Nurse Anesthetist in Labor and Delivery: Appreciating the History of Anesthesia in Women's Health

Pelvic Floor Health: Understanding When Struggles Are Common But Not Normal

What a gift to have Dr. Kayla Borchers join me again as we dive into all things related to women + pelvic floor health! As we discuss the struggles that so many women face—diastasis recti, lower belly pooching, urinary leakage, and pelvic floor heaviness—Dr. Kayla reminds women that options exist to help support you in finding relief from these symptoms. And as with all good medicine, it comes back to educating and treating the whole person, each with her own unique needs! So whether you have these struggles yourself or know a woman who does, tune in for more information about how you can better understand and also find relief for various pelvic floor issues. Guest Resources: * Dr. Kayla Borchers Website [https://drkaylaborchers.com] * Dr. Kayla Borchers Podcast — Holistically Well [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holistically-well/id1808300380] Resources mentioned in this episode: * Use code DRSARAH20 for 20% off any of Dr. Kayla’s (amazing!) Online Programs: Preconception, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Options [https://drkaylaborchers.com/online-programs/] What Women Are Resources: * Website [https://www.whatwomenare.com/] * Merchandise [https://whatwomenare.myshopify.com/] What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe [https://drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Holistic Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, Wife, & Mother: Dr. Kayla Borchers

What a joy it was to meet and learn from Dr. Kayla Borchers as she shared with me about her own story and about how she fell in love with science and the gift of the human body! In this episode, we hear from Dr. Kayla as she talks about her journey: discovering a love for medicine in high school, meeting and marrying her husband, and learning how to balance her vocation to motherhood with her love for helping women heal. If you want to be encouraged in the gift of how God opens doors and works through our own talents and desires, then this episode is for you! Guest Resources: * Dr. Kayla Borchers Website [https://drkaylaborchers.com] * Dr. Kayla Borchers Podcast — Holistically Well [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holistically-well/id1808300380] Resources mentioned in this episode: * Click here to save $10 on Branch Basics! [http://rwrd.io/xz7hwvu?c] (I recommend starting with the “Premium Starter Kit”.) * Primally Pure [https://primallypure.com] — Use code DRKAYLA for 10% off your order. * EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen [https://static.ewg.org/upload/pdf/EWG_SG-26_Guide-Print_C02.pdf] What Women Are Resources: * Website [https://www.whatwomenare.com/] * Merchandise [https://whatwomenare.myshopify.com/] What Women Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe [https://drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Nurse Anesthetist in Labor and Delivery: Appreciating the History of Anesthesia in Women's Health

This week, Cathy Denny (Dr. Lorio’s mom!) joins us again as she shares about her experience of working as a nurse for 50 years. Having been a nurse anesthetist in labor and delivery, Cathy shares about the various things she saw and experienced while serving women and helping them to bring their babies into the world. It is so easy to forget just how far we have come in the field of women’s health, and Cathy’s lived experience brings light to aspects we rarely consider. Sharing about the gifts and beautiful aspects of medicine while also recognizing the ways in which medicine needs to improve, this episode presents a beautiful testimony of one woman’s experience, expertise, and wisdom gained through years of accompanying women. This episode keeps it real and raw. Please know that while focusing mainly on the joys and triumphs of labor and delivery, it also gleans into a few of the harder and more sorrowful moments that women can experience during this season of life. We are grateful for the witness to women and to medicine that Cathy Denny provides for us, especially in this episode and through her lived experiences. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Online Course: * “The Gift of Her Body (Part 1): Talking With Your Daughters About Their Bodies” [https://www.whatwomenare.com/the-gift-of-her-body-part-1] What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe [https://drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Cathy Denny: An Interview with Dr. Lorio's Mom (and Hero!)

A dream of mine has been to interview the woman who raised me and who taught me so much: empathy, resilience, and selfless generosity. Today, I share with you the gift of my mother’s story. A woman of so much life experience, my mom was born in the 50’s, lived through the changes of the Second Vatican Council, saw an older brother go off to fight in the Vietnam War and how that affected him, became a nurse anesthetist in labor and delivery (before all the technology we have now!), and also got married and raised three children. The details of women’s stories are precious gold, and to have my mother share with us at my kitchen table is both a great honor and also a priceless gift for me to treasure as time passes. So pull up a chair or lace up your running shoes, and allow us to accompany you in your plans for the day. I hope her story and wisdom can bless you as much as it has blessed me. We have been given so much. May we always remember and be grateful for the battles the women before us have fought that have paved the way for us to have the opportunities we have today. What Women Are is a listener-supported work. While it is free to receive, it is not free to create. If you enjoy this content and want to support the creation of more like this, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. What Women Are Resources: * Website [https://www.whatwomenare.com/] * Merchandise [https://whatwomenare.myshopify.com/] Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe [https://drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Overshadowed, Not Barren

Today, I am overjoyed to share with you the news that my husband and I are pregnant! This miracle, however, is so hard for me to fathom because it comes after two long and heartbreaking years of infertility. One miscarriage and thousands of tears later, I was asked to give a talk at a CCRNO Women’s Retreat this past January 2026. While I felt called to speak on our call and identity as women—that we are “Overshadowed, Not Barren”—January was a very dark and difficult month for me emotionally. I started yet another period and could not shake the sadness or the pain. It was in this place of honesty and raw vulnerability that I had to offer this talk, what I now offer to you as today’s podcast episode. In it, I share the invitation we each have—myself included—to allow the LORD to come into the graveyard of our broken dreams and to breathe new life into us. I share today’s episode both as an encouragement that the Spirit desires to break through for us and also as a testimony to the power of God to move when we least expect it. Only six days after I gave this talk, my husband and I found out that we are pregnant. It is hard to put emotions into words, but we are thrilled, humbled, grateful, and in awe. It has also been an amazing opportunity to continue surrendering as so much about the miracle of life is outside of our control as women. Please pray for us as we journey through this pregnancy, and please share this talk with any woman who might need the encouragement that she, too, is a woman full of life and overshadowed by the Holy Spirit. Our Father wants to breathe life into us, in more ways than just the physical struggle with fertility. And no matter whether or not a woman is able to physically conceive, she is always called to be fruitful. And the Spirit of God is here to move. For us. In us. And through us. What Women Are is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What Women Are Resources: Website [https://www.whatwomenare.com/] * Go here to sign up for updates (can be found on the Home Page), etc.! Merchandise [https://whatwomenare.myshopify.com/] * Access exclusive What Women Are Merchandise here! Get full access to What Women Are at drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe [https://drsarahdennylorio.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]