The Natural Womanhood Podcast

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)

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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 @JenniferLahl

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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!

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"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.

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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!

Follow us on X @naturwomanhood
Follow us on Instagra

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!

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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 @abigailandwords

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Want 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!

Follow us on X @naturwomanhood
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Want 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 NFP

Vines in Full Bloom + NFP Basics

Charting toward intimacy on Instagram: @chartingtowardintimacy

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Want 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!

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Want 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!

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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 Podcast

The Fiat Institute

Support for miscarriage:

Heaven’s Gain

Red Bird Ministries

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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!

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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 episode

Caitlin Estes, Woven Natural Fertility Care (Creighton Model System)

Lily Nichols, RD

Midwest vasectomy reversals: https://www.midwestvasectomyreversals.com/ (St. Louis, MO)

Power Athlete Radio: Lily Nichols episode mentioned by Kirk, here

Support for miscarriage:

Heaven's Gain

Red Bird Ministries

More 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/tubal-ligation-vs-vasectomy-possible-relationship-effects-of-sterilization/

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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 show

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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 show

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!

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"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 show

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!

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Want to support The Natural Womanhood Podcast and the rest of our work? Make your tax-deductible donation, here.