It’s part of why I went into medicine, because as a midwife I saw too often, how in this precious, vulnerable, formative window for mothers and babies -  care just disappeared for the mother after the baby was born. A first visit may have been 6 or 8 weeks after the birth, by which time mothers were struggling alone with overwhelm, breastfeeding challenges, or worse, anxiety, depression, isolation, and sometimes they’d given up breastfeeding because they had no support. And when they did get care, all too often they had to sit in waiting rooms, a baby and toddler often in tow, waiting for an appointment only to get 15 minutes with a doctor whose had no idea to support mothers postpartum. 

This week on On Health, I’m joined by my long-time colleague and kindred spirit Dr. Eva Zasloff — a fellow family physician, artist, mother, and fellow revolutionary in postpartum care — to talk about the radical simplicity and profound necessity of caring for mothers in their homes, in their own rhythm, and on their own terms.

 Inside the Episode We Talk About:

• The surprising (and heartbreaking) truth about conventional postpartum visits
• Why 20-minute clinic appointments can do more harm than good
• Eva’s bold leap from family doctor to founder of Tova Health — a home-based, whole-person care model serving over 600 families
• The “twilight zone” of early motherhood — and how we can hold space for it
• What home visits offer that clinic visits never can
• Why postpartum depression and anxiety are often symptoms of a broken system
• The healing power of birth stories, coconut oil massages, and Zoom mama circles that make a difference

What Eva is doing with Tova Health, and what I’m doing with The Mama Pathway, are  not just beautiful experiences for mothers— they’re necessary for maternal health. It’s a return to wisdom we’ve always known. And it’s a model I dream of seeing in communities everywhere.

If you’re a doula, a midwife, a family doc, or a mama (or someone who loves one), this episode will touch you deeply — and perhaps inspire you to bring this care into your own community or at least raise your awareness about the importance of listening to, being with, and supporting new mothers. 

Loved this episode?

Share it with a friend, sister, or doula. Leave a review. Join us on Instagram @DrAvivaRomm and let us know what postpartum care has meant for you. And if you’re dreaming of a better way — whether you’re a practitioner or a mama — I see you. And this episode is for you.

In recognition of Maternal Mental Health Month I am re-sharing this 2023 conversation with the founders of The Motherhood Center in NYC. With Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADS) being the #1 complication associated with birth in the US and the #2 cause of maternal mortality, this remains a critical conversation.

It’s not just you. You're not crazy. You're not a bad mom. You're not alone. These are words and deep beliefs that resonate through and form the backbone of today’s guests, Catherine Birndorf, MD, and Paige Bellenbaum, LMSW. Catherine and Paige are dedicated to changing the perinatal mental health terrain, and they do it through The Motherhood Center, a place of radical acceptance, nurturance, and individual and group support. On today’s episode, we pull back the curtain on motherhood and redefine what is considered "normal" and "typical". With PMADs (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders) being the #1 complication associated with birth and the #2 cause of maternal mortality, this is a critical conversation. On today’s episode, we unpack why it’s so important that we talk more about these conditions, how to do your best to prevent PMADs, and what to do if you or someone you love has symptoms. 

Aviva, Paige, and Catherine discuss: 

• The definition of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADS) and the different diagnoses that fall under the PMAD umbrella 
• What PMAD taboos still exist today, why this needs to change, and how Roe v. Wade affects these taboos 
• Paige and Catherine’s personal stories with perinatal mood disorders and what brought them to the point of specializing in PMADS and opening the motherhood center 
• The kinds of physical and psychological feelings and symptoms associated with PMADs and signs birthing people and their providers should watch out for 
• Why we need to move in the direction of making it mandatory for OB-GYNs, midwives, pediatricians, and any providers who come in contact with newer expecting mothers to begin educating their patients about PMADS and screening for symptoms  
• The effects of the pandemic, social isolation, and potential cultural contributors on PMADS  
• The role of medication and psychotherapy in treating conditions 

There are the stories we tell out loud, and then there are the ones we keep tucked away—the ones that ache the most, because we’ve carried them in silence.

On this episode of On Health, we’re breaking the silence—and the stigma—around some of the most vulnerable, hidden experiences women carry: miscarriage, illness, identity loss, perfectionism, aging, and the loneliness so many of us feel but rarely name.

I’m joined by the phenomenal Dr. Jessica Zucker, clinical psychologist and author of the groundbreaking memoir I Had a Miscarriage, and her latest book, Normalize It, which is just what we need: an invitation to stop apologizing for what we’re going through—and start talking about it.

Together, we explore:

• How grief grows in silence—and thrives in stigma
• What it means when you don’t feel like yourself
• Why midlife isn’t a decline—it’s a reckoning
• What being a “good girl” has cost us
• Why loneliness is a serious health issue
• Why we are more than what we do
• How perfectionism is stealing our joy

This one’s for all the women tired of pretending they’re fine.

Who are aching to be seen.

Who are ready to stop carrying the weight alone.