NYSSA: The Unmentionables

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Dr. Lopa Pandya, a reconstructive surgeon in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at UI Health. We get deep into the urinary and gynaecological issues that women and vulva owners may need to attend to in their late 30s to late 40s. We talk about the different types of incontinence, the impact of birth on the bladder and pelvic floor, UTIs and much more. 

Dr. Pandya specializes in ...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Irish journalist Lynn Enright (Vogue, The Guardian, Elle and more) about the importance of knowing the correct language for our anatomy, the changing landscape of conversation around women's sexual and reproductive health, the rise of labiaplasty, the need for more progressive sex education policies in school and much more.

Lynn is also the author of one of the Nyssa team's favo...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Lauren Kornegay, founder of ENDO Black, a non-profit that advocates for African American women and women of color affected by endometriosis.  ENDO Black is a safe space for women to ask questions, to be encouraged, and to receive advice on how to manage this incredibly overlooked and misunderstood disorder.

We speak to Lauren about the ins-and-outs of endometriosis, pain management techni...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to the wonderful Baltimore-based Pelvic Floor Therapist, Dr. Samantha DuFlo. Her clinical practice, Indigo Physiotherapy is an innovative, evidence-based care practice of pelvic physical therapists and bodyworkers working together to elevate healing and care for its clients. Check out her excellent Instagram here.

We speak to Dr. Sam about all things related to pelvic wellness, from understan...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to design thought leaders and historians Michelle Fisher and Amber Winick. They are collaborating on an incredible book and exhibition launching later this year, Designing Motherhood, which features more than eighty designs—iconic, archaic, quotidian, and taboo—that have defined arc of human reproduction. In this episode, Michelle and Amber discuss the designs that have profoundly shaped the motherhoo...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Ruth Martin-Gordon, the founder and CEO of Coddle. Ruth  founded Coddle to share her postpartum struggles and those of other moms  while building a community to empower moms-to-be as well as creating safe organic postpartum products for new mom self care. Like Nyssa, Ruth wants every mom-to-be to prepare for what is one of the most life altering experience she will have. Because every mom should ha...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Alessandra Henderson, CEO and co-founder of Elektra Health.

Elektra  is a new platform for women navigating hormonal health, starting with perimenopause and menopause. Alessandra and her team are building an integrative healthcare solution that is breaking the menopause taboo by providing women with access to leading specialists, evidence-based programs, and a community of women facing sim...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, MD about anxiety, our culture of relentless productivity, identity shifts in motherhood, the stigma that still surrounds prescription medication, racism within the medical community and much more.

Pooja is a board-certified psychiatrist and writer specializing in women's mental health and perinatal psychiatry and a frequent contributor to The New York Times Parent...

Welcome to Season 2 of The Unmentionables! Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Penda N'Diaye, founder of Pro Hoe, a platform (and incredible podcast!) she created to eradicate stigmas surrounding sexual freedom and identity in Black communities. Penda is hyper-focused on using sex and taboo as a means of political change and resistance and is leading the conversation on how societal, racial, and religious constructs stifle our s...

For the final episode of the season, Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Miyhosi Benton, senior associate with New York City's Women & Justice Project, a non-profit organization that advances the leadership and narrative power of women directly impacted by incarceration to transform the criminal justice system. Miyhosi experienced pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum during her period of incarceration and was illegally shackl...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to the London-based nutritional therapist, mother, author and wellness blogger, Madeleine Shaw. We chat about the best snacks to have on hand during your postpartum recovery, the importance of giving space for partners to parent alongside you, and general tips for feeling healthy, strong, and calm during the Fourth Trimester.

You can read more about Madeleine's work here and follow her ...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to professors and researchers Bethany Johnson and Margaret Quinlan, authors of the You’re Doing It Wrong: Mothering, Media and Medical Expertise. Their book offers a deep-dive into the storied history of mothering advice in media— from the newspapers, magazines, doctors’ records and personal papers of the 19th century to today’s websites, Facebook groups and Instagram feeds.

We talk about ga...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to psychologist, professor and mother Dr. Molly Millwood, author of the book 'To Have and to Hold: Motherhood, Marriage and the Modern Dilemma'.  We talk about retaining one's autonomy in motherhood, the difference between motherhood and mothering, relationship dynamics with one's partner, the strain of monotony in parenthood, the experience of grieving one's pre-baby identity...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to pelvic floor expert Sara Reardon about why physical therapy should be part of every birthing parent's recovery plan: what we don't know, what we should educate ourselves about, and why paying attention to our pelvic floor after birth matters so much. Sara's well known for sharing her work on Instagram as The Vagina Whisperer and happily digs right in to everything from postpartum pee...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Integrative Pediatrician Dr. Rupa Mahadevan about the higher standard of care she wants to see regarding postpartum depression screenings, how parents' mental health can affect their infant, and what parents can do to take care of themselves alongside baby.

Do you have questions you'd like Nyssa to explore with our network of experts? Fourth Trimester stories that you'd lik...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to Trystan Angel Reese about his pregnancy and postpartum recovery experience, the dynamics of allyship, and how best to support transgender families through pregnancy and the Fourth Trimester.

Do you have questions you'd like Nyssa to explore with our network of experts? Fourth Trimester stories that you'd like to share? Leave us a message at (336) HI-NYSSA or email us at hello@nys...

Nyssa's Mia Clarke speaks to author and founder of the Fifth Trimester movement, Lauren Smith Brody, about preparing to return to work after giving birth, the 'Motherhood Penalty' (the measurable impact of motherhood on earnings and professional status), how to advocate for yourself in the workplace and much more.

Do you have questions you'd like Nyssa to explore with our network of experts? Fourth Tri...

Brown economist Emily Oster's new book, Cribsheet, is a thinking parent's guide to the chaos and frequent misinformation of the early years. A trained expert—and mom of two—Emily uses the science of decision-making to empower parents to make better, less fraught decisions—and stay sane in the years before preschool. She talks to Nyssa about debunking myths and unpacking research around breastfeeding, postpartum depression...

In the fog of postpartum depression, Chicago-based musician Angela James began humming melodies while trying to get her infant daughter to sleep. These melodies guided Angela back to her creative practice as a songwriter after a difficult and exhausting period as a new parent. She speaks to Nyssa about how she was finally able to create meaning beautiful out of those dark times and how she continues to maintain her creative practic...