#445: Women Are Not a Formula: Debunking VBAC Myths with Sarah Stead

What if the answer to our mental health crisis isn't another prescription? We're living in a world where depression, anxiety, and loneliness are seemingly everywhere. And somehow, despite more diagnoses, more medications, and more money being poured into mental health treatment, we're still struggling. So what exactly are we missing? This week, investigative journalist Jeffrey Jaxon of The HighWire joins Blyss and Dr. Stu for a conversation that might make you rethink everything you thought you knew about mental health. From the chemical imbalance theory and the uncomfortable questions surrounding SSRIs to the pharmaceutical industry's influence on medicine, Jeffrey isn't afraid to go where mainstream conversations often won't. We're not suggesting medication never has a place. We're asking whether we've forgotten that healing involves more than a prescription. Because maybe the real mental health crisis isn't just about what's happening in our brains. Maybe it's about what we've lost along the way. Join us for a conversation that challenges the narrative, asks uncomfortable questions, and reminds us that being human is about more than just managing symptoms. About Jefferey Jaxen Jefferey Jaxen is a veteran investigative journalist covering medical, health and a limitless array of breaking news. Also featured in his weekly segment, The Jaxen Report on The HighWire. An accomplished documentary film maker, his film series Jefferey Jaxen Investigates exposes the compelling topics of our time. Website: TheHighWire.com / highwire.plus Substack: substack.com/@jeffereyjaxen Instagram: @realjeffereyjaxen References:

Listen to women. Seems simple enough. And yet, here we are. This week, the stories in our inbox keep bringing us back to the same uncomfortable truth: women know when something feels wrong. They know their bodies. They know their babies. They know their histories. And far too often, instead of being listened to, they're dismissed, frightened, managed, or told that someone else knows better. One mother screamed that she could feel her cesarean, and was told, “There’s no way she feels that.” Another was sent down the familiar rabbit hole of scans, labels, scary possibilities, and intervention because her baby measured small… while seemingly no one stopped to consider that maybe small parents sometimes make small babies. And then there's a twin home birth that ends in unimaginable loss—a story that challenges the idea that a tragic outcome automatically means someone made the wrong choice. Sometimes everyone does everything right, and tragedy still happens. These are the stories we need to be willing to hear. Not just the beautiful births. Not just the outcomes that validate what we already believe. All of them. Because informed consent means listening. Individualized care means listening. Supporting women means listening. And maybe if we did a little more of that, we'd need a whole lot less fixing afterward. References: FriYAY! Instagram.com/birthinginstincts

There are some experiences in life that we simply cannot prepare our hearts for. Pregnancy loss is one of them. This week, we sit down with Kenzie Covarrubias, co-founder of Held in Hope, for a tender conversation about miscarriage, grief, and what it truly means to care for a woman through loss. Because a miscarriage is so much more than a medical event. There was a mother who was full of hopes and dreams, and a baby who was already deeply loved. How do we give women the information they need while still honoring the sacredness of what they're experiencing? And when someone we love is grieving, how do we resist the urge to fix it and simply be there? There is no one right way to move through loss. But there are gentler ways to hold one another through it. This is one of those conversations we wish no one ever needed, and one we believe every woman deserves to hear. .About Kenzie Covarrubias Kenzie Covarrubias is the co-founder of Held in Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and equipping women through miscarriage. After recognizing how often women are left unprepared to navigate pregnancy loss,, Kenzie and co-founder Amber Hassett created the Held in Hope Miscarriage Kit, providing clear information, practical supplies, and compassionate support during first-trimester loss. Today, Held in Hope works with hospitals, midwives, medical providers, pregnancy centers, and families across the country to help ensure no woman has to face miscarriage feeling alone or unprepared. Kenzie is also a wife and mom of five and is passionate about changing the way women are cared for through pregnancy loss. Website: heldinhope.org Instagram: @held.in.hope

Blood transfusions can save lives, but when are they actually necessary, and what should you know before you're ever faced with that decision? This week, Blyss and Dr. Stu unpack blood transfusions in birth: postpartum hemorrhage, hemoglobin levels, blood types and compatibility, potential reactions, and why the number on a lab report doesn't always tell the whole story. They also dive into some of the harder questions: Can you choose where your blood comes from? What about directed donation? And what options exist for families who have concerns about receiving blood from vaccinated donors? From the surprising obstetric origins of modern transfusion medicine to the questions worth asking during pregnancy, this is one of those conversations you may never need, but you'll be glad you heard if you do.

Cesarean sections can be lifesaving. But are women actually being told about the potential long-term consequences before they consent to one? This week, Blyss and Stu dig into some of the lesser-discussed risks of cesarean birth, particularly the risks that may not show up until months or even years later. Stu walks through research examining isthmocoeles and the broader long-term outcomes associated with cesarean delivery, including future fertility, placenta previa and accreta, uterine rupture, miscarriage, stillbirth, and potential childhood outcomes. But this isn't an episode about frightening women away from cesareans. It's about informed decision-making. As Blyss points out, being informed shouldn't mean you're expected to consent. Women deserve to understand both the benefits and the risks, including the downstream risks that may affect their bodies, their babies, and pregnancies they haven't even had yet.