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Aviva Romm, MDAviva Romm, MD

Bridging Traditional Wisdom & Modern Medicine for Women and Children

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It's Time for Women's Health,
Done Your Way

Are you ready to experience your health – and healthcare – in a whole new way? 

Welcome to Aviva Women's Health, your online center for a completely fresh and entirely empowered experience of hormonal, fertility, pregnancy, and menopause health.

This site is your invitation to awaken wild health, reimagine and reclaim your body, cycles, hormones, reproductive health, and more – to be your most powerful you at every stage. From periods and birth control, to all things becoming a mama, to your red hot menopause journey – you'll find the ‘no BS' answers you're looking for – rooted in traditional wisdom, supported by the best of conventional medicine, backed by science – and  served up for you with a whole lot of love and zero judgment -ever. 

I'm Dr Aviva, a Yale trained MD and Board Certified Family Physician, Midwife, Herbalist, NYT Best Selling Author, Teacher, and Mama. I'm so very glad you're here!

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Globe & Mail Bestselling Hormone Book....Hormone Intelligence.

Women's hormone health needs a refresh, and that starts here!

Your hormones are far more than just a balancing act.  From period pain to endometriosis, PCOS to fertility problems, miserable menopause symptoms and more a new approach to your hormones starts here. Your hormones are natural, feeling miserable is not. 

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One of the most powerful decisions you can make is to decide how you want to feel. For real solutions that help you take back your health, or simply to reconnect with the power of the feminine, browse these featured articles and podcasts to get started on your journey.

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Our bodies possess an innate wisdom during labor a Our bodies possess an innate wisdom during labor and birth. They communicate with us through powerful urges that guide us through our birthing journey, encouraging us to sway, make noises, shift positions, seek solitude, or connect with loved ones by holding their hands or leaning on our partners. And these urges deserve our attention and respect.

However, it’s important to acknowledge that we can’t always control our environment or how others respond to our needs. Because of this, it’s easy to be influenced by those around us. 

But here’s the truth, your body is a force of nature, beautifully designed to bring forth new life. In moments like these, it’s crucial to remind ourselves of this fact—and a powerful tool to ground us in our own needs. Trusting in your incredible capabilities is potent medicine! Even if your birth doesn’t unfold exactly as you envisioned, remember that you are wildly capable of navigating the journey.

I love this video of mama, @kmcentirephotos. Note that it seems she’s being misinformed by someone telling her she’s only 4 cm dilated - um, clearly not, she’s asked whether she’s pushing (uh, really?) and then how and where she wants to push (clearly exactly as she is!); she’s actually told she should not push in that position, and then there’s this last-minute urgency to press the red button as if something is going wrong - all small interferences that can leave a woman feeling confused, disempowered, and interfering with the birth!

Birth videos are a powerful antidote to culturally disempowering birth images in media. This video shows what it can look like to tune in, listen to your body, and block out all the noise of well-intentioned but potentially interfering care providers. She just goes with her body and instincts, refusing to be swayed to go against this. She’s a role model for how birth can stay empowered. Note her powerful birthing sounds, too!

I’d love to hear about your own birth experiences. Did you encounter a similar moment where you were able to tune into your own needs while tuning out the rest? If you’re a birth worker, how do you empower mamas to listen to their needs? Share in the comments!

📸: @wildoakbirth
Reminder to slow down, take a pause, and recharge Reminder to slow down, take a pause, and recharge today ❤️.
Something is going very wrong in US obstetrics. Fo Something is going very wrong in US obstetrics. For too many women, new motherhood, already hard enough, is also accompanied by challenges to their mental health.

Already previously high, the rates of PMADS (PPD and PPA) escalated by 70% during the pandemic. A phenomenon that has now been added to the list of causes is Birth Trauma.

While data is still limited, it’s estimated that 45% of mothers have reported experiencing it, and as many as 1 in 6 experience PTSD as a result.

Birth Trauma is distress experienced by a mother during/after childbirth and has profound ‘sticking’ power.

A few causal factors of Birth trauma include:
-Negative experience of childbirth, fear of death, powerlessness, invisibility
-Lack of support in birth or postpartum, something that many women experienced during the pandemic
-Neglect, abandonment
-Disrespect (not being heard or listened to)
-Lack of communication, autonomy, being informed
-SA, Violence, Abuse, Racism
-Exposure to actual or threatened death or serious injury

BIPOC, LBBTQ+, and young mothers, those with physical or learning disabilities, and undocumented individuals are at higher risk of discrimination and medical mistreatment, and BIPOC are also at higher risk of morbidity and mortality in the US conventional birth settings, increasing the risk of experiencing trauma during pregnancy or at birth.

Further, mothers’ experiences are typically brushed off or normalized after birth and many people on their support team find it difficult to understand why their experience was traumatic. Mothers need more support, and as a culture, we need massive change so that we center the needs of women - not just the safety of the baby.

Part of healing for so many mamas involves telling our stories. I invite you to raise your voice and share your story with me as I gather the voices from this storm and roll up my sleeves even further to make birth better for mamas in this culture.

If you’ve experienced any form of birth trauma, and especially trauma due to any mistreatment from your care team, please head to the link in bio to use the easy birth story form I’ve created. And birth workers - please please share this post. TY. 💕
One thing I love about food is that what we eat is One thing I love about food is that what we eat is in our hands, and it gives us a powerful, non-pharmaceutical way to nourish and restore hormone health.

A hormone-healthy way of eating:
🌿 Provides the essential building blocks we need to produce healthy hormones
🌿Prevents/reduces/reverses the inflammation
🌿Supports healthy blood sugar and insulin levels
🌿Supports intrinsic detoxification processes - so you never need to think about ‘detoxing’
🌿Feeds gut health which = hormone health (and everything health!)
🌿Provides us with the undervalued Vitamin P - pleasure! Because there’s no end to the delicious - and hormone healthy - foods!

Some of my favorite foods that I enjoy daily or weekly to support hormone health include:
Seeds-important for hormone production and ovarian follicular function; also rich in selenium which supports ovulation and fertility. 

-Fatty fish- improves hormone health and fertility. Keep it to lower mercury forms like salmon and sardines, ideally 4 oz, twice weekly

-Brassicaceae (aka cruciferous) veggies- contain compounds that protect from the risks of endocrine disruptors, are high in gut healthy fiber, and help naturally eliminate excess estrogen. Includes kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc.

-Lacto-fermented foods- contain healthy probiotics that support a balanced gut which supports healthy estrogen levels. This can be yogurt, kefir, ‘kraut, etc.

-Legumes- provide powerful protective phytoestrogens, compounds that reduce the effects of hormone-disrupting environmental chemicals, and gut healthy fiber.

-Buckwheat- one of my favorite PCOS allies, may be especially helpful in improving blood sugar balance and reducing insulin resistance.

Aim to get these foods in daily or weekly for optimal hormone health ❤️

As you can see in my Spring/Summer dinner, there’s roasted cauliflower with tahini yogurt sauce, soca (100% chickpea flour ‘bread), salmon, hummus, and a leafy green salad with toasted nuts, all with olive oil and healthful spices. You can find many of these recipes on my website and most in my book, Hormone Intelligence.

What other hormone and nutrition/food questions do you have? I’d love to hear in the comments.
 

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Aviva Romm, MD

Bridging Traditional Wisdom & Modern Medicine for Women and Children

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