<p>Welcome to the first episode in this new chapter of the podcast, Mother Wisdom. </p><p>In this intimate and nourishing conversation, I’m joined by Dr. Suuzi Hazen - mother, doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, farmer, and founder of Mother’s Best Liver Pills - for a deeply embodied exploration of what it really means to nourish ourselves through pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.</p><p>Based on her knowledge of TCM and our own real life experiences (both in nourishment and true self care, and the mistakes and missteps we made) together, we un-peel the onions of <strong>maternal depletion, body image, nutritional wisdom, traditional weaning</strong> (this may not be what you want to hear!), <strong>morning sickness through the lens of TCM</strong> (turns out, there are actually things you can do to support yourself through it), and the very real <strong>tension between self-sacrifice and self-honoring as mothers</strong>.</p><p>Dr. Suuzi shares her two wildly different pregnancy and birth stories, from a morning sickness fraught pregnancy ending in a near death experience and emergency cesarean to a pregnancy of eating well and truly supporting her body, and a fully natural VBAC. These threads continue to play out in how she learned to support her body in motherhood through food, boundaries, and traditional practices.</p><p><strong>In this conversation, we explore:</strong></p><p>* <strong>What does white label actually mean?</strong></p><p>* Suuzi’s <strong>two radically different pregnancy & birth experiences</strong>:</p><p>* Her first, shaped by severe morning sickness and undernourishment, a castor oil induction, and a near-death emergency cesarean birth</p><p>* Her second, guided by nourishment and a deeply supporting her female body, ending in a straightforward VBAC</p><p>* How <strong>intermittent</strong> <strong>fasting </strong>to lose the ‘stubborn baby weight’ <strong>and long term depletion</strong> led to a total metabolic crash, and how Suuzi slowly nourished her way back to life</p><p>* Why these “crashes,” as brutal as they are, can be <strong>thresholds into the Wise Woman tradition</strong> — into slow, into simple, into nourishment, into the spiral of healing.</p><p>* The tension between <strong>intuition vs. intellect</strong> in motherhood: Do I follow what my body knows, what my spirit knows... or what I <em>think</em> I know?</p><p>* <strong>TCM insights on morning sickness</strong>, tandem nursing, and child spacing — and why many traditional cultures built in space for maternal recovery</p><p>* <strong>The facades of health (and motherhood, and life) we see on social media</strong>, and the dangers of trying to recreate someone else’s life without tending to our own foundations</p><p>* What our <strong>current breakfasts</strong> look like and why sustainable, gradual nourishment is a much better route than drastic change.</p><p>* My own shift from vegetarianism rooted in community acceptance over my bodies messages to an ‘<strong>ancestral diet’</strong> that supports my body, family, and values</p><p><em>This episode reminded me of the gentle wise woman nourishment as the path of motherhood and womanhood - not getting overwhelmed by information and comparison, but focusing on our nourishment and the soup in front of us. Can we let it be simple?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Giveaway + Subscriber Bonus</strong></p><p>To celebrate this first episode, we’re giving away a bottle of <strong>Mother’s Best Liver Pills</strong>!Here’s how to enter:</p><p>* <strong>Become a paid subscriber</strong> here on Substack (either $5/mo or $40/year)</p><p>* <strong>Leave a comment</strong> on <a target="_blank" href="https://motherwisdom.substack.com/p/45-suuzi-hazen-bonus">this post</a></p><p><em>That’s it.</em></p><p>(Yes, this is still a very small Substack, so your chances are pretty dang good.)</p><p>Even if you don’t win, paid subscribers get access to a <strong>discount code</strong> for all of Dr. Suuzi’s products including her <strong>Lucky Duck Electrolytes</strong> and liver pills.</p><p>🧡 You can upgrade your subscription <a target="_blank" href="https://motherwisdom.substack.com/subscribe">right here</a>.</p><p><strong>Resources & Links</strong></p><p>Dr. Suuzi Hazen</p><p>* <strong>Website</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="https://mothersbestliverpills.com/">mothersbestliverpills.com</a></p><p>* <strong>Instagram</strong>: <a target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/drsuuzihazen">@drsuuzihazen</a></p><p>* Her podcast here on Substack, or wherever you listen to podcasts, <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/51201223-womens-bodies"><strong>Women's Bodies</strong></a> </p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C74JtWuREln/"><strong>TCM Morning Sickness Reel Series</strong></a> (It’s a 4 part thing)</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBmAJ48vNiK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&#38;igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA=="><strong>Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Reel</strong></a></p><p>Mentioned in this Episode</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.armstrongsisters.com/podcasts/rooted-in-resilience/episodes/2148942422">Armstrong Sisters’ discussion of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment</a></p><p></p><p><strong>If this resonated…</strong></p><p>* Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify</p><p>* Share this episode with a mother or friend who needs to hear it</p><p>* Tag us on Instagram with your takeaways: <a target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/maible.arden">@maible.arden</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/drsuuzihazen">@drsuuzihazen</a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://motherwisdom.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">motherwisdom.substack.com/subscribe</a>