The Whole Pineapple

Why is it necessary to have a physical space in South Chicago that focuses on reproductive health?

Chicago is historically one of the most segregated cities in the US, says Regina Townsend of The Broken Brown Egg, and most reproductive clinics are located in the more affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods on the north side.

Reproductive health is difficult enough without having to travel an hour each way to ask a question or understand test results. Enter: The Well Lit Project.

Mental health, financial literacy, as well as reproductive health and justice — all of these are critical to our overall health, and wouldn't it be nice to have a south-side space for resources, conversation, and rest?

Learn more about The Well Lit Project in this conversation among Ruby, Anne, and Regina Townsend, then discover how you can help Turn On the Lights.

Regina Townsend had periods bad enough to send her to the doctor. And when the doctor was spectacularly unhelpful, her problems forced her on to the emergency room.

Where more doctors dismissed her issue or ignored her for hours.

It wasn't until Regina and her husband decided to start a family that fertility issues highlighted the problems she'd been having all along.

Black women have been told by white culture that they are extremely fertile, so infertility was baffling and embarrassing. As Regina began unpicking all the lies she was told and all the truths she wasn't, she decided to start a blog.

From that blog, The Broken Brown Egg (https://thebrokenbrownegg.org/) has grown into a vital resource for Black people who are on fertility journeys. In this episode, Ruby and Anne talk with Regina about her path to parenthood and the extra burdens and barriers she faced as a Black woman.

Regina Townsend is a librarian, author, and reproductive health advocate. Learn more about her at her website, reginatownsend.com.

Resources:

The Broken Brown Egg

TWPP goodreads: Make IF Make Sense

The Broken Brown Egg - Well Lit Project

Are you ready to track everything you eat and drink, answer a whole lot of questions, give stool samples, and get weighed over and over (and over) again for 12 weeks?

What if you could help end endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a much more common problem than previous medical stats might have led us to believe. But as it becomes more and more apparent that many with endometriosis were just mis- or undiagnosed, studies that give us the real facts become more valuable.

Like, for example, how much does what you eat affect your endo symptoms? Could a whole-food, plant-based diet help?

In this short snack, Ruby and Anne talk with Dr. Hana Kahleova and OT Macy Sutton, who are conducting just such a study. And they're looking for more people to participate.

If you'd like to take part in the study, please contact the team at https://www.pcrm.org/clinical-research/endometriosis.

Hana Kahleova, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A.

Dr. Hana Kahleova is the Director of Clinical Research for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. She has conducted several clinical trials using a plant-based diet in the treatment of diabetes and metabolic disease. Her previous research has shown that a plant-based diet leads to improvement in metabolism and addresses multiple mechanisms behind diabetes.

As a member of the American Diabetes Association and as a board member of the Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Dr. Kahleova is directly involved in the process of updating the nutritional recommendations for patients with diabetes.

Macy Sutton

Macy is an occupational therapist (bless you) by training with nearly 8 years of work experience in clinics and hospitals. In late 2021, she transitioned into a nonclinical research coordinator role at the Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine. Macy is passionate about health and wellness and the opportunity to share the forthcoming evidence gained from this Endometriosis Study.

Vaginismus, dyspareunia, low libido, sexual dysfunction: terms most of us would prefer never to have to learn.

Both vaginismus and dyspareunia can cause pain in intercourse or render penetration impossible. There are often very good solutions, but because we find it so difficult to be open about sex — particularly about sexual dysfunction — many live with these conditions for years before being diagnosed.

In this week's short snack, Anne and Ruby talk with clinical sexologist Dr. Ioan Hanes about issues people with vaginas can experience in sex or even in trying to use a tampon.

If you experience pain during sex, or if you're concerned your libido is waning, this can be a great way to learn more and have the language you need to talk with your doctor or gynecologist.

Resources:

Cornell - Sensate Focus

"The legacy of Masters and Johnson is certainly complex: they perpetuated sensational myths about HIV/AIDS and homosexuality, but they also helped to expel many misconceptions about sex and sexuality, particularly regarding women and the elderly." https://www.historyhit.com/masters-and-johnson-controversial-sexologists-of-the-1960s/

Recommended films:

50 Shades of Grey

The Piano Teacher

What is a "clinical sexologist"?

A three-year post-graduate training is required to be registered as a clinical sexologist in Belgium. Sexuality is a complex set of human behaviors involving body, mind, and heart, so it makes sense that experts in the subject undergo some pretty rigorous training.

When it comes to fertility, too often the medical aspects can overtake the human, and sex is relegated to its most basic function: to create a pregnancy. But in recent years, says Dr. Hanes, fertility clinics have begun paying more attention to sexual function and dysfunction and the role of sexuality in procreation.

In this episode of The Whole Pineapple, Ruby and Anne talk with Dr. Ioan Hanes about sex, the human sexual response, and the need to talk more openly about sex and human biology in general.

Ioan Hanes (pronounced "Yohan Hanesh") is a medical doctor and clinical sexologist who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. A certified medical nutritionist, he is a clinical practitioner in lifestyle medicine and head of the Obesity Department of the Military Hospital MeNuFit Brussels.

Dr. Hanes has completed several different lifestyle medicine related courses in the US and Belgium. He has a strong interest in the field of sexual health and lifestyle medicine. He is the founder and coordinator of the European Lifestyle Medicine Certificate and co-coordinator of the first European Lifestyle Medicine book. He is the founder and president of the Belgian Lifestyle Medicine Organization. He is a multicultural practitioner which is demonstrated in the five languages he speaks fluently: English, French, Romanian, Hungarian, and Dutch.

You can find more about Dr. Hanes on his LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ioanhanesmd/. Learn more about Ruby and Anne and Seattle Reproductive Medicine at their website, https://thewholepineapple.com/.

Resources

American Sexual Health Association

European Lifestyle Medicine Organization

World Association for Sexual Health

https://www.facebook.com/ELMO.org/

https://www.facebook.com/people/BELMO-Belgian-Lifestyle-Medicine-Organisation/100064175161112/

Lifestyle Is On Air Podcast

Gagnon, John H. and Simon, William (1974) Sexual Conduct: The Social Sources of Human Sexuality, paperback ed. Chicago, IL: Aldine Press.

NPR Fresh Air - Master's & Johnson

Cornell - Sensate Focus

"The legacy of Masters and Johnson is certainly complex: they perpetuated sensational myths about HIV/AIDS and homosexuality, but they also helped to expel many misconceptions about sex and sexuality, particularly regarding women and the elderly." https://www.historyhit.com/masters-and-johnson-controversial-sexologists-of-the-1960s/

Still want more? Don't worry! We'll cover the history of sexual research in a later episode.

Pain, stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and challenges like infertility can swamp the sturdiest boats, especially when the waves just keep on coming as they seem to be right now.

In this short snack, Anne Judge and Jamie Mammenga talk about how mindfulness and gratitude can help you move through the storm. In addition to "fluffy" shows. ;)

What 1-3 things happened to you today or are present in your life that you can feel thankful for? Can you put sticky notes on the bathroom mirror to remind yourself of the things that are going well?

Listen, let Jamie help relieve the stress of the day, then go put a sticky note on your mirror for one good thing that comes to you!

Patient: "Why do I have fibroids?"

Provider: "Because you have a uterus."

It may seem flippant, but it is nonetheless true. Many people with a uterus may not even realize they have fibroids, as they may be asymptomatic or have symptoms that can be explained away as "bad periods."

People may not know they have fibroids until they start having extremely heavy periods at perimenopause — or until they have struggles getting pregnant.

In this short snack, hosts Ruby Booras and Anne Judge and guest Dr. Lin talk about where fibroids come from, when they need to be removed, and what impact they can have on achieving pregnancy. (Hint: location, location, location)

Be sure to listen to Dr. Lin's full episode, "Tales from the OR," as well as this snack, and share both with others!

Paul Lin is a board certified OB-GYN and REI Specialist and one of the founding partners of SRM. He is the former president of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology, the organization that tracks outcomes in IVF centers across the country, among other things.

Learn more about Dr. Lin at https://www.seattlefertility.com/. And find more episodes of The Whole Pineapple at https://thewholepineapple.com/.

It's All Thing Uterus today! As Anne says, today we're going deep on "polyps and fibroids and adhesions, oh my!"

Guest Dr. Paul Lin may not have one of these organs, but he is an expert on this complex and important part of the human anatomy.

Because so many uterine issues may not present with symptoms — or the symptoms may disguise themselves as irregular periods or other variability — many people don't realize there's a problem until they have difficulty conceiving or carrying a pregnancy.

What can go wrong? What symptoms might you be experiencing? How can problems be addressed? Anne, Ruby, and Dr. Lin tackle the big concerns that can make fertility a real challenge.

Paul Lin is a board certified OB-GYN and REI Specialist and one of the founding partners of SRM. He is the former president of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology, the organization that tracks outcomes in IVF centers across the country, among other things.

Dr. Lin has extensive experience in many reproductive surgical concerns including laparoscopic and hysteroscopic fibroid removal; surgical management of endometriosis; and surgical management of uterine issues such as endometrial polyps, intrauterine adhesions, and uterine septums. He is one of the few fertility specialists who also uses a robotic approach for complicated surgeries.

Learn more about Dr. Lin at https://www.seattlefertility.com/. And find more episodes of The Whole Pineapple at https://thewholepineapple.com/.

"Sleep on the roof" as contraception.

HUH??

Separating sex from reproduction allowed so many women to finally enjoy sexual pleasure, free from concern about unintended pregnancy.

Jonathan Eig's The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution is a deep dive into the history of the creation of revolutionary oral hormonal contraception.

The four main actors in the story of the Pill are complex characters, as Ruby and Anne say, and the development of the Pill was far from straightforward — and not always legal or entirely ethical. But helping women take control over their bodies was indeed revolutionary, and the Pill changed the world.

Hear the book review with Anne and Ruby, then read more on how sexism, eugenics, feminism, pleasure, medicine, and social norms all collide in this one tiny Pill.

References:

The Birth of the Pill: https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Birth-of-the-Pill/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25622271-the-birth-of-the-pill

https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/dr-rocks-taxonomy

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/1514/3518/7100/Pill_History_FactSheet.pdf

https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book-excerpts/health-article/a-brief-history-of-birth-control/

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fda-approves-the-pill

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520685/

https://ordinaryphilosophy.com/2015/03/14/book-review-summary-the-birth-of-the-pill/

https://www.vox.com/2014/10/23/6994695/the-secret-history-of-birth-control-pills

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63507/12-bizarre-facts-about-history-birth-control

https://www.mic.com/articles/113022/the-dark-history-of-birth-control-that-you-haven-t-heard

Note: The opinions stated by hosts and guest do not necessarily represent the opinions of their employers.

With the Supreme Court decision that ended Roe v Wade, states, hospitals, clinics, and caregivers are scrambling to figure out how to provide necessary health services without running afoul of often unclear, poorly created, and poorly worded laws.

With disparities already existing in health care — particularly in birthing mortality rates — the end of safe access to abortion in many states will likely mean even greater mortality among Black and other underrepresented minority communities.

In this episode, Anne and Ruby are speaking again with Dr. Jasmine Johnson, this time about the potential ramifications of this decision on all people who can get pregnant. Listen up, and if you're so moved, get active to protect reproductive health!

Follow Dr. Johnson on Instagram @MrsMommyMD and check out her blog: http://www.mrsmommymd.com/. You can find The Whole Pineapple on Instagram as well: @thewholepineapplepod.