Fertile Minds Radio

Been thinking about this very thing a lot lately.

After 18 years of clinical practice specializing in fertility and women’s health, building a successful multi provider clinic that has stood the test of time and a pandemic, more initials than an alphabet trailing my name, and teaching masters students, I’ve had to ponder the next step in making a bigger impact.

Dr. Hannah Winner | Acupuncturist | Fertility Specialist and I are starting a continuing education company that is solely focused on teaching TCM and functional medicine to providers who serve women from menarche to menopause.

We decided that if we can’t change the gap on research for women’s health overnight, we can at least share our clinical wisdom with new providers or those looking to specialize.

If you are an acupuncturist looking for another level when it comes to your specialization in women’s health, dm us your email and we will be sure to reach out with our founders bundles and new instagram in 2027.

And while we have a whole suite of classes in the works, you are welcome to drop a subject in the comments you want to see covered.

Cheers to lifting women up where ever you go-in the office and in the wild.

acupuncturelife

Nine years to get an endometriosis diagnosis. Nine years of being told her pain was normal.

Endometriosis is estrogen-dependent and inflammatory, which means it doesn't just live in the uterus. It can grow on the ovaries, the bladder, the re**um, the bowel. In rare cases, it's been found in the lungs. It gets misdiagnosed as IBS so often that if a woman tells me she's had digestive issues since her teenage years, the first thing I ask about is her period. From a Chinese medicine perspective, the root is almost always kidney deficiency and the manifestation is blood stasis as one of the many branch symptoms it can create. Which means the body has been working against a deeper depletion for years, often long before the first painful period. The adhesions, the inflammation, the hormonal disruption, those are the branch. The root is what nobody went looking for.

Managing endometriosis is a long game, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being honest with you. But long game doesn't mean hopeless. It means we need a plan that addresses the root, not just the symptoms. A plan that works with your cycle, not against it. A plan that is sustainable. A provider that sees you as a whole person, not a diagnosis to be managed pharmacologically until you decide you want a baby.

If you've been sitting with a diagnosis that took years to get, or a body that's been in pain that nobody has fully explained to you, I want you to know your experiences are real and we see you. There is a way to approach it that honors all of it, the science, the body, the grief and the wisdom underneath.

That's the work we do at The Art of Acupuncture Art of Acupuncture
🙏

So, when I sit with a patient and tell her that treating her Liver Qi stagnation, her stress, her tension, her irritability, is a core part of her hormone protocol, this is exactly why. Moving Liver Qi is not a soft add-on to real treatment. It is measurable hormonal medicine.

And sleep is the same story. The same study found that women sleeping three to six hours had significantly lower estrogen than women sleeping nine hours. Sleep is not a wellness luxury. It is medicine with a measurable hormonal effect, and it belongs in your treatment plan.

If you are in perimenopause and struggling with anxiety and insomnia, what you are feeling is not in your head. It is in your hormones, and it is treatable.

✨Your stress and your hormones are not two separate conversations. They are the same conversation. Chinese medicine has known this for centuries, and now we have the data to back it up.

Your body already knows how to do this, I promise.
Sometimes it just needs a reminder.
I created this birth affirmations track for the women who are deep in the work of growing a human and feeling the weight of it, the fear that creeps in at 3am, the moments where you wonder if you're strong enough, the days where your nervous system is running the show and not in a good way.
It's nervous system guided, which means it's not just words, it's a full reset. And woven through it are reminders of something your body has always known: you were made for this. I recommend you practice through the entire third trimester if possible.
Save it for when you need it most. Share it with a pregnant bestie who needs to hear it.
You can find it on Insight Timer, I'm listed there as Dr. Hillary Talbott or search birth affirmations. Or the link in bio takes you straight there.
And a special thanks to our little baby model, Oliver - an acu baby. ✨

I also sometimes knock people up 🤣 and ALL while having life altering conversations.
I couldn't resist this trend. Can you make your job sound scandalous too?

Your fertility journey can oftentimes feel overwhelming and while supplements are just one piece of the puzzle, they are a very important piece. Supplement support doesn't have to be complicated though. 🌿
And remember if you’re unsure where to start, individualized care makes all the difference. ✨

Your cycle is an indicator of the rest of your health.
Pay attention to her whispers and you'll know how to take care of her. 🙏🏻